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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: nudge67 on Friday 28 June 24 12:41 BST (UK)
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Just noticed something, surprised I didn't pick it up before.
Dad is six years older than Mum, with both being the eldest sibling of three in their respective families.
My paternal grandparents (b.1910/12) were ten years older than my maternal grandparents (b.1921)
My paternal great-grandparents (b.1870's) were about twenty years older than my maternal great-grandparents (b.1890's)
My paternal great-great-grandparents (b.1830's/1840's) were generally twenty-five to thirty years older than my maternal great-great-grandparents (b.1860's), a whole generation!
next generation back it's the 1790's to 1820's versus 1830's and 1840's, and so the trend continues.
anyone else seeing this in their trees?
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While collecting my direct ancestors - I have satisfactorily identified all but the four Irish members of my 32 g-g-g - I have been surprised how closely most of them remained 'in step' datewise. All the males were born between 1762 and 1787, and the females between 1768 and 1789, with a few dates missing, of course.
Only one of those men married a noticeably (10 years) older woman, and when she died in her fifties he married another ... :D
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Not exactly generational drift, but:
My father was a fair bit older than my mother.
My paternal grandparents were fairly average - 3 years age difference, married in their 20s etc.
But my paternal grandmother was well into her 30s when she married, and her husband (who had already been widowed twice) was a fair bit older than her.
This means that this paternal great-grandfather was born in 1841, (and I should add that I'm not yet old enough for state pension!)
For comparison, the youngest of my great-grandparents (maternal side) was born in 1880, so that's 39 years difference.
Edited to add - going back another generation, to my 2gt grandparents, the earliest birth year I have is 1805, but I don't have birth details of the husband of this couple and he may have been older.
The latest is 1850 (3 gt grandparents born in that year). So at least 45 years age difference across that level of my tree, and that's only 4 generations back.
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I have Second Cousins who are older than me and I am in regular contact with them.
They are actually Second Cousins Once Removed and the Mother of one of them is my Second Cousin and she is 30 years older than I am.
So yes generational drift can soon mount up.
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What does a generational drift mean please?
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What does a generational drift mean please?
It means that the birthdates of ancestors on the same level ( eg your 8 great-grandparents) vary enough that their is actually time for their to be another generation between the eldest and youngest
eg Eldest Great-grandfather born 1825, youngest Great-Grandmother born 1860 -- 35 years later so a theoretic generation apart
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I have nearly 50 years difference in birthdates amongst my Great-Great Grandparents
On my Father's side my GG-Grandparents were born between 1809 and 1831 -- a 22 year difference
On my Mother's side my GG-Grandparents were born between 1822 and 1858 -- a 36 year difference
So in total they were born between 1809 and 1858 -- making a 49 year difference -- or approx 2 generations difference if a generation is assumed to be 25 years
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My grandfather was the youngest of ten children and raised by eldest sister and brother (who had two sons just a few years younger than my grandfather). In my father's generation his first cousins were born between 1908 and 1932. Then, in 1936 the first of the next generation were born ... and the range is from 1936 to 1971.
OH's grandfather was born 1863 and half of my great-grandparents were born after that year.
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Loads of times in my tree. One of my great grandmothers was about the same age as her oldest brother's son. I am in my 70s and I have a 5th cousin once removed in his thirties. Not unusual if the once removed was a generation down from me. But he is the 5th cousin of my mother who would have been 100 a couple of weeks ago if she was still alive. So if a generation is 25 - 30 years, direct cousins are the equivalent of two generations apart in that case
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I have a 4xgreat grandfather born 1820 and a 4xgreat grandfather born 1777.
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My generations are all over the place. My paternal grandfather was born before civil registration and William IV was still on the throne.
My paternal grandparents 1836 and 1845. Maternal grandparents both 1881 a 45 year generation gap.
There was twenty years between my mother and father who was only five years younger than my maternal grandparents.
Both my father and I were from second marriages.
When I was born father was 56 and I had a half sister of 30, just six years younger than my mother.
The trend seems to be continuing because one of my sons had in-laws old enough to be my parents.
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On a slightly different note I have an ancestor born 1829 whose 2nd wife (my step 3xgreat gran) who died in 1929, which would have been 3xgreat grandpa's centenary year.
I have an ancestor who had his first child in 1818 and last with his 2nd wife in 1860. So her older half brother was old enough to be her grandfather.
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I knew all of my mother's female cousins , who all had a given name starting with an "E", Edie, Edna, etc.and was surprised when I started family history that one of the "Edie" cousins was, in fact, the very younger (half) sister of my grandmother.
The explanation being that her father was widowed with five young children and I think he probably married the wet nurse that he must have had to engage when his first wife, Lucy Speight, died when her baby was only three weeks old. (RIP)
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okay, so decided to apply a bit of math to this topic, as I have the births of all ancestors going back 5 generations and can calculate each generations average birth year.
Grandparents: 1916. Dad's side 1911; Mum's side 1921. Gap 10 years.
Great-Grandparents: 1883. Dad's side 1875; Mum's side 1892. Gap 17 years.
2xGreat-Grandparents: 1853. Dad's side 1842; Mum's side 1863. Gap 21 years.
3xGreat-Grandparents: 1819. Dad's side 1811; Mum's side 1827. Gap 16 years.
So my initial guesstimation was incorrect. the gap is still significant though.
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Not sure I understand your figures?
You should have 4 grandparents, 8 Great grandparents, 16 Great-great grandparents, and so on.
For myself:
Grandparents born 1876 and 1893 (paternal side) and 1894 and 1896 (maternal side).
Great grandparents born 1843 and 1836, 1861 and 1862, 1851 and 1855, 1871 and 1874.
That gives a spread of 20 years (grandparents) and 38 years (great grandparents).
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My Parents were born in 1930 and 1934
My Husband's parents were born in 1907 and 1912.
My Husband was adopted.
His parents were just a bit younger than my grandparents so definitely 1 generation gap before I even started going up my tree.
Carol