52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.  Week # 29 theme is Fun Facts. 

While life span is not necessarily "fun" unless you are still enjoying your own life... I've been calculating the life spans of my ancestors. My hubby does NOT think these are "fun" facts as we are nearing the years mentioned below.  Here are a few facts I've gleaned.

Using my parents and grand parents... Average life span 85 years.  Females - 84 years, Males - 86 years.

Using my parents, grand parents and great grand parents... Average life span 81.5 years.  Females - 87 years, Males - 76 years. Seeing a big drop here for males.

Using my parents, grand parents, great grand parents, and 2 Great grand parents... Average life span 71.5 years.  Females - 74 years, Males 68.8 years. Ave. span has dropped by 10 years in every group.

In summary, people are living longer in recent generations, probably because of medical care availability. Among Great Grandparents, one Gt Grandfather was a Union soldier who came home with some lung problems, dying at age 51.  A couple of other males died in their 60s, one of sudden heart attack. So they brought down the male average for that group.

In the group including the 2GT grands, there was a young couple who died at ages 20 and 17.  The young man brought home an illness from the Civil War and passed it to his young wife. These and a couple of women who died in their 40s made a difference in the averages for that group.

I am thankful that I know enough about each of their lives that they are not just statistics, but loved ones that I can keep  in memory.