Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashcan Bill
I have parts of our family going back to the 1600s and continue to research other branches. Another boon to being retired and having time to do things like this. 
I've noted a couple of things looking at the life spans of my ancestors. First, recent generations show a marked increase in their life spans simply due to advances in modern medicine. For the most part we don't die from high blood pressure anymore, nor infections, treatable heart disease, and on and on. Many in my family tree passed from things that are preventable today.
Second, our world today is a much safer place. Accidents were common and often fatal in the older days. A few deaths in my family included being burned to death, torn up in a thresher machine, kicked by a horse, and a wagon accident. Farm life could be pretty deadly once upon a time. And industrial occupations of the past were equally fraught with risk. It was quite common years back for people working in industry to be missing fingers. Machines back then didn't have the safety features of today. Belts, gears, pulleys and chains were all open and just waiting to pull you in.
Looking back over my records, most of my ancestors tended to die in their sixties or early seventies. Today that would be considered an early death, and most folk in our family live at least 15 years longer.
It's not that our ancestors couldn't have lived longer - they just didn't have an environment conducive to longer life. |
And then again, my great grandfather from my dad's side (born in 1854) lived to be close to 100. Longevity is the norm on his side of the family. My mom's not so much. A lot of heart problems, cancers, and one disturbing hereditary disease: Huntington's Disease, which is a hellish neurological disorder. I tend to think since mom's family grew up in a coal mining town and many of them worked the mines, that could be a link to the cancer.