The last of his generation

[LizzieW]

My mum was the last of her line, she died in 2007, my dad's youngest sister was the last of that line she died in 2011.  I'm now the oldest of the cousins on my dad's line   

However, as my mum was next to youngest of her siblings, there are many cousins older than me on my mum's line.  The eldest is 90 and I have another 4 cousins who are older than me.  Three other older ones (they would be younger than 90) have died though.

[Andrew Tarr]

It's worse when you realise that after 500+ traceable years of your original surname, there's no-one left of your line that bears it, and that you're the last that did .... so it's gone, as far as your line existed. and there isn't anyone in the next generation at all. Extinction.

I am an only child (as was my mother) and have only two daughters, so my name-line has also ended, though the genes live on ....  I have two first cousins on Christmas-card terms only, and two second cousins, now long dead (there will be a few others who lost touch ages ago).  Not much to go on.

[JAKnighton]

I was surprised to discover when I first asked my grandmother about her family history in 2012 that she still had an uncle and two aunts that were still alive. The uncle has since died but the aunts are alive and well. Unfortunately, my grandmother herself died in 2013.