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September 23, 2015

Do You Have the Long-Life Gene in Your Family?

103 year old Uncle Walter born 1912 (seated)
Yesterday was National Centenarian's Day and I'm sorry I missed it! Do you have anyone in your family, now or in the past, who lived to be 100? My Uncle Wally (my grandfather's brother) turned 103 this past summer.  Imagine living that long. If only I could chat with him about the past, about his parents, his grandparents, his brother (my grandfather). But sadly he's quite deaf and communication is challenging at best.

Do you have anyone in your family who lived to 100 years of age? What about into their 90s? My mother's sister turned 92 this year.

I have many women in my family who lived to 90+ - my mother was 93 when she died, her mother was 90, her grandmother (my great-grandmother) was 3 months away from turning 90. My 3rd great-grandmother was 90, and there are more. It seems to be mostly the women in my family and only on my mother's side, who lived to 90+

Interestingly enough when I had my DNA tested I found out that we females in my maternal line have what scientists refer to as the "long-life" gene. If you haven't tested your DNA yet, why wait? If you live in Canada, you can order a DNA kit from Ancestry DNA in Canada and if you are in USA, use this one Free Shipping on Ancestry DNA Kit w Code: FREESHIPDNA
Walter Fuller age 4

Who are your longest-living relatives? Did they live that long because of healthy diet, exercise or could it be the long-life gene at work....

Credits: 

Photograph of Walter and Harold Fuller taken ca 1914 in Ramsgate, Kent England. Owned by L. McGinnis Schulze. Note that toddlers who were not toilet trained were dressed in skirts and dresses regardless of gender. It made changing diapers easier. The way to tell if a child is a boy or girl is to look at their hair. Parted in the middle is a girl, parted on the side is a boy.

Photo of Walter Fuller age 4 taken ca 1916 in Ramsgate.  Owned by L. McGinnis Schulze.

3 comments:

katchie said...

I had a grandmother that died at 106 and 10 months, she had two sisters that lived to 107 and 102. On the other side my grandmother lived to 102 and she had a sister who passed 100. This grandmother credited her long life to a grandfather who lived to 97.

Carol said...

I've found many of my ancestors, on both sides, who lived into their 90s, but I think my Dad wins the prize. He turned 100 in April 2015. He walks with a cane, is pretty blind (macular degeneration), and has a mind that is as sharp as a tack, although he forgets details sometimes. He exercises by walking 2-3 times a day, weather permitting. Relatively speaking, he's probably in better condition than I am. I know he has a better memory than I do!

Heather said...

On my paternal side, I had two great-aunts, sisters, who lived to 104 and 100. My father just turned 93 in August and is going strong and I have always attributed this to his walking ... he has always been a daily walker. Through family research, I believe they get this longevity gene through their Hubbard ancestors, many who lived long lives, well into their 80s, and this is going back almost 300 years. Our Thomas Hubbard, who was born in 1736, died in 1822 - 86 years old.