Friday, March 13, 2009
John Tyler's grandsons and the youth of a country
Here's a factoid to give you pause: Two grandsons of President John Tyler, who was born in 1790 during George Washington's presidency and himself president 1841-1845, are still alive. It is a measure of the youth of our country and, I might add, that sex late in life is not some post-modern "yes-we-can" contrivance. Which is sort of a relief.
CWCID: Glenn Reynolds.
8 Comments:
By 
, at
Fri Mar 13, 10:27:00 AM:
I think it was four or five years ago that the last Civil War veterans' widow died. I believe she was about 20 in the early 1920s and married an old CSA soldier in his 80s. Anyway, Mississippi was still dutifully paying her, her pension for Civil War vets when she died.
By 
Christopher Chambers, at
Fri Mar 13, 10:37:00 AM:
TH, maybe it's the infusion down the line of slave blood that's keeping old crackers alive?
And that "post modern contrivance" of "Yes We Can" I would think you'd love, as Dems are supposed to be unAmerican traitors. The slogan was born out of the outmost patriotism...and how ironic indeed it is that it's the deranged right that now wants to kneecap this man, have him fail. Or maybe just a coup, as Chuck Norris babbled last week. Actually, not terribly ironic, as the same sorts of folk from primitive or feudal Red States back in 1861 decided to make war against the American flag because, like spoiled children, they couldn;t hog the sandbox far out of line with their meager population. And then there're those darn slaves again.
It was John Tyler's sons this time, who were the traitors. Can't speak for the rest of the progeny.
By the way, get with the times. "Yes We Can's" passe. It's now "Yes, We Did! (as you, in person, saw millions chant on 1/20) and "Yes, We Will."
Cheers. ;-)
By , at
Fri Mar 13, 10:53:00 AM:
Just how did a blurb on longevity launch a discussion on race? This guy's like Freud and sex.
By , at
Fri Mar 13, 12:14:00 PM:
This is an amazing story. These guys are younger than my grandparents, but their grandfather was born at the same time as my grandparents' great-great grandparents.
By the way, before I heard of Obama, I heard "Yes, we can" constantly from my son's favorite kid's show, "Bob the Builder".
The current usage is hardly new.
By , at
Fri Mar 13, 12:43:00 PM:
Southern Roots,
As you probably know, the Democrats are projecting their racism when they complain about Republicans having that trait. My father was from New Orleans and he left the Democratic party decades ago because of it's support for Jim Crow segregation.
As for Civil Wars, those tend to be be started in this country by Democrats.
Getting back to Tyler's grandsons. It is amazing to think how close in history we are to the time of our Revolution. My grandfather's generation served in WWI, and their grandfathers could have been Revolutionary war veterans, or maybe the War of 1812.
By , at
Fri Mar 13, 01:28:00 PM:
My father-in-law was a medical doctor in England before, during and after D-Day.
His grandfather was in the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg, etc.
The grandfather of the Civil War vet was at Valley Forge!
So for my son, he had a grandfather, G-G-grandfather, and G-G-G-G-grandfather present at three of the more significant events in our country's history.
By , at
Fri Mar 13, 02:45:00 PM:
One of my grandfathers was born in 1800 which technically was in the Eighteenth Century.
And my father was born in 1875. That seems suspicious. But I look very similar to grandfather in pictures I inherited. So I think the suspicion is unfounded.
I am 74.
Old Confederate soldiers often took young wives shortly before death. It was a way to keep the tiny pensions coming. Most people in the South were very poor before WW2.
In ye olden times a prosperous older man often outlived his first wife. Or several wives. (Today the wife usually outlives the husband.)
So those old men took a young bride. And with no effective contraception available, sired a few more children.
By , at
Fri Mar 13, 06:19:00 PM:
In the absence of DNA testing, one can only guess how many old fathers had an 'assistant'.
