On Wed, 31 Jul 2013 08:30:09 -0400, knuttle <keith_nuttle@sbcglobal.net> wrote: >On 7/31/2013 7:23 AM, Chris Dickinson wrote: >> The discussion about generations reminds me of a family, Mirehouse of Miresyke in Loweswater in Cumberland, who had a cluster of long living males. >> >> >> John Mirehouse of Miresyke, senior, was buried in 1771 at the age of 92 (according to the parish register) >> His eldest son, John, was buried in 1807, aged 101 (ditto - consistent with the parish register baptism) >> His eldest son, John, was buried in 1818, aged 76 (tombstone - consistent with the parish register baptism); and second son Joseph was buried in 1828, aged 88 (ditto) >> >> >> Furthermore, the first John's brother-in-law died in 1780, aged 99, and supposedly had a daughter from a third wife in 1765 [she remained a spinster, so I imagine the community thought her fathered by someone else] >> >> Anyone else with a family like this? >> >> >> Chris >> > >One of the interesting facts I have observed from my families is that >while the average age of death has changed over the decades, the change >is caused by the reduction in infant and child birth deaths. > >This is obvious by the fact the age of death curve is tri modal. One >mode is centered at about 10, one mode is in the late twenties, and the >last in the early eighties > > From the data it appears that the biological life span has not changed, >what has changed is the life spans affected by disease and such. > >I have 100 year olds born in the 1700's and in the 1900's This "end >point" appears not to have changed with modern medicine and health care >practices. > Increasing numbers of ailments seem to have hereditary elements attributed to them so the families with a long line of long-livers are possibly also examples of where such bad traits are lacking. Leaving aside accidents and ailments probably due to external causes, most of the lines going back on my mother's side have people living into their 80s and 90s for the last couple of centuries. My father's side doesn't look so pretty with most dying in their 60s even in recent times.

The Mirehouse family were prosperous yeomen, living on an isolated farm in an area full of fresh water. They would have been well fed and free from water contamination. If they were fairly static in their habits, not visiting the local market town etc, then they may well have avoided a lot of the disease of nearby towns.     Chris