Long generations

There are 42 women still alive who claim a federal pension for their husbands' service in the Spanish-American War, which concluded in 1898. pic.twitter.com/xIWqhi5RXC

— Richard Johnson (@richardmarcj) April 13, 2017

A function of long generations and late remarriages.

My neighbor down the street (probably in his early sixties) had a grandfather who fought in the Civil War. His family has a history of late marriages and in that particular case, his grandfather remarried late in life to a much younger woman. Still, it sounds shocking to say that I know someone whose grandfather fought in the Civil War.

My mother, who is still going strong, was the caboose in her family. When she was little, her grandmother lived with them. That grandmother was born before the Civil War. My children today can talk to their grandmother who can tell them stories from her grandmother from some 150 years ago.

And indeed, here by my desk, is a picture of my grandfather, Holcomb Bibb Latting, circa 1918, on his honeymoon and in his uniform as he prepares to be shipped out to Europe. Nearly a century ago. Looong generations.