Longevity

[sirsimon]

Hi fellow genealogists.

Just a random topic, but does anyone have someone on their family tree whom lived for a very, very long time? Who is the longest lived ancestor in your family?

Mine is Mary Steel nee Routledge. She was a cousin of mine. Her husband was the son of Richard Steel, brother to Joseph whom is my direct 4x great grandfather.

She lived to the age of 105, living from 1778 to 1883, which is an incredible age for the time

[everlea]

Can't beat that, but I've always been impressed by g/g/g Aunt Amelia who was an early settler to NZ & mother of twelve. She was born in Dec 1827 & died Apr 1925.

[sirsimon]

98 is incredibly impressive

[rosie99]

98 is incredibly impressive

98 and a mother of 12 is impressive 

[everlea]

Certainly is - plus, I'll bet she didn't have a very easy life out there at first.

She went out with her sister & a brother followed a few years later, making me related to most of

NZ - apart from the odd sheep,I believe.

[sirsimon]

A lot of people died young in the past, but I have seen a lot of examples when it wasn't always the norm.

[everlea]

Just checked & it was eleven children not twelve, sorry. Still ......... no mean feat.

Those that did achieve great age really stand out, don't they? I always feel I must double check

very carefully if I come across them in my research.

[bibliotaphist]

My record is for my step-great-grandmother, who lived to 103. She was from a farming family and had six children. Most of those 103 years were in the 20th century, but still an impressive age. My RootsMagic software flags her age as a "problem"(!)... she's one of only two centenarians in my database, along with a great-great uncle who was born six months after his father died, grew up in extremely straitened circumstances, was a PoW, survived tuberculosis, and lived to 100½.

[sirsimon]

wow