Before I get into the “meat” of this post, let me say that for the last few days I’ve been frantically searching for the text of this.  I knew I had written it, searched all through this blog looking for it, searched through my document files on my hard drive in case I’d written it but not posted it, and then today decided that I might have posted it pre-genealogy blog on my personal blog.  Voila!  Found it!  Most of the following was posted to Hello . . . Is This Thing On? on February 25, 2008 and is titled Searching for Rachel.

So I spent part of the weekend looking for Rachel - she is (or was) technically my great-great aunt.  My maternal grandfather’s, mom’s sister.  All I knew about Rachel is the year she was born and that at the time of my great-grandmother’s death in 1930 she was listed on the obituary as Mrs. Rachel Givens from Missouri.  No one knew what her husband’s name was and typically at that period of time if a woman is listed as Mrs. (her name) Surname - that generally means they were widowed or divorced.  Awhile back I finally found her in the 1900 census living in Kansas City, Missouri with her husband, Morris and 2 step-sons, William and Wheeler, and a 1 yr old daughter - (looked like) Shawn.  So yesterday after realizing that I was going to have to spread the net out a little trying to find her in the 1910 or 1920 censuses, I started using variations of the Givens.  Finally after I spelled it without the “s” on the end, I found Rachel and Maurice (spelled differently) in 1910 about the same place they were in 1900.  This time there were additional children.  Wheeler was now listed as Charles W., “Shawn” was no where to be found but Mary (about the same age as “Shawn” would have been) was there along with a son, Nathaniel and a son Arthur A., and twin daughters, Pearl and Mearl.  Rachel had listed that she was the mother of 6 children but only 5 were living - so somewhere in there was a child who was stillborn or died sometime between 1900 and 1910.  In fact I ran across the Missouri death certificate (thank you Missouri for digitizing the old death records!) so I now have a more complete look for this elusive branch of the family.  I found William in the 1920 census already married with children.  Now in 1920 Morris and Rachel were living in Wyandotte County, Kansas - so they hopped the state line somewhere in the 10 years previous.  I’m not sure my great-grandmother ever saw her sister after Rachel moved to Missouri from Indiana (where she was born and grew up).  So now I’m trying to locate Morris or Maurice in the 1890 census to see who he was married to before Rachel when the 2 oldest boys were toddlers.  Since Rachel grew up in Indiana, need to figure out if she was in Missouri visiting other relatives when she met Morris or if he was living in Indiana when they met.  I did find a Givens family living down the street from some of her relatives - but no Morris in the family - maybe he was visiting them (his relatives) when they met and he whisked her off to marry & mother his 2 children. 

Update on this post: When I wrote this, somehow I completely forgot that I won’t be locating the 1890 census anytime soon since almost all of it was destroyed in a fire. 

I’ve found Maurice (born September 1857) living in his parents’ household in the 1860 Census in Columbia Boro, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  Parents listed are Nathaniel and Catherine Given.   Catherine’s maiden name was discovered to be Waltman as listed in Familysearch.org.  The couple was married on March 22, 1853.  They had four sons and two daughters (George, David, Maurice, William, Laura and Saloam).  The marriage ended (probably by Catherine’s death) and Nathaniel then married Sarah Emma Stout on April 16, 1867.  They had four daughters and three sons (Carrie, Florence, Grace, Annie, Franklin, Washington and Walter). 

Maurice was found in his parents home in the 1870 Census living in 8-WD Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  He was not found in the 1880 Census even though his parents are still in Dauphin County. 

On October 17, 1887 his first son, William Albert Given, was born in Strong City, Chase County, Kansas.  According to his death certificate, William’s mother was Elizabeth Rose.  She is also thought to be the mother of Charles Wheeler Given, born December 22, 1889.  It is likely that Elizabeth died in the next few years.

Maurice went on to marry my great-great aunt, Rachel Blazer and their first child, Mary, was born in Oct. 1898 according to the 1910 Census (this is probably the child listed as “Shawn” or a misspelling of “Sarah” in the 1900 Census born Oct. 1898).  Mary is listed as age 12 on the 1910 Census which would put her birth around 1898.  The family is living in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri in the 1900 and 1910 Censuses. 

Also in the 1910 Census Maurice lists that he has been married twice and Rachel lists one marriage.  They report that they have been married 13 years putting their marriage date about 1897.  Rachel also lists that she has given birth to 6 children with 5 of them living.

The 1920 Census shows the family living in Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Kansas with their two sons and two daughters (Arthur, Nathaniel, Pearl and Mearl).  Throughout the Censuses, his first name is spelled as both “Morris” and “Maurice”.  The surname varies from Givens and Given. 

I’ve located Maurice’s death date on the Kansas Historical Society website under Fraternal Necrologies.  He was a member of the I.O.O.F. and died March 6, 1930 (which would have made Rachel a widow at the time of my great-grandmother’s death in May 1930).

William, the oldest son, died on December 17, 1946 of carbon monoxide poisoining (ruled accidental on the Death Certificate).  According to the Social Security Index, Charles died in September 1976.  There is no other information on Mary.  Arthur died in June 1959 according to the SSDI.  He was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery.  His obituary lists those who survive him as his wife, Maude; daughters, Juanita and Alice; and sons, Lawrence, William, James and George.

Daughters, Mearl and Pearl, have not been located past the 1920 Census.  Nathaniel was located in news articles and died on May 1, 1984 in Topeka, Kansas.

A listing on the Missouri Birth and Death Records Database shows that Rachel (spelled Rachael) and Maurice Givens had a daughter born July 17, 1908 at 1650 Madison in Jackson County, Missouri.  This record shows Maurice was born in Pennsylvania and Rachel was born in Indiana.  Since a daughter wasn’t found on the 1910 Census born about 1908, I’ve made the deduction that this is the child that had died. 

Did Rachel ever return to Indiana to visit her mother, Malissa Goul Blazer, before Malissa died on March 7, 1907?  Did she ever see her two sisters, Katie Blazer Johnson, or Martha (Mat) Blazer Noonan Hardman, again?  Or her brothers, John and Wesley (who had moved to Champaign County, Ohio before 1900)?  Did her children or grandchildren ever travel East to meet or visit with their Blazer or Goul relatives?  And what did Rachel look like? (This mystery may be solved!  Stay tuned for a future post!)

And why does Rachel interest me if she’s just my great-grandmother’s sister?  I think it has to do more with the solving of a mystery than anything else.  I found one of Rachel’s grandson’s still living and have a letter to be sent off to him.  Possibly he can fill in some of the blanks or put me in touch with other descendents of Rachel and Maurice.

My family really doesn’t take vacations to exotic or even genealogical places.  We go where family is located - the places we called home at one time.  However, along the way we have periodically stopped to see a historical site or be tourists for awhile.

In the summer of 1994, I took a little over three weeks’ vacation back to my mom’s and a few days at my in-laws.  Just me and four kids!  On the way from Ohio back to Missouri, we stopped at Billie Creek Village located in Parke County, Indiana. If you enjoy stepping back into time and covered bridges, this is a wonderful place to see. Motoring on toward Missouri, we stopped in Hannibal (as we normally do to fill up with gas) and decided to see some Mark Twain historical sights. We toured the Haunted House on Hill Street Wax Museum, sort of. The Wax museum part of it was okay for four young children but as soon as we started into the Haunted area, with chains rattling and screams emanating from the dark, three of the four tore out of there. We walked down the street and took pictures of Samuel Clemens’ boyhood home and the Becky Thatcher House among others.

Two years ago when we reached Hannibal, we stopped so the youngest daughter (not so young any more) could go through the Haunted House.  During the Fourth of July Riverfest in Hannibal, the streets are packed with cars and the closest place to park would have been several blocks away.  With a dog traveling with us, one person would have to stay behind with her.  That’s when we stopped to turn around at a service station and noticed the Molly Brown Birthplace and Museum. (Molly Brown was a Titanic survivor.)  Daughter decided that was just as good as the Haunted House.  The home, as expected wasn’t much, but I learned a lot more than I ever thought I could learn about this woman.  We spent at least twenty minutes lingering over all the news clippings, studying the furnishings and listening to the guide explain how the small rooms were used by the family.

On the way from Missouri to Ohio recently, we passed through Springfield, Illinois.  I mentioned to my husband that “sometime we’ll have to stop to see Lincoln’s home”.  Then I began wondering where he was actually buried.  As a Lincoln history buff, I would surely have remembered!  So as we returned from Ohio retracing our path back to Missouri, as we got closer to Springfield, I asked my husband if we could just see how far the house was off the highway.  So we detoured into Springfield through the old part, following the signs until we got there.  Once again, we had the dog with us so our daughter volunteered to stay with her while the rest of us went into the Visitor’s Center to get the information we needed about walking through the house.  It’s a free tour, but not self-guided.  The tour didn’t start for 30 minutes, and I didn’t feel we should take that long with the daughter waiting on us.  The parking is $2 (basically on the honor system) which is a deal when you consider so many historical sights now charge for tours.  So we inquired about the tomb.  It wasn’t that far away - however, it was closed for three days while they did some cement work.  We were allowed to walk to the house, walk around the house, and see two other houses (inside too) that had been restored to their original condition.  It appears that the historical society is restoring several of the surrounding homes and buildings in that area.  You can go to Lincoln Home and Lincoln’s Tomb for more information.

The moral of the story is . . . if you even think you might get to stop at a historic sight or even a courthouse or cemetery on your genealogical quest - call, write or email to make sure it is open when you will be there, if there are any fees for parking or tours, hours of operation, what type of parking you can expect, and if there are any other festivals happening at the same time.

In my post for the 51st Carnival of Genealogy - Independent From Birth, I wrote about my grandfather’s foster sister, Eva. Toward the end of my post I wrote, ” wish I could have met this woman - my grandfather’s younger sister - as she lived for many years after his death. Whenever the family discussed his relatives, we all knew he had a younger sister but I truly think that they had fallen out of touch many years earlier. It isn’t known who stopped communicating. Possibly it was a bit of both. Knowing my grandfather he would have talked and talked until he was blue in the face about “straightening up” and flying right to her. As independent as she seems, Eva probably decided to do what she’d always done - dance to her own music and “if all you’re going to do is lecture me, I’m not listening anymore.” Theories that are probably closer to the mark than not. It seems rather sad to me that no one contacted her - or knew where to reach her - when my grandfather passed away. We never sought to visit her when we were in Indiana. I hope that in her later years, she finally found what she was searching for. Life is really rather short in the grand scheme of things and family ties - no matter how strained or tenuous - should never be broken.”

During my trip back to my mom’s house, I asked her why no one ever contacted Eva when my grandfather died.  Her response was, “She had died about 30 years before.”  When I told her that wasn’t true, she was surprised.  I told her what I knew about Eva’s later life and how she and her son had a falling out about the time Eva realized she was going to be an older, single mother.  My mom then figured that her son said that she’d died because he wasn’t on good terms with her anymore.

So that solves the mystery on why we never contacted her or saw her.  I would guess that Eva really did feel as if she was all alone in the world.

Did you miss me while I was gone?  Looked like I had quite a few hits while I was away.  Our family just spent a week and a half on vacation visiting family out of state.  While at my mother’s, I did more digging in the photos and ephemera that are in boxes and found some more information.  Then we were in Missouri for my in-laws’ 60th wedding anniversary celebration (a month early).  It was wonderful to finally meet one of the granddaughters-in-law and three of the great-grandchildren as well as the daughter of one of a grandson’s fiancee’.  The in-laws have lots of land and the kids got to fish in both of their ponds, see interesting wildlife they don’t usually see, and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine in a slightly cooler environment than our normal 100 degree temps here in North Texas.  There was much food consumed (read that as A LOT!), many dishes washed and dried, many loads of laundry washed, dried, folded and put away, and lots of hugs and laughs.

I have some updates for a couple of the posts I’ve previously written so I will be getting to those as soon as I can.  Today though - it’s back to the real world which includes work, grocery shopping, bookkeeping and doing laundry!

Thanks for not forgetting me while I was gone!

Often families share traits or talents that may include creativity, logical thinking, type of humor, mannerisms, and even musical inclination. 

Four of my dad’s uncles had a small band, my uncle played the organ, my dad played the steel guitar, my niece and daughter played the flute, my son played the trombone, and my uncle (Glen Johnson Jr.) played the Sousaphone (first person in the Ohio State Band to dot the “i” in the Ohio Script!).  I’ve tried to play the keyboard (I’m not coordinated enough to play with both hands!) and the guitar (guess I need to play through the pain, calluses and hand stretching!).

My children have beautiful voices, my dad always was singing, two of my first cousins sang - one professionally in Las Vegas.  I can not for the life of me carry a tune!  That didn’t stop me from being in my 9th grade choir.  I was just a tiny little voice of 200!  Or my church’s choir while I was growing up.  The director didn’t care much as long as there was a warm body there!  My children have politely and not so politely asked me to NOT sing anymore!

My dad is a prolific writer of poetry and so am I.  Two of my daughter’s have also enjoyed writing poetry. 

My mom was in Toastmasters years ago and I love to give speeches.  None of my children have issues with getting up in front of people to talk.  I think we all like an audience.

What traits or similarities have you discovered within your family tree?

(I’ve written these posts to be published while I’m away from the computer - so you won’t have to actually live without me!)

Almost 8 years ago I came across a gold mine of genealogical information which I’ve alluded to before in previous posts.  My mom told me I could search everywhere for anything pertinent.  It was also another way for her to unload stuff on me.  In the very back room of the basement - where she keeps the washer and dryer, inside clothes line, freezer and small appliance items she uses rarely - I opened a large box.  Inside were a couple more boxes.  One had old photos that I pulled out and went through.  Another box held my “artwork” and silly letters I wrote as a young child - items that parents try to keep.  Another box had more photo albums and papers.  Now most of that is in my possession. I came across my mom’s and grandmother’s report cards, pictures of my dad’s family, pictures of my great-grandparents and my mom’s baby sister at death in their caskets (my family is morbid like that!).

Then I went through every single photo album in my mom’s house (at least I think I did!) and removed “old” pictures or photos she told me I could take.  We spent time trying to label photos - especially really old ones of people I didn’t recognize. 

In another part of the basement is a big trunk.  My parents used it to pack clothes and household items when they moved to and from Japan in the 1950s.  Inside were blankets, un-cut material my mom had purchased to make clothes, and then in the very bottom was a box.  Written on the box was “Letters from WWI”.  My first thought was “no!”  There was no way any letters from WWI survived or that my mother would have them.  I opened it and sure enough there were letters.  One was dated May 1916 - my grandparents were still courting!  A hundred letters is an understatement. 

Then my mother found two more boxes with more letters - her letters from Japan to her parents; letters from my grandmother’s mom and siblings to my grandmother; later letters from my grandparents to each other when one of them was out of town.  Then my mom handed me a big manilla folder that contained letters my grandparents wrote her when they were stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany (I’ve posted some of the letters in a previous post).

Then I opened a filing cabinet that had belonged to my grandfather.  Inside were my grandparents’ memorial books, their 50th anniversary book, newspaper clippings, and two rather old looking school notebooks.  One was filled with minutes from my grandfather’s family reunions - Johnson-Shively - held almost every year since before 1920 until after 1920.  Most of the entries were very short and sweet and included the pertinent business meeting information - how much was in the reunion treasury, who was elected President, Vice-President, and Secretary, where the next reunion would be held and quite often the names of those who had passed away, married or born during the year.

When my husband saw the piles of materials that I was going to bring back home, he just shook his head and declared that we were going to have to add another wing to the house!  I feel very fortunate that I ended up with all these materials instead of them being lost to a landfill or to someone who wouldn’t know the importance of these items.  Each time I look at this memorabilia, I discover something new.

How has your treasure hunting been?

  Webster’s Online Dictionary defines Tradition as: “1 a: an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom) b: a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable2: the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction3: cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions4: characteristic manner, method, or style <in the best liberal tradition>”  It is Synonomous with: convention, custom.  Related words include: ethic, form, mode, mores, norm, values; birthright, inheritance, legacy; folklore, lore, superstition; culture, heritage, lifestyle.

Many families have passed down traditions such as:

• A family story that has been told to each generation.
• A custom associated with an event (wedding, holiday, birth, etc.)
• An heirloom that has a certain function at a certain time.

There are many others.  As you’ve accumulated information about your ancestors and distant relatives, what traditions - or customs - have you found AND recorded?  In small towns or villages in Germany there is a wedding custom of “kidnapping the bride”.  German Wedding Traditions list this tradition as: “kidnap the bride and the groom has to find her. Normally, he has to search in a lot of pubs and invite all people in there (or pay the whole bill). Sometimes this ritual ends badly.”  Irish Wedding Traditions mentions that “An old Irish tradition calls for the wedding couple to walk to the church together before exchanging their wedding vows. As they walk down the main street to the chapel, onlookers would not only throw rice to bless the marriage, but larger items as well, such as pots and pans.”  Holiday Traditions - England mentions that “The day after Christmas is known in Britain as Boxing Day, which takes its name from a former custom of giving a Christmas Box - a gift of money or food inside a box - to the deliverymen and tradespeople who called regularly during the year. This tradition survives in the custom of tipping the milkman, postman, dustmen and other callers of good service at Christmas time.”  And in America, we know that the tradition on July 4th is to view fireworks as a celebration of our Independence.

Yet, sometimes it’s the unusual traditions that tell us more about our ancestors.  We may learn important things about their character, their financial situation, their environment or even why a tradition changed.

My family has the usual traditions:

• Christmas Eve meant going to services at church and coming home to await Santa Claus’ visit.  How it evolved - when my own children were small, we’d go look at Christmas lights after church and then come home to a “finger food/appetizer” type of meal.  Afterwards I read “The Night Before Christmas” and the Biblical Nativity story.  Then to bed for the kids!
• Memorial Day was the first day my grandfather bought a watermelon and we’d have a picnic.  How it evolved - with both of us working, most of the time Memorial Day is just a Monday we are off work and take a moment of reflection to honor and remember those who gave their lives or a part of their time to serve our country.
• July 4th - we’d go to parades and then watch fireworks.  How it evolved - if we are at my in-laws’ in Missouri (where it is legal to shoot fireworks) - they are being popped all day long!  If we are at home, it means our big church ice cream social and watching the fireworks from the parking lot (which has a great view!).
• Thanksgiving - a large family dinner, watching a football game, and the men sleeping.  How it evolved - not much!  Except sometimes even Mom gets to nap!
• New Years Day - we would have roast beef or roast pork and watch the parades as soon as they began in the morning and then the Rose Bowl Game (especially when Ohio State was playing!)  How it evolved - since I live in Texas and am now required (since I’m in the south) to cook black eyed peas, I fix a big pot of them with cornbread and ham.  Sometimes I’ll have pork and sauerkraut too (just to cover my northern roots!).  Only the grandson really watches the parades and when was the last time Ohio State was in the Rose Bowl?  There’s no more Cotton Bowl parade (which is pretty local!).  Generally the Christmas Tree is being taken down as well.
• Putting up the Christmas Tree - I really don’t remember much traditions associated with this except I loved to hang these ornaments of my mom’s that looked like huge, red teardrop earrings and I was allowed to hang the ornaments I’d made.  I enjoyed watching my mom decorate our house more than anything.  How it evolved - I don’t have a lot of stuff to decorate the house (because that would mean having a place to store it afterwards!) - but when the kids were little, I’d take a picture as each child put their first ornament on the tree and then take a picture of all four of them gazing with wonder at the lit, decorated tree.  It’s evolved even more - now my husband puts the tree up, he and the youngest daughter put the lights on & everyone haves at it putting the ornaments on while I just watch.  I get to put on the garland - sometimes strands of beads, other times I “throw” the tinsel, and the last couple years it has been ribbons.  But I undecorate it so I can put all the ornaments back into their rightful places.
• Birthdays - it was “your” day.  Mom would make me a devil’s food cake with homemade chocolate icing and I got to lick the bowl afterwards.  Sometimes there were friends and other times it was just family (having a birthday right by Thanksgiving can sometimes cause problems).  I usually picked my favorite meal and we had the birthday song, blowing out the candles, and opening gifts.  How it evolved - sometimes I make the cake and sometimes I buy it.  It’s still the child’s “day” and is special.  They request what they want for dinner and the type of cake. 
• Weddings - something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.  Not evolved - still the same!
• Easter - getting dressed up in a little more than Sunday best with new clothes, new patent leather shoes with a new hat and gloves and an Easter Basket on the end of the bed when I woke up.  How it evolved - the Easter Bunny leaves the baskets on the kitchen table.  New clothes and still attending Easter services (no hat or gloves though!).  A big dinner at mid-day (which is one of the few Sundays I even cook - see below!)
• Sunday Dinner - my mother never fixed a regular evening meal on Sundays.  As a kid, she always fixed a big lunch but dinner - you were on your own.  That was sort of nice - ice cream, a big bowl of popcorn, peanut butter on a spoon right of the jar (see “food” traditions below), a bowl of cereal, etc.  How it evolved - Mom still doesn’t fix an evening meal on Sundays and neither do I!
• Food Traditions - my dad is the one we “blame” for most of these.  Pepper on cottage cheese; chocolate cake (no other flavor) in a bowl of milk; peanut butter on a spoon; fried baloney; tobasco sauce on everything (my sister does that but I don’t!); sardines; slim jims, beef sticks or hot sausages (the kind you find at bars!); steak once a week (yeah, I don’t get that as often anymore!); pepper on everything; bleu cheese or roquefort salad dressing.

So what have you learned from your ancestors?  Please share your family’s traditions - either in the comments section or on your own blog.  Please provide me the link so I can send others to read your post!

So you won’t have to live without me while I’m tending to some family obligations, i’ve written some posts that are scheduled to post in the next several days.  So stay tuned for more!

I don’t want anyone to leave me but wanted to announce that for the next two weeks, I won’t be able to post any new information.  I have some family obligations that will keep me from being on the computer.  I’ve already posted my entry for the next Carnival of Genealogy. 

Please go check out some of the links I have to the right or within my many posts.  There are many great genealogy blogs that have tons of information - I hope you’ll enjoy yourself!

While I’m away from the computer, leave me some comments on posts you would like to see or blogs you’ve read and enjoy.

Please come back now, you hear!

The theme for the 52nd Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is AGE.  As family historians, we take time to carefully mark the birthdates of our forebearers. We print out family tree charts including this all-important data. We make it a point to note at what age family members have married, had children and passed away.  Take some time to look over the data that you have collected on members of your family tree, and share a story of age with us for the upcoming edition of the carnival. Do you have a member of the family who went to work to support the family while still of a tender age? Someone who accomplished something that was typically done by others beyond his or her years? A couple who married young? A couple with disparate ages? A family member who accomplished something of note at an advanced age? How about family members that lived many years, outlasting many of their relatives and friends? With the understanding that “age is often a state of mind”, share your family story about someone whose story stands out because of their age, either young or old.

I found myself thinking “what am I going to post about?”  How about some statistics concerning age within my family tree?

Marriages:

• My parents were married when they were both 22.
• Glen Johnson and Vesta Wilt (maternal grandparents): 18 [1916]
• Lloyd Amore and Ella House (paternal grandparents): 21 & 20 [1903]
• John L. Johnson and Katie J. Blazer (maternal g-grandparents): 22 & 18 [1883]
• Joseph Wilt and Martha Stern (maternal g-grandparents): 22 & 18 [1890]
• Henry Amore and Annie Werts (paternal g-grandparents): 20 & 17 [1872]
• James House and Frances Ogan (paternal g-grandparents): 24 & 26 [1873]
• James W. Johnson and Amanda Mullis (maternal g-g-grandparents): 24 & 19 [1852]
• Frank Blazer and Malissa Goul (mat. g-g-grandparents): abt. 22 & abt. 26 [abt. 1858]
• Isreal Wilt and Christena Nash (mat. g-g-grandparents): 29 & 20 [1857]
• Emmanuel Stern and Nancy Caylor (mat. g-g-grandparents): 22 & 16 [1857]
• William Amore and Charlotte Imons (pat. g-g-grandparents): 20 & 22 [1851]
• William Werts and Louisa Bookless (pat. g-g-grandparents): 22 & 18 [1852]
• Florus House and Julia Lewis (pat. g-g-grandparents): 25 & 23 [abt. 1838]

I didn’t go as far back as I could, but I thought that information would give a sampling.  A few things I noticed: most of the time they were married at or before age 20 or in their early 20s.  Only in two cases are the wives older than their husbands by at least a year or more.  There isn’t too many years difference between a husband and wife.  Even though the time spans over 100 years, there isn’t many changes in how old/young the couple was upon marriage.

AVERAGE AGE AT DEATH

• Grandparents: 76 3/4 years old
• Great-grandparents: 77.5 years old
• Great-Great-Grandparents: 57 years old

There is a span of average age at death of almost 20 years between my g-g-grandparents’ generation and my g-grandparents’ generation.  There were several who died at a young age: Charlotte Imons died at the age of 34; William Washington Werts died at 27; Christena Nash died at 39; Franklin Blazer died at 33; Amanda Mullis died at 35. 

Then I looked at my dad’s line and discovered another interesting fact.  My Grandpa Amore’s brothers lived long lives.  Isaiah (Zade) Amore: 100;

Roy Amore: 95; Rollo Amore: 87; Herbert Amore: 93; Clarence Amore: 80.  His sister, Clemmie Amore, died at the age of 82.  Only my grandfather, Lloyd, died before the age of 80, when he was 72.  My dad’s siblings also have lived long lives: Gertrude: 98; Paul: 91; Norman: 86; Bervil: 81.  My aunt is still living and she is 99.  Only my Uncle Gail died in his 70s from cancer. 

What that tells me is that especially on my paternal side - longevity is more than likely in the genes as opposed to the environment.  For the Amore’s grew up close to coal mines and many of them lived a pretty hard life. 

All in all - age is only what we make of it.  Whether we marry young or in our maturity; have our first child young or as an older, more patient parent.  If we live very long lives, are we making the most out of our time or just passing through?

(Photos: Top - Henry and Annie Amore; Center Right: Emmanuel and Nancy Stern)