USA - a younger country than you think

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

A previous post noted our country is younger than it seems. Now over 235 years old I wonder if we can come up with examples of it being younger than it first appears. Those ARE a lot of years but generationally is where it seems younger.

Here is my example. Presently I am middle aged (the definition of "middle age" I redefine on a regular basis but I digress...) and have clear memories of my great-grandmother. She lived to be 94 years old and passed away when I was thirteen. She was born in 1878 (I have her driver's license) which was only thirteen years after Lincoln was assassinated.

 

[ouch]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta_Martin

 

[AlanL]

I was recently chatting with my mother-in-law, who is near 80 years old. She was reminiscing about her youth in her old neighborhood. She described one friendly old man she remembered from her block, always well-dressed, etc. Calculating how old she was, and using her guess of how old he was at that time, we figure there is a good chance he was born about the time of the Civil War.

 

[KodiakAttack]

My Grandmother was born in 1910, and passed away in 2010 a few months before her 100th birthday. I remember her telling me stories about the first time she saw a car in her town (she lived in a mining town called Ureka in Utah). Her father was a gold assayer during the gold rush, and many of his tools and documents can be found in the towns museum.
Living in this country we sort of get jaded by all the technology, the hustle and bustle, and the traffic. But we truly are a young country. Its amazing to see how much we have advanced in just a few generations.

 

[rajagra]

It could be argued that the USA as we know it didn't come into existence until the 20th Century, when efficient ways to extract oil and the production line turned it into a very different place and gave it a new role in the world. So there are probably people still alive who remember that rise to dominance.

 

[Manning]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta_Martin

Nothing reminds me of how young we are more than this. Seems so distant, but in reality, not so distant at all.

 

[DC_MPA]

I'm only 29 yrs old. I purposely sat with my great grandmother who told me about how she vividly remembers the Titanic sinking and what the day was like and how it was announced. When she was winding down her life, she told us that she was ready. When we asked what she meant she said she came to Oklahoma on covered wagon from California, watched men walk on the moon and seen the digital age and witnessed our nation be attacked for the first time on out mainland in 2001. She said nothing would happen in the next 10 years that would give her the awe of her 97 years on earth. It had been over a decade since she passed and I entirely agree, she hasn't missed a damn thing of valuable significance.

 

[mretzloff]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta_Martin

One of her husbands fathered a kid at the age of 82

 

[Legion]

One of her husbands fathered a kid at the age of 82

Well... she got pregnant and had a baby. All the other details of the case could be disputed.

 

[Legion]

I'm only 29 yrs old. I purposely sat with my great grandmother who told me about how she vividly remembers the Titanic sinking and what the day was like and how it was announced. When she was winding down her life, she told us that she was ready. When we asked what she meant she said she came to Oklahoma on covered wagon from California, watched men walk on the moon and seen the digital age and witnessed our nation be attacked for the first time on out mainland in 2001. She said nothing would happen in the next 10 years that would give her the awe of her 97 years on earth. It had been over a decade since she passed and I entirely agree, she hasn't missed a damn thing of valuable significance.

Gangnam style?

 

[DaveNJ74]

I was lucky enough to have known both my great grandmothers. I was young when they passed, maybe 11 or so. I met my father's great uncle (or great great uncle) who was 102 a few months before he died in 1992. He was born in Manhattan in 1890 and his parents came here in 1880.

 

[Edcculus]

I have a friend whose family house in England is in the neighborhood of 500 years old. From what I gather, it was one of Henry VII's homes. That makes his house older than our country.

He also said growing up in a 500 year old house isn't all its cracked up to be!

 

[Legion]

I own a razor or two that is older than my country.

 

[rxonmymind]

I'm only 29 yrs old. I purposely sat with my great grandmother who told me about how she vividly remembers the Titanic sinking and what the day was like and how it was announced. When she was winding down her life, she told us that she was ready. When we asked what she meant she said she came to Oklahoma on covered wagon from California, watched men walk on the moon and seen the digital age and witnessed our nation be attacked for the first time on out mainland in 2001. She said nothing would happen in the next 10 years that would give her the awe of her 97 years on earth. It had been over a decade since she passed and I entirely agree, she hasn't missed a damn thing of valuable significance.

In general I agree that our grandparents generation saw the birth of so many first that it'll be hard to replicate. With so many patent lawyers, tort lawyers, and barons of today only making paper wealth that little is to be had that's solid and lasting for the next generation.
It's easy to get jaded so on a more positive note, a human breaking the sound barrier will stay with me. That was awesome.

 

[boogieman_]

I went with my sister to look at a house she was thinking about buying. The property had a cedar tree that was planted on the day Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. It wasn't that big for how long ago it seems in my mind.

 

[the_edski]

My grandmother was born on November 11, 1904. She passed away in 2003. She always joked that she was so old that her birthday wasn't a holiday when she was born!

 

[rickboone1]

My grandmother was born on November 11, 1904. She passed away in 2003. She always joked that she was so old that her birthday wasn't a holiday when she was born!

Reminds me of my great-grandmother. She was born like 1902 or 03?? Died about the same time... No, wait...math wouldn't be right...that'd make her over 100. Maybe she died in like 01. Yes, I think she did. Anyway, we didn't really know how old she was, never had a birth certificate. Lady loved life and loved company. I would really enjoy her stories of going to church or to town in a horse and buggy. At lot happened in our country in a very short time.

 

[JoshuaNY]

I have nothing of significance to add, just thought this is a very interesting concept. I am enjoying reading everyone's comments

 

[Lion and the Fox]

I agree, generationally 235 years old is not that long a time. The birth of our nation only marks the beginning of another chapter in the history of the Americas.

 

[garyg]

Good thread, two great grandmothers are good memories - both born during or shortly after the War Between the States, both lived until the 1960's, we all had the same birthday!