Grandchildren of Man Born in 1790 alive today

[Redroger]

This prompted me to check on US Civil War widows. The last Union widow died in 2003. They married in 1927 when she was 18 and he 81, having waited three years for her to become 18. The last Confedarate widow died in 2004 when she was 21 and he also 81.

This death prompted a lady in Arkansas to reveal that in 1934 aged 19 she had married an 86 year old veteran "To escape poverty" He supported her with his pension until his death in 1937. She has since outlived 3 other husbands.

If remarriage does not disqualify her from the title, then she at the age of 97 is the last surviving Civil War widow.

[Nick29]

My g. grandmother died in 1922.  She was born in 1835.

[frostyknight]

Wow. Really interesting reading about Pres. Tyler's family!. This puts my lot in the shade.  I thought my branch of my family had long generations, myself and my father born in the 20th century, and my grandfather(1876) & g.grandfather(c.1814) born in previous century. Frostyknight

[Gone]

I've researched a family member, my 3x great grandfather born 1772 who fathered his last child (number 22) in 1848 then died, I think he lived up to his name,,,,,,,,Sampson
griff

[purplekat]

I've researched a family member, my 3x great grandfather born 1772 who fathered his last child (number 22) in 1848 then died, I think he lived up to his name,,,,,,,,Sampson

I would say your 3x great grandmother was superwoman,  or did his children have different mothers?

[Gone]

hi purplekat. he married 4 times, each one younger, the last one being about 36-7 years his junior. she survived him by about 41 years and had more children with him than the rest put together.
griff

[Winterbloom21]

This reminds me of a great story I read once - the name of the book was something like 'The last living Confederate Soldier's Widow' and it was the fictional reminiscences of an elderly woman in the 1980s who was, amazingly enough, the widow of a US Confederate Soldier.

The explanation was that he had been a boy soldier during the war and he had married her years later when she was only about fifteen and he was much older than she was.

[Gone]

I've come across one or two marriage certs with the age given is "minor" and when working backwards from death certs and census have found their age to be under 16, it was more common than we might think.

[Redroger]

This reminds me of a great story I read once - the name of the book was something like 'The last living Confederate Soldier's Widow' and it was the fictional reminiscences of an elderly woman in the 1980s who was, amazingly enough, the widow of a US Confederate Soldier.

The explanation was that he had been a boy soldier during the war and he had married her years later when she was only about fifteen and he was much older than she was.

See my earlier replies on this thread, arguably there is still a surviving widow, if her later marriages are not counted. Several married surviving soldiers in the 1920s and 30s to obtain financial security from their husband's war pensions during the depression. Will any try this with WW2 and Korean vets during the current slump?