I should have guessed this topic since last week’s was about our female ancestors. Randy’s weekly Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge on Genea-Musings is to list the lifespans of our male ancestors, determining the men who lived the shortest and longest lives.
As I mentioned last week, I can name all of my ancestors back five generations, but half of my tree will have no answers because some village records don’t begin until 1828. The 1869 Hungarian census helps fill in a few gaps. I have my ancestors’ names because the parents were named in the baptismal records of the next generation.
Here are my ancestors:
My Father:
2. George Michael Sabo (1926-1985), 59 years old
My Grandfathers:
4. George (Sabo) Kucharik (1893-1936), 43 years old
6. Vernon Tarbox Adams (1899-1968), 69 years old
My Great-Grandfathers:
8. Stefan Kucharik (1855-1933), 78 years old
10. Michael Scerbak (1868-1932), 64 years old
12. Charles Edwin Adams (1877-1922), 45 years old
14. Hartwell Thomas Coleman (1869-1938), 69 years old
My 2x Great-Grandfathers:
16. John Kucharik (1820-1893), 72 years old
18. Michael Kacsenyak (1834-after 1895), 61+ years old
20. John Scerbak (1836-1916), 79 years old
22. John Murcko (1831-1917), 85 years old
24. Calvin Segee Adams (1843-1921), 77 years old
26. Charles Augustus Stewart (1822-1894), 72 years old
28. William Coleman (1834-1905), 71 years old
30. Frits Wille Oscar Emil Jensen (1845-1920), 75 years old
My 3x Great-Grandfathers:
32. George Kucharik (1783-1850), 67 years old
34. Stefan Repka (Unknown-Unknown)
36. John Kacsenyak (1798-about 1858), about 60 years old
38. Andreas Haluska (about 1787-Unknown)
40. Miklus Scerbak (Unknown-Unknown)
42. John Patorai (about 1810-Unknown)
44. John Murcko (about 1802-1847), 45 years old
46. Andrej Szova (1810-1869), 59 years old
48. Daniel Adams (1810-1893), 83 years old
50. George Rogers Tarbox (1818-1895), 76 years old
52. John Stewart (1783-1869), 86 years old
54. Israel Hicks (1785-1835), 50 years old
56. Thomas Coleman (1800-1888), 88 years old
58. Peter Crouse (1800-about 1839), 39 years old
60. Johannes Jensen (1810-1865), 54 years old
62. Niels Thomsen Bruun (1809-1847), 38 years old
Boy, I hope I have more of my female ancestors’ genes because the men didn’t live very long in terms of today’s lifespans.
I have:
2 ancestors who died 30-39
3 ancestors who died 40-49
4 ancestors who died 50-59
4 ancestors who died 60-69
7 ancestors who died 70-79
4 ancestors who died 80-89
5 ancestors whose death dates I am missing
Oddly enough, in this group, my ancestors dying at the youngest and oldest ages were both born in 1800.
My ancestor who was the youngest at death, Peter Crouse was born 1 February 1800 in New Brunswick, Canada and died about 1839, leaving a wife and five young children. His widow, Rebecca Jones, married her second husband, Benjamin Blyther, by the time of the 1840 census, when the family was living in Calais, Maine.
The longest living ancestor in this group – Thomas Coleman was born 23 January 1800 in Richmond, Sagadahoc, Maine and died on 9 May 1888 in Calais, Maine. He married Mary Elizabeth Astle from Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada.
As for the short lifespans of these ancestors, many of their causes of death are treatable: lung cancer, strep infection, tuberculosis and heart attack. My grandfather, Vernon Adams, died of Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, which is a variant of mad cow disease. Niels Bruun was a mariner and died at sea.
However, the ancestor who had the longest lifespan of which I am aware is my 8x great grandfather, Joseph Eveleth, whose birth is recorded in June 1641 in Boston, Massachusetts. He married Mary Bragg and they had eleven children. Joseph outlived his wife by 31 years and also outlived most of his children before his death was recorded on 1 December 1745 in Ipswich, Massachusetts. He lived to the ripe old age of 104 years and about six months.