This past weekend, family gathered from as far away as Hawaii and New York to celebrate my aunt’s 90th birthday. Of course, we also honored my mom for her 94th birthday, but she had her big bash four years ago. Maybe she will be around for her 100th. To the left is Mom with my brother (photo taken this past weekend — looks pretty good for 94, doesn’t she?).
One of my cousins brought a group of photos to the Sunday brunch that his mother had had and asked me if I could name everyone. It was the first time I had seen that collection however, so I could only name a few. Anyway, I snapped a photo of the collection (seen at right below, click for larger image).
My Swedish great-grandparents married in Stockholm, Sweden on the 11th day of April 1868 and sailed for America. My great-grandmother gave birth to 13 children over the next 26 years, having her last at the age of 44 1/2. (Oh, my aching back!) Unlike many of her contemporaries, she didn’t die in childbirth. She lived to be almost 69 (missing her birthday by just 20 days). Her husband lived to be 91.
Of their 13 children, one was stillborn, one died at 5 days, one died at 4 years, and another died at 7 years (after falling from a tree). The other nine children all lived well into adulthood, dying at ages 44 and 93 and points in-between. Longevity in my family for sure.
Some day I would love to get to know the Irish side of my family history as well as I know the Swedish side.
-rlh-
