Who was your oldest blood relative, so far? their secret?

[loo]

I have become very curious about this question. 
This week, I learned, to my complete surprise, that one of my grandmother's first cousins lived to the age of 106.  She was born, lived  and died in the same rural Manitoba location in about 1993.  I had thought she did not marry, but that is wrong; she had 4 children.  She apparently kept herself very busy with interminable letters to the editor.  Perhaps I'll order the microfilm, and learn her secrets! - if I live long enough to read them!

[behindthefrogs]

It may be of interest but I have two female relatives who lived past 100.  One of them never married and the other was married in her forties for as few years and never had any children.

Is that the secret?

David

[Rena]

I've found several women in my line lived into their 90's but the one who intrigues me is in my husband's line and was William Wallace, a master of a small boat,  b1845, who outlived 3 wives and is said to have died aged about 103.   I'm looking forward to finding a record of his court case when he was sent to prison for smuggling.  The story passed down is that the crown confiscated his family's property up in Yorkshire and if the large ruby & diamond heirloom ring is anything to go by, he was rather successful. 

Rena

[honey-roma88]

My oldest known relative that I know of was my gg grandad (pictured in my avatar). He only lived to 90 but my family were poverty stricken so that isn't bad for their social situation.

He smoked like a chimney, drank everyday down the pub and worked well into his eighties as a rag and bone man. He didn't die of cancer or any disease as such but passed away due to the ravages of time, I assume his heart gave in.
He was a lovely man but was apparently very happy when he outlived his son. 

[JAP]

My oldest was a sister of my grandmother who died at 103.

She was married and had two children but her husband died in WW1.

She lived with an unmarried daughter, and next door to the other daughter who had been widowed fairly early.

Another sister of my grandmother died at 99.

JAP

[Comosus]

A G Granduncle who died aged 96 (never knew him). Longevity isn't really something which runs in my family

[avm228]

The oldest in my direct line (indeed, the oldest in my whole tree) is Angus MacGregor of Caithness, who was 106 in the 1841 Scotland census.

The Times newspaper ran a short feature on him on 20 May 1840, sourced from the John O'Groats Journal:

There is at present residing near DONBEATH a pensioner named
ANGUS MACGREGOR, who was discharged from the Army in 1785, in consequence of
a hurt in his leg. He was then 50 years of age, and is consequently now in
his 105th year. During the French war this veteran had again to "buckle on
his armour", and though incapacitated by his wound from taking the field,
served his country in garrison for upwards of 15 years more. MacGregor is a
native of the parish of LATHERON, and has resided there since his final
discharge. Although this "relic of the wars" is now unable to travel to
Wick, "to fight his battles o'er again" among the veteran campaigners which a
pension-day is sure to muster, yet he still leaves his bed, and marches to
his station by the fireside with accustomed regularity. Although rather
oblivious, as Dominie Sampson says, of matters of recent occurrence, his
reminiscenses of the "days of other years" are quite vivid. --

I don't know when he died, but unsurprisingly he does not appear in any census after 1841.

Anna

[Comosus]

The oldest in my direct line (indeed, the oldest in my whole tree) is Angus MacGregor of Caithness, who was 106 in the 1841 Scotland census.

The Times newspaper ran a short feature on him on 20 May 1840, sourced from the John O'Groats Journal:

There is at present residing near DONBEATH a pensioner named
ANGUS MACGREGOR, who was discharged from the Army in 1785, in consequence of
a hurt in his leg. He was then 50 years of age, and is consequently now in
his 105th year. During the French war this veteran had again to "buckle on
his armour", and though incapacitated by his wound from taking the field,
served his country in garrison for upwards of 15 years more. MacGregor is a
native of the parish of LATHERON, and has resided there since his final
discharge. Although this "relic of the wars" is now unable to travel to
Wick, "to fight his battles o'er again" among the veteran campaigners which a
pension-day is sure to muster, yet he still leaves his bed, and marches to
his station by the fireside with accustomed regularity. Although rather
oblivious, as Dominie Sampson says, of matters of recent occurrence, his
reminiscenses of the "days of other years" are quite vivid. --

I don't know when he died, but unsurprisingly he does not appear in any census after 1841.

Anna

You might like to find out; he'd fit nicely in here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_validated_person_by_year_of_birth

Andrew

[avm228]

Oooh- he would fit in well!  I suspect proving his birthdate might provide more of a challenge than proving his death date, but it's worth a go

I might see whether the John O'Groat Journal has archives going back to the 1840s - presumably his demise would have merited a mention.


Anna