Dad, how old am I?

[Olde Crone Holden]

As new researchers, we often scratch our heads over wildly differing ages given on census returns etc. The more experienced researcher knows that people didn't attach much importance to their ages and I now have absolute proof of that!

A contact has just sent me a copy of a family letter, written in July 1863. Timothy Holden is writing to his son Jonathan, who has emigrated to New Zealand, and writes:

"You ask me to tell you how old you are. You were born on 20th December 1823, so you are now rising 40".

This is a literate family (the letter proves it, and Timothy was then in his 70s) yet it has only now occurred to Jonathan to wonder how old he is. Proof to my mind that it was of little interest to people in those days, and quite often genuinely unknown!

OC

[Guest]

thats so hard to imagine OC not worrying about your age ??? wish I didnt , and more to the point you do get some wonderful snippets of info on your family dont you ??? I'm quite envious

[Mary from Italy]

I have an almost identical letter, sent from Ireland to my great-grandfather in Australia, telling him that he was 70 last birthday.

[Olde Crone Holden]

Val

Yes, I do get some good stuff and this was even more welcome because it was promised to me last year. I thought the contact was just another "hit and run" merchant, but it turns out he has been very busy with a family reunion for the 1400+ descendants of this man!

The letter is very sad. The writer, Timothy Holden, is 74 years of age, but has had no work for the past two years (he is a handloom weaver) and has used up all his savings. He is now receiving 2 shillings a week from the parish "and but my wants are few it is insufficient for my needs". He writes that his other children are unable to help him - "your brother David has been with the doctor for 37 weeks and not able to work. His wife and his son are working half time but not enough to feed all their mouths".

He then does a bit of old-man blackmail, lol - if you are doing as well as you say you are, then send me some money to the post office, as before. Remember what you owe me, as your father. Poor old chap. The money must have been sent because Timo lived another 11 years!

OC

[herky]

Yes - I agree - so often people's ages vary from census to census with some getting younger!
I remember one relative who I just couldn't find a death for - I found her eventually but listed as 10 years older. Ater that I learned to do much broader searches.
Perhaps the old saying 'you are as old as you feel' has some truth to it.
herky

[guybrush]

That's a great bit of history there OC I too am envious. Something like that really adds someone a character to the facts and figures. Sometimes it's easy to forget that the names and dates on our trees were real people with very real lives.

In my tree I have contrary evidence to yours though as several of my family when reaching 40 stopped aging. I think it's due to having to lie about their ages to their employers. So they knew exactly what age they were and deliberately lied about it.

[Kath nr the Crooked Spire]

I must take after my g g grandfather who never aged 10 years at each census. I don't think they lied about it, they were probably just so busy.

Dare I admit this!!......I don't think it is something that relates particularly to our ancestors in the past either as I had a few 'lost years' after the age of 24, I couldn't keep track, time seemed to go so quickly. We used to laugh about it, I had to ask my mother too...:o
After she died I used to measure my age with my son in law.

Getting older makes you remember

[Little Nell]

I'm impressed Jonathan's father knew his son's birthdate! Though of course he might have made it up!! I wonder why Jonathan suddenly wanted to know?

[Olde Crone Holden]

Nell

Yes, there's a bit of a side mystery here. Timothy's children were all baptised and the dates written in the family bible, along with dates of birth. However, Jonathan's baptism doesn't appear in the church records!

An oversight on the curate's part I suspect - why would Timothy make up a birth and baptism date for his son, when all the others were definitely baptised. Jonathan is a middle child, so no funny business suspected!

(My brother and I were born four days apart, but in different years of course. To the end of his days, my father never knew which of us had a birthday on which date and had to be prompted by my mother!)

OC

[Little Nell]

OC my Dad had difficulty in calling me Helen and my brother Robert! He'd usually call me Ruth (Mum;s name) and then Robert!

[Harrys mum]

My mother always thought she was born in 1928. It was actually 1929. Her mother put her age up so she could go to school early. They were on the run from family and didn't want too much "truth".

It wasn't until her father told her she was named after a racehorse when she'd won a particular race. The race was at the end of 1928 so then we could find Mum's details....lol.

I suppose when your father was born in NZ from Irish parents, racehorse details are more important than your daughter...lol

I can never remember how old I am. I know the year I was born and do a quick subtraction, but can never remember off the top of my head.

[Chr1s]

A family tree for part of my family was originally drawn up by my gt gt aunt and then copied and added to by my grandmother. My grandmother managed to add my father's date of birth one year too early.

Apparently it caused a lot of amusement that she made a mistake with her son's year of birth - not least because my grandmother was a registrar !

The tree was drawn up to document the connection between my great uncle and his prospective wife. They were second cousins, whose mothers were not only first cousins but also step-sisters, because their widowed parents had re-married each other. All rather confusing.