There’s a cool thing about genealogy. Even when you have an ancestor who you discovered early on, you can still learn something new about them. Such is the case with Peter Kingery, my 4th-great-grandfather.
The theme for 52 Ancestors this week is “Live Long,” which made me curious about the oldest ancestor in my line, something I hadn’t explored before. Of those with birth and death dates that I’ve documented, it’s Peter Kingery. He died 16 May 1872 in Lawrence County, Ohio. So how old was ol’ Pete when he died?
Peter Kingery death record, Lawrence County, Ohio death record, volume 1. Viewed on FamilySearch.org.
102 years, 2 months, 1 day.
Consider that for a moment. Peter Kingery was born before the American Revolution and died after the Civil War. Think of all of the history he saw, the history that he lived through.
His death notice in the Ironton Register described him as “…doubtless, the oldest person in the county.” And with that age came a lot of history.
Fascinating to consider all the history centenarians live through. Oh the questions I’d like to ask.
I have a number of relatives that lived long lives (though the centenarians all married into the family and are not my ancestors, per se). The one thing I’ve always wondered is how much of the history-in-the-making were they even aware of? Just as one example, my great-aunt was 17 when the Wright brothers made their historic flight. Since she lived in what then was a hick town supporting the local coal mines, how long did it take her to learn that a workable airplane existed?
Thanks, Amy! Never knew this about our family history and I’m so glad I stopped in here to find this out. Fascinating to ponder what Grandpa Peter lived through that we only read about in history books. Wow. Your research is amazing…