Sunday, February 5, 2023

215 Years of Family History

Yesterday, I discovered a family history which my mother left behind, without announcement. My great-grandfather Charles was born in England in 1808. At 70 years of age, Charles' wife Ann gave birth to her only son, my grandfather Edward. At 49 years of age, Edward’s wife Barbara gave birth to her only son, my father Charles. At 33 years of age, Charles’ wife Dorothea gave birth to me, Thomas. OBSERVATION: Unusually, therefore, my great-grandfather was born 215 years ago. My great-great grandfather was not a Scarborough. My mother’s history records that he was paid a fortune to change his name: about R20 million.

CORRECTION: My reference to "great-great grandfather" should in fact read (to simplify) my grandfather's grandfather.

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