how many of us knew our great grandparents?

[Nimbostratus100]

following on from @waggytailswetnoses thread, which piqued my interest, but turned out to be sadly disappointing, here is the thread I was hoping for! Did you know your great grandparents? Or further back? WHat were they like?

I have seen photos of me with them, but I was way too young to remember.

One great grandmother. I’m mid 40’s though and I’ve still got both my grandparents on my mums side which I guess is unusual.

Yes one, my dad's grandmother. She died when I was about 10 but I have very clear memories of her.

I didn't unfortunately, but my DDs got to know their great grandmother before she died when they were 5 and 2.

I was close with one great grandmother. She lived until i was 16. We shared a birthday. We didn't have anything in common but there was a lot of patience and love between us. I met another set of great grandparents but didn't see them often, i don't recall them in any meaningful way. One set i never met but they may have been alive when I was young, and the other set died before i was born, which was fortunate as he was truly a horrible, despicable thing and she was long suffering. I don't know their DOBs, but my grandparents were all born in the lale 20's ... two of my grandparents were 1st children, so that would make those great grandparents births around 1900, so the other two would be older/earlier then that. It's interesting to think about!

Me. I knew all of them. They were lovely and influential in my life

I met my Great Grandmother a couple of times before she died when I was about 9. She lived 250 miles away and we didn't have a car and couldn't afford train journeys and hotels so visits were rare. She was a tiny woman who smoked like a chimney and was quite a cold and disinterested. She lived an interesting life in several different countries but never spoke of it. There is strong evidence to suggest she was a bigamist.

My DD's (tween and teen) have a close relationship with their GGM and see her often.

I met my great-great-grandma, as well as 5 great-grandparents, 3 of whom were still alive when I went to uni. The last died when I was mid 20s.

They were all lovely, formidable people with so many tales.

I'm late 30s now with 3 grandparents still doing well. I am very lucky

I didn't know my great-grandparents but I did meet my grandfather's aunt. She was very old by then and in a nursing home but I remember her as very sweet and kind and there's a lovely photo of all of us, 4 generations.

I remember my great grandfather. We used to go round to my great aunts every Sunday and he lived with her. I think I was about 10 when he died. He lost a foot in WW1 where he stepped in a mine, and he couldn't walk.

My children met their great grandma on my side, though I doubt they'd remember her, they were so young when she died. My mum (her daughter) and my grandad (her husband) died before I had kids.

My DHs great grandma died only recently, so he's had his great grandma into adulthood, and our kids have known her too, so they've met their great great grandma. They also still have a great grandma on DHs who is in pretty good health.

I knew my maternal Great Grandma
She emigrated to California before I was born but visited every summer bringing wonderful American clothes and toys with her. This was during the 70s and 80s.

The story goes, when she left she was a typical dowdy Scottish granny but when she returned on her first visit home she had somehow acquired a bust, high heels and a "hairdo" and was very glamorous 😂

She was a terrible stirrer. Loved a conspiracy and had a really kind heart

I thought she was amazing

My DD knew her maternal gran until she was 13. She lived pretty close to us all my life and was a pretty great person too.

My daughter met my great-uncle, the last of my granny's siblings, he was a lovely man. Sadly she just missed my husband's grandfather who died less than a year before she was born.

I can only remember one of my maternal great grandmothers, she was born in 1870 and died in 1954 when I was 10. She lived at my grandmother's and I remember her as an old lady sitting in front of the fire and constantly knitting socks, everyone got a pair of her famous socks, my grandmother said she never used a pattern and could turn a heel as easy as pie. She had worked as a cook before her marriage, at the age of 20 she was employed in a private house cooking for a family of 7.
I can vaguely remember two of my great grandfathers who both died when I was a very young child, both memories are of old men sitting on chairs.
My other great grandparents died before I was born.I have a photo of my other maternal great grandmother sitting on a chair wearing a long black dress with a lovely smile on her face. One of my own granddaughters looks very much like her.
I am now a great grandmother myself so I hope my great grandchildren will have happy memories of Mme.

Her maternal GREAT gran that is.

It's just struck me that I knew someone (my ggf) who fought in the First World War, over 100 years ago! That's a bit freaky and must mean I'm also quite old!

I knew my great grandma very well, she lived until I was about 11 I think. My dad was very close to her and the favourite of her grandchildren. She was incredibly active, always on the go, running errands and popping in and out. A tiny, bright woman, always immaculate in dress and hair, with a brooch and a hat, and shiny shoes!

She was an ARP warden during WW2 and went out during the Clydebank blitz whilst my gran, her daughter, stayed at home to look after grandma's husband who suffered from shell shock - he had been gassed during WW1 and never recovered from his horrendous experiences in the trenches, poor man. He died young, before the war ended.

She was also a great, great grandma! Her son emigrated to Australia in the 50s and had a large family and she had great, great children in Perth, Aus.

I inherited her jewellery box, and it contains a tiny thumb-sized photograph of some Victorian ladies, who were her mother and aunts I think. She told me their names once but I only remember one - Sadie. The mirrors have fogged over and fallen out, but the ballerina still turns and plays music - I've thought about approaching "The Repair Shed" to get it fixed up.

You've brought back some lovely memories with this thread, thanks OP!

I don’t think most children nowadays have great grandparents. Most of them are lucky if they have grandparents, as people have kids so late in life now. I don’t think it’s a good thing. Luckily I’m still of a generation who met their great grandparents.

The last of my great grandparents died when I was 2. She did spend time with me, I'm told, and it makes me happy to know that.
I'm researching my family history now and have some photos of her. I've loved discovering her story; her grandfather was landed gentry and her grandmother was his mistress.
I've visited the graves of 3 other great grandparents and I hope I can find the rest of them, too, one day.

i only knew one of mine, my great grandmother, which was my dads Nan, she was Anglo Indian, a very lovely woman but very religious, she was catholic. Despite the rest of us not being religious. We saw her a few times a year, she always used to sneak a fiver into a chocolate bar and give us one everytime. Back then a fiver was a lot. She died when I was about 14/15. She lived with one of my dads aunts who I’m still convinced to this day was a nun...

I remember my great grandmother quite well although I can only have met her a handful of times (lived abroad), she died when I was about 10. No other great grandparents were still alive when I was born.
I’m 38 and 7 months ago still had 6 grandparents (paternal set divorced and remarried), 2 of them have since died. So my children (eldest is 18) still have 4 great grandparents and 3 grandparents.

Only my great grandma was still living when I was born. She died aged 96 when I was 6. I have a few memories of her but obviously she was quite old and frail and was a typical little old granny who sat in her chair but always had a big smile for her great grandchildren when we visited.

My children also had only one great grandparent living when they were born. Their great grandfather died when they were a baby and toddler, so neither remember him.

My GGM was born in 1901. She died in 1985.

She was so loving and fun. We didn't get to see her often but I remember her with so much love. She died when I was 14.

We didn't find out about her history until family tree research revealed quite heartbreaking information about her being conceived in a work house to a teenage mother. We can only imagine how that happened as males and females were segregated...

She was just an amazing woman.

It's just struck me that I knew someone (my ggf) who fought in the First World War, over 100 years ago! That's a bit freaky and must mean I'm also quite old!
Well I'm getting slightly freaked out by people saying that their GGFs fought in WW2 as that's my Dad's generation. He and my uncles all served in WW2 and my grandfathers and great uncles in WW1. I'm past my first flush of youth it's true, but I'm still in my 50s and have teenage children so I don't think I am completely decrepit yet. Or at least I didn't. But my great grandparents were born in the 1850s/60s.

I had a great grandfather until I was almost 30. Ds1 had 2 great grandmothers when he was born.

I'm not 60 yet but my great grandparents died 1891 (farm accident) 1903 (suicide on the railway) 1923, 1929 1935 1942 1944 & 1947.

I've done a lot of family history!

I only knew one of my grandparents and she died when I was 16.