How Many Grandparents Did Your Grandparents Likely Know?

“How many grandparents did your grandparents likely know?” That’s a question my friend Jen at “The JenGenX Files” recently asked in a post called A Grand Idea. Fascinated, I decided to look at my grandparents, too.

MY PATERNAL GRANDFATHER

Ed, my paternal grandfather, was born in 1910 in Pennsylvania. He likely knew all four of his grandparents since they also lived in Pennsylvania. All four grandparents died between 1920, when he was about 10, and 1929, when he was about 19. That sounds like a difficult time for such a young man.

MY PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER

Hazel, my paternal grandmother, was born in 1910 in Oklahoma. As her family had done since the 1860s, she lived most of her life in Kansas. Her dad’s mom had died more than twenty years early. Her dad’s dad sadly died only about two months before her birth.

On the other side, her mom’s mom died when Hazel was about four years old. But her mom’s dad was a big part of Hazel’s life and died when Hazel was about twenty-four.

MY MATERNAL GRANDFATHER

Sherman, my maternal grandfather, was born in 1907 in Denver though his family lived in Detroit. (Perhaps his father had a temporary job there?) Two of his grandparents died before he was born, and another died when he was only a couple of months old. His paternal grandmother, however, lived until my Sherman was about thirty years old and they both lived in Detroit. She is the only grandparent my grandfather would have known.

MY MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER (1)

Evelyn, my maternal grandmother, was born in 1915 in Tennessee. Both of her dad’s parents and her mom’s father died before Evelyn was born. Her mother died when Evelyn was about six months oldy, so she was raised by her maternal grandmother, Sallie, who lived to be ninety-nine years old.