Saturday, January 21, 2017

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: How Many Presidents?

Well, I suppose Randy Seaver has found a timely topic for this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, but my list will have some asterisks.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music) is:

1)  Which U.S. presidents have held the office in your lifetime?  Your parents' lifetimes?  Your grandparents' lifetimes?  How many generations do you need to cover all of them?

2)  A list of the U.S. presidents is at http://www.presidentsusa.net/presvplist.html to help you out.

3)  Put the answers in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or in a Facebook or Google+ post.

Here are my lists.

My life, 1962–present:  11 presidents

#35 John F. Kennedy
#36 Lyndon B. Johnson
#37 Richard M. Nixon
#38 Gerald R. Ford
#39 James E. Carter
#40 Ronald Reagan
#41 George H. W. Bush
#42 William J. Clinton
#43 George W. Bush*
#44 Barack H. Obama
#45 Donald J. Trump*

*lost the popular vote; not my president

My father, Bertram Lynn Sellers' life, 1935–present:  14 presidents

#32 Franklin D. Roosevelt
#33 Harry Truman
#34 Dwight D. Eisenhower
#35 John F. Kennedy
#36 Lyndon B. Johnson
#37 Richard M. Nixon
#38 Gerald R. Ford
#39 James E. Carter
#40 Ronald Reagan
#41 George H. W. Bush
#42 William J. Clinton
#43 George W. Bush
#44 Barack H. Obama
#45 Donald J. Trump

My mother, Myra Roslyn (Meckler) Sellers Preuss' life, 1940–1995:  11 presidents

#32 Franklin D. Roosevelt
#33 Harry Truman
#34 Dwight D. Eisenhower
#35 John F. Kennedy
#36 Lyndon B. Johnson
#37 Richard M. Nixon
#38 Gerald R. Ford
#39 James E. Carter
#40 Ronald Reagan
#41 George H. W. Bush
#42 William J. Clinton

My mother did not have to suffer through either asterisk.

My paternal grandmother Anna (Gauntt) Stradling's life, 1893–1986:  18 presidents

#23 Benjamin Harrison
#24 Grover Cleveland
#25 William McKinley
#26 Theodore Roosevelt
#27 William H. Taft
#28 Woodrow W. Wilson
#29 Warren G. Harding
#30 Calvin Coolidge
#31 Herbert Hoover
#32 Franklin D. Roosevelt
#33 Harry Truman
#34 Dwight D. Eisenhower
#35 John F. Kennedy
#36 Lyndon B. Johnson
#37 Richard M. Nixon
#38 Gerald R. Ford
#39 James E. Carter
#40 Ronald Reagan

My paternal great-grandfather Thomas Kirkland Gauntt's life, 1870–1951:  15 presidents

#18 Ulysses S. Grant
#19 Rutherford B. Hayes
#20 James A. Garfield
#21 Chester Arthur
#22 Grover Cleveland
#23 Benjamin Harrison
#24 Grover Cleveland
#25 William McKinley
#26 Theodore Roosevelt
#27 William H. Taft
#28 Woodrow W. Wilson
#29 Warren G. Harding
#30 Calvin Coolidge
#31 Herbert Hoover
#32 Franklin D. Roosevelt
#33 Harry Truman

(16 presidencies, but only 15 presidents, because Grover Cleveland was the same person in his nonconsecutive terms)

I had to follow my father's lines, as none of my mother's ancestors was in this country prior to 1903.  In going back four generations to my oldest known great-grandparent, I can cover 28 presidencies.

I can just barely cover all 45 presidencies by going back to my 3x-great-grandfather Hananiah Selah Gaunt, who lived from 1795 to 1852.  I didn't realize until today that this 3x-great-grandfather was born three years before my 4x-great-grandfather Joel Armstrong.

My grandmother lived through the most presidencies, but then again, she was 93 when she died.

2 comments:

  1. Love what you said on "not my president". This is a blog meme that I would love to get on top of as I am a younger genealogist and I would love to see how it differs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you enjoyed my editorial comment. I wanted to participate in the meme but I just can't claim either one. So I figured out a way to disavow them. :)

      Delete

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