Genealogy Chat

It helps if your deceased relatives were sentimental! My grandmother could not bring herself to throw things away. My grandfather died in 1947, before I was born, yet I remember going to her house and in the cloakroom/downstairs loo there hung his coats and hats well into the 1960s! She had three daughters - my mother being the eldest - and she kept things like their old Brownie uniforms, etcs. Needless to say she had lots of photos, and my sister and I are lucky to have many of them. I also proudly possess 3 diaries written by my grandfather, whom I never knew, for 1931, 1932 and 1933. He mentions his work slightly (he was in the Air Ministry), but most of it is taken up with reports of the children growing up, my mother at boarding school, and two family deaths - one being my great-grandmother. So I have a vivid account of my great-grandmother's last year. His accounts of family holidays in Cornwall are wonderful, and I have such a sense of his personality - humurous, intelligent and devoted to my grandmother and children. I prize this even more as on other branches all personal mementos seem to have been discarded long ago.

Well all I can say is, that I'm fortunate at age of 77, can remember vividly back to 1935, and also tales from Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents relating to lIfe back as far as 1890. Perhaps I'm blessed. Pete

My mother was 94 when she died 5years ago and her mother died aged 95 a great uncle was aged 90, but all the rest seemed to have died quite young. Margaret

I think that the posts on this thread rather disprove the myth that all our ancesters' 'died young'! and congratulations to all those centagenarians. Is the Queen still wearing yellow in her photo that gets sent out for 100, 105th and every year thereafter birthday messages? My gt gt gt grandfather lived to 93 and had his last child when he was 63 with his first wife who was 50! The child must have come as a bit of a shock as there was 9 yrs between him and the next youngest and his eldest brother had already had children - a case of being an uncle before being born! Bo

I am very lucky and still have a living grandfather (he was 93 at the beginning of this month) and a living grandmother (who was 91 a couple of weeks ago). They're different sides of the family, but a mine of information. I expect my grandmother to continue for a while yet - her mother was 103 when she died (I remember her!), although she'd lied about her age on her marriage certificate to make the 8 year age gap between her and her husband a more tolerable 5 (she was the elder of the pair). She had lived the lie for over 70 years and when she was coming up for what we thought was her 100th birthday, my grandmother was desperately trying to find her birth certificate so we could get a telegram from the Queen. No one could understand firstly why it couldn't be found and secondly why Great Granny didn't want any fuss! It only came to light when the helpful vicar from the church Great Granny was christened in came across her birth record from 1877 instead of 1880! The shock put her in hospital and she died a few weeks later. Poor Granny!

My oldest died a couple of months ago at 101.

my dad's couisin lived to 104 yrs, died in clacton about 3 yrs ago

My 5x G/Grandfather died and according to the church records his age at burial was 83 in1853 sheila

Several of mine lived well into their nineties, but the oldest is a second cousin 106 years 117 days and still going strong. Jennifer

I have some 'old' ones - husbands g-g-g-grandfather was 75 (born 1773) when he migrated to colony of NSW in 1849 and lived until age 80 in 1853, pretty old we thought to be making a 4month sea voyage to a strange land. In 1838, my g-g-g-g grandfather arrived in Sydney town aged 72 (born 1766), another one I thought very brave to face the voyage at his age. Poor Thomas, however, died only 3 weeks after arriving. Di

My great aunt May (born May 1st 1892 in Glossop, Derbyshire, died in May 1998 aged 106 as the oldest living person in Derbyshire. She was the second youngest of 9 children (that lived, there could have been more!). I haven't traced them all, but my grandma (her sister) was 96 when she died, and her youngest sister was 98 at death. I rather hoped my dad would follow suit, but he sadly died 3 years ago aged only 79. It is remarkable when you consider how poverty stricken they were. It must all have been down to great grandmas ability to make a chicken last for 3 days. I know my dad's family all had livestock in some form, chickens, geese, pigeons and a couple of pigs. Love to all Margaret

My wife's Aunt is 1031/2 - evidence - I took her to watch great grandaughter in a gym competion last sunday!! My Aunt in Brighton will be 95 in August. Have some that are dead who lived in excess of 95.

My mum always said that my dad's side of the family originated from Holland, i took it with a pinch of salt as i hadn't found anything of the such. That was until i found out that my gg grandfather was born in Holland 1813 and died in 1906!!! So theres the explanation to how my father knew about the Holland connection!! I assume if he hadnt have lived so long, his origins would'nt have been known. Liz

My great gran. She was born in 1856 and the last reference I could find for her was as next of kin on my gfathers military attestation in 1905. So, I started to look for her death, quarter by quarter. As I got to the 3 score years and 10 I said to OH 'how far should I continue?' as for all I knew she could have 'remarried' He jokingly said 'up to 100' Well, sge didn't get that far but she did get to 93. En route she outlived seven or eight of her nine children and two husbands. I was sent a photo of her by my cousin and she looks a formidable woman.

Hello Elizabeth. Had exactly the opposite experience with my MIL, died at 91 and born a Victorian (just) I sat with her for hours, she had a fantastic memory and lots to tell me which I wrote down without comment in order not to interrupt her. Checked it all out later and 95% spot on. Wife had heard it all before and as she herself said didn't listen. We got back to 1658 on her side, eventually. Not directly from her of course. Regards Keith

My great-aunt was 106 when she died!! My mother-in-law is 90, nearly 91, and should be a mine of information on my husband's side, but has absolutely no interest in family history, and what she does know we have to prise out of her!! She told my husband that 'she isn't family' (meaning me!), but over the years, just by snippets, I have put together a very large tree for him! My daughter pestered her for information and together we wrote every little thing down and we were able to find out a huge amount. She is completely baffled as to how we did it! (If we try to explain she still can't understand!) Latterly, my mother was the eldest on my tree - she was a mine of information. Her whole family was very sentimental over deceased relatives. All her engagement calendars had her activities, but in addition entries such as 'Mummy 105 today' or 'Peg died 12 years ago today'. Needless to say, it was she who set me on the road to genealogical research (and my daughter, now 27).

I had several that reached their late 90's ..Nan was 98 when she died ...and one living Great uncle who is just coming up to 106...evidence?...my aunt spoke to him just recently lol

Ive several in their 90s - it was a great surprise to me that people lived to that venerable age.

My mum's ggrandmother was in her 106th year. Someone in the family kept a copy of the newspaper article that described her life. The article also included a photograph of her. '...Mrs. Ovens spent her childhood in Tuam, in the south of Ireland, where she was born on Christmas Day, 1822, and came to the U.S. with her parents, settled in Jersey City. When not quite twenty, she married John Ovens, in Jersey City, and shortly afterwards moved to Toronto...' Little did the writer know that 60 years after the article appeared in the newspaper that someone would be using his research to trace both the Wakefield and Ovens families back to Ireland!

Great granny is 103 and it's not what she knows, it's what she will not tell me!! OC&G