When was your oldest grandparent born?

[Laura Corin]

I was working out the generations back to my Bronte connection (my grandfather's great great great uncle was the grandfather of the Bronte sisters). So actually, the Bronte sisters were only two generations before my grandfather, who fought, in his thirties, in WWI.

Is he the oldest grandparent on the board? He was born in 1880 and was 12 years older than my grandmother. The maternal ages were 32(grandmother) and 39(mother), and I'm 56. He died in 1955, the year my parents married.

[scholastica]

My oldest grandparent passed away last year at the age of 101. Born in 1916.

[Scarlett]

My grandfather was born in 1898.

[Momto6inIN]

1913 - my paternal grandmother

[Junie]

My oldest grandparent (my paternal grandfather) was born in 1896.  My youngest grandparent (my maternal grandmother) was born in 1931.  

[sassenach]

I don't know info on my Dad's parents. I should probably ask. My mom's parents were born in 1939 and 1941. 

[Pawz4me]

Paternal grandfather -- 1885.

[chiguirre]

My oldest grandfather was born in 1888.

[Loowit]

Paternal grandfather was born in 1923.

[EKS]

1903  

[Lady Florida.]

This is interesting to me. I'm older than most posters here, including the OP yet my oldest grandparent was my maternal grandfather, born in 1908. None of mine are still alive. My paternal grandfather died the year before I was born. The rest of my grandparents died in the 1980s. 

To those of you who had grandparents born in the late 19th century, did your parents have a lot of siblings and/or were they among the youngest? My mother, born in 1934 was the oldest of three children, and my father, born in 1927 was the middle child of three.

Edited September 24, 2019 by Lady Florida.

[Ethel Mertz]

Maternal grandfather 1891

Maternal grandmother 1892

Paternal grandfather 1894

Paternal grandmother 1895

ETA: My spouse's maternal grandfather 1863-1941

[wintermom]

Paternal grandfather 1892. He lived to age 93 and died of lung cancer (life-long, hand-rolled cigarette-dangling-from-the-mouth smoker). Probably could have lived longer if he dangled a piece of hay from the mouth instead. 😉

Edited September 24, 2019 by wintermom

[Laura Corin]

23 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

This is interesting to me. I'm older than most posters here, including the OP yet my oldest grandparent was my maternal grandfather, born in 1908. None of mine are still alive. My paternal grandfather died the year before I was born. The rest of my grandparents died in the 1980s. 

To those of you who had grandparents born in the late 19th century, did your parents have a lot of siblings and/or were they among the youngest? My mother, born in 1934 was the oldest of three children, and my father, born in 1927 was the middle child of three.

My mother was the eldest of two. My grandfather married late due to living in Africa and the war. My mother was also old for giving birth in that era, particularly in colonial Uganda.

Edited September 24, 2019 by Laura Corin

[Arcadia]

I don’t know the exact years. My paternal and maternal grandparents were born in the 1900s, before WWI.

[Pawz4me]

10 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

This is interesting to me. I'm older than most posters here, including the OP yet my oldest grandparent was my maternal grandfather, born in 1908. None of mine are still alive. My paternal grandfather died the year before I was born. The rest of my grandparents died in the 1980s. 

To those of you who had grandparents born in the late 19th century, did your parents have a lot of siblings and/or were they among the youngest? My mother, born in 1934 was the oldest of three children, and my father, born in 1927 was the middle child of three.

My father was the oldest of five. He was born in 1920. My mother was his second marriage, and I was their youngest child. He was 43 when I was born, I'm 56 now.

[scholastica]

40 minutes ago, heartlikealion said:

My grandma died at age 101 and passed away in 2017. I'm probably doing some math wrong or something because I got the same year of birth as you. 

I am 36, almost 37 years old so I'm sure there are grandparents with earlier birth dates on the forum. But, among my peers I have older parents/grandparents than most. My mother had me when she was 41. 

My grandparent who passed away was 2 weeks shy of 102.

[gardenmom5]

my paternal grandfather was born in 1892.  my father was his oldest child.  

[Scarlett]

29 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

This is interesting to me. I'm older than most posters here, including the OP yet my oldest grandparent was my maternal grandfather, born in 1908. None of mine are still alive. My paternal grandfather died the year before I was born. The rest of my grandparents died in the 1980s. 

To those of you who had grandparents born in the late 19th century, did your parents have a lot of siblings and/or were they among the youngest? My mother, born in 1934 was the oldest of three children, and my father, born in 1927 was the middle child of three.

My maternal grandfather born in 1898 had 16 children and my mom was about in the middle of those.  

My Xhusband's paternal grandfather was born in 1878.  Xhusband's father was 62 when XH was born. 

[PrincessMommy]

My paternal grandfather was born in 1906/7  

[gardenmom5]

28 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

 

To those of you who had grandparents born in the late 19th century, did your parents have a lot of siblings and/or were they among the youngest? My mother, born in 1934 was the oldest of three children, and my father, born in 1927 was the middle child of three.

my paternal grandfather was born in 1892 - he had five children with three different wives.  (he was married five times.)  We sort of knew the daughter of his fourth wife - she is mentally handicapped.  never met the three by his fifth wife -  he died when they were young children.

the rest of my grandparents were born between 1902 - 1909.  my mother was an only. (her parents came from large families.)  My father had a half sister with whom he was raised, eight years younger than himself, on his mother's side.  She moved to India the year before I was born.  She taught at a Christian girls school for 40 years before she retired.  I have zero first cousins (well, technically I have half-cousins I've never met, nor have I ever met their parents.)

[Lori D.]

So cool about the Bronte connection, Laura!

For me: longest-lived grandparent = mother's mother, was 92yo, born 1907, died 1999, just 11 days short of seeing the new millenneum 
For DH: longest-lived grandparent = mother's mother, was 94yo, born in 1899, died in 1994, a few weeks short of turning 95yo

If you mean who was born the longest ago, then DH's father's parents were both born somewhere in the 1870s or early 1880s. (I don't know when that grandfather died -- I think in the 1940s -- but that grandmother died in the early 1960s.) -- so one set of DH's grandparents were born at the same time as some of my GREAT-grandparents. 😄

4 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

This is interesting to me. I'm older than most posters here, including the OP yet my oldest grandparent was my maternal grandfather, born in 1908. None of mine are still alive. My paternal grandfather died the year before I was born. The rest of my grandparents died in the 1980s. 

To those of you who had grandparents born in the late 19th century, did your parents have a lot of siblings and/or were they among the youngest? My mother, born in 1934 was the oldest of three children, and my father, born in 1927 was the middle child of three.

DH's father was the youngest of 8-10 siblings (all born in early 1900s-1929). He was so much younger that he was more like an only child, and was really raised by an orphan young woman in her teens/early 20s who had been taken in by the family, as DH's father's mother was too burned out on child-rearing to deal with a late caboose baby.

DH's mother was the youngest of 3 (older step-brother and a sister), born in 1930. So the youngest of a large family married a youngest of a family of 3.

My father was the oldest of 2 children (both born in 1930s); my mother was the middle child of 7 siblings (all born in 1930s-1940s). So the oldest of a small family married the middle of a big family.

Edited September 24, 2019 by Lori D.

[HS Mom in NC]

No idea.  Like many people out in the Western US, I didn't know my paternal grandparents, and unless someone was raised Mormon, family genealogy wasn't really a thing most people spent any time or energy on. They were living and each visited once, but we didn't have any kind of relationship with them. My dad didn't talk much about them other than funny, "When I was a kid" stories. My maternal grandparents who helped raise us didn't talk much about their direct ancestors, even my great grandmother that lived in the area for the last 10-15 years of her life.  I think it's probably part of "The Ones Who Left" psychology. After WWll there was a steady stream of people, like my maternal grandparents,  into the desert SW. They weren't ones to talk about the past, they were all about going to a place with a future.

[73349]

My grandparents were all born between 1932 and 1936. The oldest great-grandparent whose birth date I know was born was in 1894.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Paternal grandparents:  1876, 1882

[Shoeless]

Paternal grandparents: 1916 and 1921.  These grandparents lived until age 87 and 85, respectively.  Non-smokers and non-drinkers who died simply because their hearts gave out from old age.

Maternal grandparents: 1926 and 1927.  These grandparents lived to age 80 and 81, respectively.  Both were smokers and social drinkers. They died of non-respiratory cancers, but I have to wonder if they would have lived longer if they had not smoked. 

Edited September 24, 2019 by MissLemon

[DawnM]

I think 1901.  That is my grandfather on my father's side.  I think he is the oldest.

[SKL]

My father's father was born approximately 1891.

My mother's father (youngest grandparent) was born about 1929.

Edited September 24, 2019 by SKL

[Chris in VA]

I think 1904, but I'm not entirely sure. 

[MEmama]

1898. Paternal grandfather. I think my maternal grandparents might have been about the same, late 1800s. All died when I was in high school—late 80s—IIRC. 

1 hour ago, Lady Florida. said:

This is interesting to me. I'm older than most posters here, including the OP yet my oldest grandparent was my maternal grandfather, born in 1908. None of mine are still alive. My paternal grandfather died the year before I was born. The rest of my grandparents died in the 1980s. 

To those of you who had grandparents born in the late 19th century, did your parents have a lot of siblings and/or were they among the youngest? My mother, born in 1934 was the oldest of three children, and my father, born in 1927 was the middle child of three.

My father is the youngest of two.

My mom is the middle of three. 

Are you thinking families should have been larger? Curious about the question.

[Junie]

1 hour ago, Lady Florida. said:

This is interesting to me. I'm older than most posters here, including the OP yet my oldest grandparent was my maternal grandfather, born in 1908. None of mine are still alive. My paternal grandfather died the year before I was born. The rest of my grandparents died in the 1980s. 

To those of you who had grandparents born in the late 19th century, did your parents have a lot of siblings and/or were they among the youngest? My mother, born in 1934 was the oldest of three children, and my father, born in 1927 was the middle child of three.

 

2 hours ago, Junie said:

My oldest grandparent (my paternal grandfather) was born in 1896.  My youngest grandparent (my maternal grandmother) was born in 1931.  

My father and my mother were both the youngest in their families.  My father robbed the cradle when he married my mother.

I never met either of my paternal grandparents.  They died before I was born.  (My paternal grandmother died of cancer when my father was a baby.)  My maternal grandmother is still living.

[Lady Florida.]

All of my grandparents died fairly young. The grandfather who died before I was born had a heart condition which my father inherited (and he died at 42 from that same heart condition). I don't know how old my grandfather was but I think he must have been in his late 40s or early 50s. The other three were in their mid to late 70s when they died.

Both of dh's grandfathers died young, one of a heart attack and the other from complications of diabetes. I think they were in their 60s when they died. Both of his grandmothers OTOH, had long lives. One lived to be 95, the other to 103 and both were born in the early 20th century. I don't know when his grandfathers were born. His father just passed last year at the age of 92, his mother two years earlier at 89. 

[Lady Florida.]

49 minutes ago, MEmama said:

 

Are you thinking families should have been larger? Curious about the question.

I was just wondering about the people 5 - 10 years younger than me who grandparents who were born in the 19th century while mine were all born in the early 20th. I wondered if maybe they were among the youngest, so their parents and therefore grandparents, were older when they were born. I mentioned large families just because it was pretty common back then.

I was thinking that maybe their parents were the youngest of a number of siblings. Why they had to be many in order for them to be the younges I have no idea. Not sure why that came to me lol.

Edited September 24, 2019 by Lady Florida.

[SKL]

2 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

This is interesting to me. I'm older than most posters here, including the OP yet my oldest grandparent was my maternal grandfather, born in 1908. None of mine are still alive. My paternal grandfather died the year before I was born. The rest of my grandparents died in the 1980s. 

To those of you who had grandparents born in the late 19th century, did your parents have a lot of siblings and/or were they among the youngest? My mother, born in 1934 was the oldest of three children, and my father, born in 1927 was the middle child of three.

My dad was the 4th of 5 children.  The kids were more spaced out than many families, with the oldest being with a former wife, and the younger 4 being about 4 years apart.  My grandfather was also about 20 years older than my grandmother.  So he was about 50 when my dad was born.  And my dad was about 24 when I was born.  And I'm nearly 53.

[Selkie]

1907

[SKL]

I am curious how many of our grandparents had a birthplace outside of the country they called home as an adult.

One of mine did - my dad's mom - Hungary.

[Laura Corin]

6 minutes ago, SKL said:

I am curious how many of our grandparents had a birthplace outside of the country they called home as an adult.

One of mine did - my dad's mom - Hungary.

All my grandparents were born in the UK, but my mother was born in Uganda and my father was evacuated to Canada during WWII.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Looks like Margaret and I are tied for "first place" (so far) with grandparents born in 1876.  All my grandparents were born in the US.  Neither my husband nor I were.

My dad was the next to the youngest of 12 kids.  His dad died before I was born. 

[KungFuPanda]

All four grandparents were born between 1907 and 1919.  I just lost the youngest one, my Mamaw, this year. She’d just turned 95 and was sharp till the end. If she’s never smoked, even though she quit in the 80s, she’d still be with us. 

[Kassia]

3 hours ago, chiguirre said:

My oldest grandfather was born in 1888.

 

Mine too.  He was 56 when my mother was born and almost 80 when I was born.  

[vmsurbat1]

3 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

This is interesting to me. I'm older than most posters here, including the OP yet my oldest grandparent was my maternal grandfather, born in 1908. None of mine are still alive. My paternal grandfather died the year before I was born. The rest of my grandparents died in the 1980s. 

To those of you who had grandparents born in the late 19th century, did your parents have a lot of siblings and/or were they among the youngest? My mother, born in 1934 was the oldest of three children, and my father, born in 1927 was the middle child of three.

My grandfather was born in 1887.  My mother was the youngest of his 9 children; there was an age span of 21 years between oldest and youngest.  My mother was born in 1932. 

[DesertBlossom]

1908 and 1911. While not the oldest, I do think it's cool that my grandmother was born in the territory of AZ. 

[LucyStoner]

1912. 

1912 for my paternal grandfather.  He died in 1998.  My paternal grandmother was born in 1923.  She died in 2010.  They were 32 and 20 when my dad was born in 1943. 

My maternal grandmother was born in 1936.  She died a few years back.  She was 18 when my mom was born in 1954.  We really are not sure who my maternal grandfather is and it’s unlikely he was born before my paternal grandfather.  

My parents were 37 and 26 when I was born in 1980.  My mother died of cancer in 2009.  My dad is 75.  

 

[Ali in OR]

maternal: 1903 and 1909

paternal: 1906 and 1913

[Carrie12345]

Oldest: 1926

Youngest: 1935

(Both parents: 1953; Me: 1977)

[freesia]

1892

[historically accurate]

Paternal Grandparents: 1907-1996, 1910-1956, my dad was the youngest of 7

Maternal Grandparents: 1918-1960, 1926-2000, my mom was the oldest of 3

All of them were born in the US - Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. I don't know where one of them was born; her parents came from Indiana and Minnesota, so somewhere in the Midwest. One of my great-grandfathers was born in Sweden. Two of my great-greats were born in Germany and Norway. 

Parents: 1949-2005, 1950 still alive

Both of them were born and raised in South Dakota. 

Me: 1974 in Illinois

 

Edited September 26, 2019 by beckyjo
Checked ancestry for exact dates. I was pretty spot on - go me!

[Familia]

1889, Paternal Grandfather. John - may he rest in peace!

[GoodGrief]

Two of my grandparents were born in the 1890s.

I have a GREAT-grandfather who was born in 1863, but interestingly, his son, my maternal grandfather, was born in 1912.

[lewelma]

My grandmother was born in 1909 and lived until 2012. Once she used told me about how her grandfather lived with them, and how his civil war buddies would come over and chat on the porch. When I asked what they were talking about (like WOW oral history back to the civil war!!!) she said "I don't know, they were speaking German." 

Edited September 25, 2019 by lewelma