Interesting tidbit about generations in Virginia

[damont]

Tweet from a friend: ' "John Tyler, 10th president of the United States, b. 1790, has 2 living grandsons. 3 generations spanning 4 centuries." Mind. Blown.'

Yep.

John Tyler, 10th president of the USA, was born in 1790. His *thirteenth* child was born when he was 63 years old: Lyon Gardiner Tyler, 17th president of the College of William and Mary (my alma mater). Lyon, born in 1853, had six children; the fourth (Lyon Jr.) and fifth (Harrison Ruffin Tyler) were born in 1924 and 1928 respectively, and are still alive.

They do looooooong generations in some parts of Virginia. President Tyler was nearly *seventy* years old when his last child was born. It helped that his second wife was thirty years his junior. Lyon Tyler Sr's last three children were born *after* he turned 70, also from his second marriage.

Comments

[sigkit.livejournal.com]

And I thought that the average generation gap in my family of 33 years since the early 1600's was long. Sigh

[montuos]

Only 33 years? Piker. My grandfather was born in 1879. His father was not a young man when he walked home from Appomattox. I don't have any further dates at hand, but there's a saying about the men in my mother's family — that they wait until they have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel before getting married! ;>

[angel-vixen.livejournal.com]

I also think some people forget about how marriage/family was treated (some of it carrying into "our time," some of it not as much). People died young or unexpectedly, and widows especially were expected to remarry fairly after their period of mourning ended ("not good for a woman to be alone"/"your children need a father"). Middle-class men married when they were established (lower-class married sooner because of life-expectancy), and older men marrying girls fresh out of their teens for purpose of having more children was normal. Death in childbed was a problem, so men faced remarriage (sometimes more than once; "your children need a mother"). Then you get into medicinal care, and we're riding headlong ('cause we're rushin' heeeeadlong, heeeeadlong) into a different kettle of fish.

AngelVixen, realizing you knew this and thanks you for letting her "say" it anyway :-)

[orlacarey.livejournal.com]

My father's family was like this. My Great grandfather fought in the civil war and had my Grandfather in his 70's.

[luscious-purple.livejournal.com]

That is fascinating! I had no idea!

And I thought MY Dad was old because he was 42 when I was born....

[montuos]

My Papa was 52 when I was born.

[icewolf010.livejournal.com]

My family's not quite that good, but we come close. My grandfather was born in 1895, Mom in 1934, me in 1973, Herself in 2008. Four generations in 3 centuries. Not bad...

[cellio]

Wow.