I Am A 19th Century Refugee - Part 1
What the heck does that even mean? (It's complicated)
About six months ago (yes, it has taken me this long), Martin Geddes triggered my inner 19th Century Refugee with this observation:
“I have had the opportunity to visit a fair number of towns and cities in England this last year. At one level it has been a process of acceptance of the decline of a nation and its people…As has been noted by so many, modern buildings have two base styles: bland mediocrity made of glass and concrete, or active ugliness through jarring forms and colours. Young girls are dressed-up by parents in clothing traditionally associated with prostitutes…”
Those mental images hit me like a ton of cobblestones.
My first thought was that my parents would totally agree with Martin’s observations. Yet they passed away years ago, and here I am still.
So just what do I mean when I say I identify as a 19th Century Refugee?
Let’s start by YOU answering a question. Between what years were your four grandparents born? (Approximation is fine.)
OK. Ready?
My grandparents were born into west-central European families, between 1869 and 1877. Their families paid for their own overland/steamship fare to New York City ~1890 (25 years after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, so no ‘reparations’ here — a topic for another day). They met and started their own 19th Century Families in New England. They were working class heroes, and all four of them died before I was born.
My parents were the youngest of those large (six and eight sibling) 19th Century Families, each born ~1919. Mom passed away in 1999, and was thus spared the trauma of 9/11. Dad passed away in 2005, and was thus spared the ‘trauma of Obama’ and his 2009 Billion Bankster Bailout.
Some family facts
My great-grandparents’ birth years range from 1839 to 1853.
Both my grandmothers were born in 1877.
Both my parents had an eldest sibling born ~1899.
Both my parents were born ~1919, when my grandmothers were each ~42 years old.
My paternal great-grandfather died in 1876 at 37, leaving behind a 34 year old widow with a nine year old son (my grandfather) and a four year old daughter (my great aunt).
My paternal grandfather died in 1921 at 54, leaving behind a 44 year old widow with six children ages 2 - 19, all still living at home.
My maternal grandfather died in 1934 at 63, leaving behind a 57 year old widow with eight children ages 14 - 36, five still living at home.
Out Of Time
This heading does not mean to suggest an exipration, nor a lack of sufficient time in furtherance of an end.
I was born when my parents were ~45 years old, just as they each were. This suggests that I am at least one if not two generations behind evolution; if I had been born when my parents’ peers birthed their first-borns, I would (hopefully) now be 82, part of the Silent Generation.1 Thus, I am 'out of time' by being ~23 years late to the party.
Discovery and awareness of this fact has gifted me a unique perspective on current 21st century events, in that my 19th Century role models were not contaminated by obsessive popular culture. To them, entertainment was just a distraction…a diversion…from day-to-day IRL difficulties.
My parents’ lives were a living testament to a time gone by, yet they lived their lives as if they were still in those times. And therefore so was I.
The observations of my childhood are of the end of a cycle.
It has taken me a lifetime to appreciate all this. I’m having fun sharing it.
Me
I was born in 1964, the youngest by 15 years of 21 cousins, on the cusp of Boomer and Generation X. I am the only one of my generation born after the public execution of U.S. President John F. Kennedy (my dad’s hero).2
My Generation - maternal cousins
Oldest born in 1922, 42 years before me, only two years younger than my mom
Closest born in 1949, 15 years before me
Of 15 maternal cousins, only the three youngest are Boomers
My Generation - paternal cousins
Oldest born in 1934, 30 years before me, only 15 years younger than my dad
Closest born in 1948, 16 years before me
Of 7 paternal cousins, only the two youngest are Boomers
17 of 21, or 81% of my cousins were ‘pre-boomers’ — the Silent Generation (the eldest 4 technically Greatest Generation)
Parents’ Generation - maternal siblings
Oldest born in 1898, 66 years before me
Youngest born in 1920 - my mom
2 died in childhood
Of 7 surviving siblings, 5 were born before World War 1
My mother had a niece who was just two years younger than her, the daughter of her oldest sister
Parents’ Generation - paternal siblings
Oldest born in 1900, 64 years before me
Youngest born in 1919 - my dad
1 died in childhood
Of 6 surviving siblings, 5 were born before World War 1
10 of 13, or 77% of my aunts and uncles were born before World War I — the Greatest Generation (the eldest 2 technically Lost Generation)
My parents were ages 9 to 22 during the Great Depression, and both served during World War 2, dad in the USCG and mom at a USN CB base. (They met ~15 years later.)
Grandparents - maternal
Grandfather: born 1871 in Austria - first child at 27 - died 1934 @ 63, when my mom was 14. 30 years before I was born.
Grandmother: born 1877 in Germany - first child at 21 - died 1942 @ 65, when my mom was 22. 22 years before I was born.
Grandparents - paternal
Grandfather: born 1867 in U.S. - first child at 33 - died 1921 @ 54, when my dad was 2. 43 years before I was born.
Grandmother: born 1877 in U.S. - first child at 23 - died @ 87 the year I was born.
All four grandparents born before 1883 — pre-Lost Generation
Great Grandparents
Birth years ranging from 1839 to 1853
Death years ranging from 1876 to 1928
Yeah, that’s a lot of data. It’s taken five years to compile and sort. The geneology digs are a dead end, unfortunately. Maybe I’ll do a stack about that…I’ve got a slideshow…
To close out Part 1 of this series, here’s a link to an article about a man who was born in 1925 — just six years after my dad, who would’ve turned 104 back on Feb. 9. Reading that article was the push I needed to finish this stack.
The Greatest Generation, indeed.
“I try to treat everybody fairly,” said Schallock, who then revealed a glimpse of the philosophy that has kept him around for so long:
“I never get mad or upset over anything. It’s not worth it.”
Reminds me of one of my personal mantras: Don’t Take The Bait.
Until next time, stay Skeptical.
Definitions:
Lost Generation - born between 1883 and 1900
Greatest Generation - born between 1901 and 1927
Silent Generation - born between 1928 and 1945
When he saw what LBJ was up to, he voted Republican thereafter.