who is the person that was born the longest ago that you have met?

[ivykaty44]

So my great grandmother was born in 1878 and I can remember visiting her at her home, she later for a few months went into a nursing home

so not the oldest, but the person born the longest ago so 144 years ago for me

My grandad was born in 1907. And I met a great aunt once who was older than him but not sure when she was born.
My great grandparents were born in the 1860s which blows my mind!!

Probably my granny. She was born in 1884. If I live as long as she did, three generations will have spanned 164 years.

@Onionpatch

I think i can only go back to 1901, but something that always interested me was my granny telling me about her great aunt who went to america during the potato famine, who she then met up with when she was young and the great aunt was old and granny told me the stories her great aunt told her. I realised you can cross long periods of history with just two conversations. The one granny had with her aunt and the one she had with me.

You’re so right. My mum tells stories about her Grandad, so my great grandfather, and they’re just the sort of stories I’d tell my own children about my grandad. Silly jokes and going to the park. He used to pick her up from primary school on a Friday afternoon and on the way home he’d nip into the pub and leave her outside with a bottle of fizzy pop and a packet of crisps. If she needed a wee she’s say to whoever was going in “please tell grandad I need a wee!” And they’d go in and shout “Grandad she needs the privvy!” 😂 makes me laugh.

He was born in 1901 so 121 years ago.

This is a photograph of my great grandmother on her wedding day, I’ve circled her in red. The lady on the left between the two men (her sons) is her new MIL and born 1840

So many interesting stories on here, thank you for sharing

Probably my grandpa, born 1897. He fought in the trenches in WW1.

He died when I was about 20 so I was old enough to appreciate what he'd lived through.

Good question. My grandad was born in 1897 and fought in WW1. He was at my wedding, so I remember him well as an adult. As a child, I do not remember him telling me about the trenches - but I do remember him telling me all about his Dad and how he fought in the Crimean War, in 1856. I think we must have been doing Florence nightingale at primary school and how fascinated I was by tales of Sebastopol and how hard the conditions were. Great grandad was a drummer boy of 15 I think at the time. My own grandad was the youngest of 13 and his eldest brother was 27 years older than him.

This seems amazing now in 2021.

My Great Grandma was born in 1912. Given that I was born in the early 1980s, it's fairly recent and I wasn't close to any Victorians. My Great, Great Grandparent's generation were born 1880s and had died prior to my birth, and didn't know any people significantly older growing up. I knew some people in their early 90s around the millenium, but that would put them to around the same age.

A relative born in 1900. I was born in the late 80s and it only really stuck me when studying the Victorians at school. She lived to 100

My Grandma was born in 1891and died when I was about 8 or 9, 1975ish, the only Grandparent still alive when I was born in 1966.

A Russian family friend born in 1899. I "interviewed" her for a school project to find first hand history. She watched the reds climb over the wall in Moscow then fled across Europe with the jewels in a big hat with fake fruit on it!

When I was 7ish I visited my great grand auntie who was 101. She must have been born around 1874. The visit was quite boring for a 7 year old unfortunately.

John Tyler the American president born in 1790 has a grandson who is still alive today. Obviously they never met, but like a pp mentioned it's fascinating how much history can be spanned in so few generations.

@BogRollBOGOF

My Great Grandma was born in 1912. Given that I was born in the early 1980s, it's fairly recent and I wasn't close to any Victorians. My Great, Great Grandparent's generation were born 1880s and had died prior to my birth, and didn't know any people significantly older growing up. I knew some people in their early 90s around the millenium, but that would put them to around the same age.

That blows my mind. My dad was born in 1916.

I was born in the late 70s and all my grandparents were born around 1895ish.

My paternal granny was born in 1897 and I certainly met her.

@FrecklesMalone

A Russian family friend born in 1899. I "interviewed" her for a school project to find first hand history. She watched the reds climb over the wall in Moscow then fled across Europe with the jewels in a big hat with fake fruit on it!

Fascinating!

Hope you got an A for that.

1898 - my great-aunt. My great-grandfather, whom I never met, as he died 25 years before I was born, is still within living memory of a distant relative in their late 80s - he was born in 1867.

Not the question asked but a fascinating fact about a friend of mine, born in the late 1950s. Her father was in the Great War and had her in his 60s. For most people of her age it was their grandparents who fought in WWI, so sometimes the generations get skewed. One generation from WWI at her age is remarkable in my experience in the UK and she said it is too in her country. Anyone else out there with such a close connection to that generation? I’ll have to ask her the original question and see what she comes back with - if her grandparents were long-lived it will be interesting to find out!

My grandparents were born in 1895 and 1898, so them I think.

A lady born in 1860. She was my maternal gt-grandmother. I was born when she was in her late 90s. I haven't got a lot of memories of her as she died when I was 6 months old, but I did meet her, and have a photograph to prove it!

My great gran was born in 1896. She lived to almost 100 but I only I met her a few times as a young child.

@Frozenlikeablockofmarble so thinking about your question... I was born early 70s. My grandparents were WW2 generation... but...my great uncle who was my grandads older brother was in the Great War. I had his army belt for many years in my teens/twenties. I have vague memories of him. His wife lived a lot longer and was part of my childhood. I used his belt as a normal belt. Wish I'd kept it. It was just a leather one that my dad had acquired when he died. Which was early 1980s. He was at the end of the Great War so was born sometime before 1900. No idea where and haven't heard any stories unfortunately.
I hadn't even put that all together in my mind before!

1900 that I remember

But there’s a picture of me as a baby with my great grandmother, who nursed soldiers from the Crimea war, and old veterans from the Napoleonic wars.

I find it extraordinary I sat on the lap of a woman who looked after men who were soldiers in Jane Austen’s England. (I am still in my 40s!)

One of my earliest memories (about 4 years old) the late 70s I remember visiting a family friend on her 100th birthday so she was obviously born sometime in the 1870s

1891 - my great-grandmother whom I have active memories of.

My grandparents were born in 1915 on one side and 1912/1914 on the other. I don't even think of that as being particularly far back!