"LONGEVITY," for #52ancestors challenge:

This year I am participating in Amy Johnson Crow's genealogy challenge, "52 Weeks/52 Ancestors," which I also followed for two years 2014 & 2015.

We have relatively long-lived ancestors showing in our lines: my father's parents lived to mid-late 80s, my mother's mother/grandmother/great-grandmother lived in their 90s and 100s. I have every expectation of living to 100!

My longest-lived direct ancestor who lived over 100 is my 2nd great-grandmother, Harriet "Hattie" Philena ORMSBEE.  Here's a 1924 photo of her at 97 years of age, during a visit my grandmother took with her 5 children including my 2 year old mother, from Vancouver BC Canada to Englewood, New Jersey. She is the shortest in the photo, second from left.

My grandmother wrote on the back, identifying each person and their relation to her. I love how this photo shows relationships here. My 2 year old mother is playing with her mother's jewellery, and Madee and GreatGrandma Graves were clearly talking about something while waiting for the photo to be taken. I suspect Madee's husband, my great-grandfather, was taking the photograph.

From left to right:
"Madee" Clara Augusta "Gussie" GRAVES
      b. 5 Nov 1857 Jordan NY, d. 30 Oct 1955 Englewood NJ

"GreatGrandma Graves" Harriet "Hattie" Philena ORMSBEE
      b. 28 May 1827 Manlius NY, d. 20 Aug 1929, Englewood NJ

"Mary" [my mother] 2 years old in this photo

"Mother" - my Grandmother known as GrandPete,
      b. 19 May 1880 Syracuse NY, d. 23 Oct 1973 Burnaby BC Canada

I have a number of long-lived persons in their 90s as well, even back in the 1700s with baptism dates with birthdates as well. Of course, there are also a number of women who died young, likely in childbirth, as well as men who died before 50, perhaps in accidents or due to illnesses.

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If any of these are ancestors of yours, I would be happy to hear from you with your comments or corrected information. I am also very happy to share any details I might have that are not shown on this post. Contact information calewis at telus dot net is found at the very bottom of this blog.

Blooger has a glitch which is stopping me from replying to your comments, but please do know that I appreciate your comments very much. You make my day! Thanks so much for stopping by to read my family blog. 

GRANDPARENTS - with a nod to the USA National Grandparents Day, yesterday

Grandparents, as well as a few great-grandparents.                                                                                                     

Beginning with the first page in the photograph album my mother made for all three of us kids, for one Christmas present.  It took her the whole year to do it, in about 1972 or thereabouts.  All three of us had similar photos in 'our' albums, but we also had many specific to us.  "In the Beginning" is the first page in my album, lettering done by Mom.  

Top right on this first page is my maternal great-grandmother (my mother's mother's mother) Clara Augusta "Gussie" GRAVES Terwilliger, 1857-1955.  Mom typed her age as 100, but she died at age 98, not long after this photo of her living in Florida.  We knew her in the family as "Madee" pronounced Maud'ee, a corruption of the Spanish word Madre for mother. 

Below her on this first page is a tintype from Barrow-in-Furness, Lancs, UK, celebrating my paternal grandparents' 1898 engagement, William John "Jack" GILLESPIE, 1876-1964, and beside him, Harriette BUNN, 1879-1962.  Look to the bottom for Jack Gillespie's parents.

Bottom left on this first page is my maternal grandfather, Charles Edward KUHN, 1876-1945. My maternal grandmother, his wife, is below this 1960s photo, Marguerite Josephine "Daisy" TERWILLIGER Kuhn, 1880-1973.  We knew her in the family as "GramPete" from a nickname as "Peter" a corruption of the Spanish word for little girl, Pepita.  

Next is GramPete's father, James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER, 1856-1929.  His wife is Madee in the top right photo on the "In the Beginning" page, above.

On the bottom is Grove Terwilliger's father, James M. TERWILLIGER, 1825-1909.

And here we have my Irish paternal great-grandfather, my father's father's father, George GILLESPIE, 1851-1941.   And here on the right, his wife, my great-grandmother, Catherine ARMSTRONG Gillespie, 1853-1923.

I am very pleased to have even these few photos of my grandparents and great-grandparents. As you can see, many of them lived to a good long life.  Another greatgrandmother lived to 102, a number of others lived well into the 90s. 

Any questions and comments may be added in the Comments section below.  Thanks for stopping by.