52 Ancestors Week 37 - Closest to Your Birthday

Question

AJC - My family has quite a few "shared" birthdays. My dad and his sister had the same birthday 3 years apart. (And there was a brother in between. Yes, my grandma had 3 children in exactly 3 years!) Which relative has the birthday closest to yours? Many genealogy programs will let you run a birthday or calendar report so you can identify who it is. (Mine is my 3rd-great-grandfather Abisha Danison, whose birthday is the day before mine.)

Comments

I hate my birthday! 100% of the worlds population die within 6 months of my birth date!

Answer 1

The person closest to my birthday is my grandmother Lily Burrow. Her birthday was in May - the same month as mine.

Comments

Just to make things interesting my husband and my son were both born in the month of May as well!!

Answer 2

August seems to be a popular month for birthdays among my cousins.  I have two cousins who are sisters - one born 8/8/59 and the other 8/28/63.  Another set of cousins, a brother born 8/5/43 and his sister born in 8/28/41.  One of my daughters was also born in August on the 22nd.  I was born on August 6th (won't say what year!).

Comments

Carolyn, just do what my 91 yr. old northern does: subtract 39 from the present year.

Answer 3

Hmmm, I have 2 possibilities to answer that.... One is to say who all was born in May (like me): Twins who are my first cousins once removed (7th), On 21st my oldest first cousin twice removed was born (son of one of the twins), five years later the girl of the other twin was born. On 23th another little first cousin twice removed was born. I am born on 28th. And those are only those who are my blood relations.

The other possibility is to say who is the relative who is the closest born to my own birth. 11 days after I was born, one of my first cousins gave birth to her second child, a boy. So he is the one who is really born the closest to me.

Answer 4

Oh this is so easy! April is birthday month

I was born at 2 am, missing my mother's birthday by a mere two hours.

Collectively we had on the 27th Uncle Fritz's birthday, Mom's birthday on the 28th, Uncle Fritz/Aunt Marian's wedding anniversary on the 29th, Aunt Fritzi's birthday on the 29th and my best friend's birthday on the 27th. Now we also have a grandson's birthday on the 25th and a son-in-law's birthday on the 27th.

In my husband's family his daughters (twins) were born the day before his sister's birthday.

Answer 5

Several ancestors are around my birthday in December like my great-grandmother, Maria. It'd take a while to name 'em all. A few have the same day as a date of birth or date of death. That's...either cosmic or a coincidence. You decide.

Answer 6

The only shared birthday I have is with my great-uncle Matthew David Underwood, who died when I was two yrs. old. I don’t remember him, but I have heard the most wonderful stories about him.

My mom says she “tried” to have me the day before so I would be born on her sister’s birthday. 

Answer 7

My paternal 3rd great grandfather and I share a birthday, 139 years apart.

Answer 8

I used Wikitree's own anniversary option to work out that the direct ancestor born closest to my birthday is Sarah Duncomb who was born on the 6th June 1797. Unfortunately I don't know much about her other than she died aged just 21 years and 9 months after having only two children, her youngest being about 5 or 6 months old. Her widower did wait 17 months before re-marrying.

Comments

Can you explain how to find this wikitree option, and how to use it? I didn't know it existed.

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Yes, if you go to your own watch list under your "My Wikitree" tab drop down menu, In Person profiles page you should have 9 tabs: Anniversaries is the 2nd one along after Activity

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Thank you! It worked!

Answer 9

How lucky. I have been finding to find an ancestor/ancestress with the same birthday as mine.... and have failed. Now one seems to be want to be born in September, let alone the 18th. And I don't mind saying how old I am. I'm celebrating my 75th birthday this year.

Judy

Answer 10

My birthday is Apr. 2, I have a cousin born Apr. 17, and one born Apr. 9. An aunt born Mar. 28 might be the closest. Do in-laws count? I share a birthday, 1 year apart, with my sister-in-law, and my mother-in-law's birthday is the next day.

I had some interesting birthday coincidences in my immediate family, meaning my mother, father, brother and I. My mother was born March 2; I was born April 2. My father was born Nov. 10; my brother Sept. 10. It made birthdays easy to remember.

Ah! I figured out this "anniversary" function (thanks to Michelle Wilkes). George Cowen, my great-great grandmother's brother (3-greats uncle) was born on my birthday, or rather I was born on his.

Answer 11

https://www.wikitree.com/photo.php/6/6a/Palmer-16156.jpg

My son Michael was born on November 27th, the same day as his paternal grandmother's (Mildred E Palmer McGowan) birthday. This happens often, but in the little town of Manteno, Illinois it was a reason for celebration.

Why - you might ask.

Dr. Raymond Malott was a small time doctor when Michael's father (Michael, Sr) was born, and he was Dr. Malott's first delivery. My son was Dr. Malott's 1st second generation baby.

There was a big write-up in the Manteno News about the birth. It was an exciting double birth announcement, and celebrated in the town.  A joint party was held for Dr. Raymond Malott, and for my mother-in-law - the two that started his career.

In 1974, he closed his doors in Manteno and became the director of the newly designated area-wide trauma and emergency center at St. Mary's Hospital, which later became Presence St. Mary's.

We were proud to have him a part of our lives.

As I went through my family tree, there were many people that had birthdays the same as mine, but no one made the impact on peoples lives that Dr. Malott did. That is why I wanted to include him, even though he isn't part of our family. My son and Millie McGowan made a great impact on his life.

Millie is in red in the picture I have posted, which is the only picture I have of her. She was a wonderful, sweet, person.  She called my son Mike-Mike, so as not to confuse him with her son, Michael.

Thank you and God Bless.

Answer 12

Better late than never - took a break from all devices apart from Google Maps for 5 days. It can be done, but it gave me an idea of how engrained the internet is in the fabric of life. I don't think I could drive without Siri telling me where to turn! My birthday mate is  my 3rd great aunt, Eunice Maria Treleaven. Blog post is here - http://www.libbyonthelabel.ca/2018/09/52-ancestors-week-38-closest-to-your.html#.W6Jwt71qneg.link

Answer 13

The ancestor I believe is closest is https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Langridge-129 Emily Jane Langridge my great aunt on my father's side.

In fact my uncle Joe ihttps://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Scally-44 s closer still  he was born on the 2nd Oct 1928 a good few years before me I was born on the 6th Oct 1956

Answer 14

I expected to find lots of relatives who shared my birthday.  After all, I knew of at least two people who weren't relatives who had the same birthday. 

One who shared the date was my mother's best friend Louisa. I grew up hearing the story that they were both in their later 30’s fairly newly married and pregnant with their first children at the same time. Each had a due date about the time of the other's birthday.  I cooperated and was born on 16 August; the friend's daughter went a week past mom's birthday of 23 July.  Louisa lived to be in her 90's and always sent me a birthday card.  I believe it was the year Louisa turned 90 a group of us went out to Bill Knapp’s restaurant, an old Michigan chain, that gave a birthday discount based on age and a small chocolate cake.  The very next day they closed and filed for bankruptcy so we always joked it must have been our birthday party that finished them off.  I have found several instances of her relatives and mine intermarrying and wouldn’t be at all surprised to find we shared some old New England ancestors.

Also, our next-door neighbors through my childhood had a granddaughter exactly three years older than I was.  We just thought that was so cool!  

Turns out that 16 August is also a popular date for notables to die. Just this year Aretha Franklin passed away and also Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth.  My husband heard the comment that the King, the Queen and the Babe all died on the same day.

What it is not popular for, is a date my relatives were born on.  I found only three, all out on the smaller branches of the family tree.  Instead, I'm going with someone I actually knew born close to the date.  That would be my great-aunt Sebia (Wright) Hatherill Van Loon who was born on 20 August 1892.    

Answer 15

Ernest John Combley (1890 - 1953) ( https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Combley-61 ),  the husband of my third cousin twice removed (Blanche Elizabeth (Care) Combley (1893 - 1924) ,  https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Care-128 ) was born on my birthday, January 10.

He was the son of a "forage carman".  In 1911 he was a soldier.  In 1939 he was a painter.

Answer 16

The following ancestors share my birthday:

12 Dec 1654 Elizabeth Moser was born https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Andres-239 She was a daughter of a glass maker and married a glass maker.  She is my 7th Great Aunt

12 Dec 1812 Margaret Penny was born https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Irvine-1370 I am related to her via her marriage to Captain William Penny whaler and explorer.

12 Dec 1883 Joseph James Woerner was born https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Woerner-48 He was an older brother of my Grandmother.  He is the closest in terms of years.  I met him a few times when I was a small child.  He died in 1959 and I was born in 1953.

Answer 17

I need to stick with ancestors, but my husband, his grandfather, and his son were all born on the same day & month (different years, obviously). Looking on my watchlist, same/close to me also are not my ancestors. So... I looked through my watchlist for profiles of ancestors who were born close to each other and found two that struck me - Catherine Blanchan, born before 26 December 1637 in France (my 9x-gr-grand) and Burr Harrison, born before 28 December 1637 in England (my 8x-gr-grand). What struck me was my perception of them. Their lives were so different that I was really surprised that they were born the same century, much less the same year.

Catherine arrived in New Netherland by way of France, England, Germany, and Amsterdam, her family one of many French Huguenot families taking that route as they fled persecution. She married Louis du Bois in Mannheim, he being of another Huguenot family moving to a safer place - for their religion. In New Netherland, she and three of their children were taken in a 1663 raid of Hurley and held captive by the Esposus for three months before being rescued (by a party that included her husband).

Burr's life was quite civilized in comparison. Possibly descended from Magna Carta Surety Barons, Burr and his father Cuthbert were both born in Westminster, London. It's said his father had moved the family to Virginia by 1665, although that may be a record for Burr, who settled in Dettingen Parish, Stafford County, Virginia. Burr's profile says he "first shows up in Virginia in 1654, as indentured to a Tho. Meades". Burr was prominent in the community - active with the parish and a Justice for the county. It is said he was sent "by the House of Burgesses on an embassy to the Piscataway Indians in 1699."  Landmarks of Old Prince William, notes that "Burr Harrison (1637-1706), whom we have already met on his embassy to Conoy Island in 1699, was the immigrant ancestor of the family of that name ever since leaders in Prince Wiliam, Fauquier and Loudoun".

Burr and Catherine were both in America by the 1660s, were both pioneers, but the story of their lives are vastly different.

It was an interesting look, prompted by Week 37's challenge. Thanks Amy & Robynne!

Answer 18

I actually share my birthday of May 26 with one of my aunts and a cousin, both married into my family and a funny fact about the cousin is that is middle name is Golden. 

The first closest isn’t a birthday but I have to mention. The 25th was my Grandparents wedding anniversary. I put my mom through 3 days of labor so there was a good chance I would have been born on her parents anniversary.

The closest birthday to mine is actually two different birthdays on the same day and they are brothers. They were both born on May 24th, one in 1844 and the other in 1854. The youngest, George Eugene Sylvanus Killips, was my 3rd Great Grandfather. The older and oldest sibling, Charles Henry Killips, was my 3rd Great GrandUncle. He was served in the Civil War and unfortunately didn’t survive. He died as a POW in Andersonville Prison at Fort Sumter.

Answer 19

Mine is Issadora O "Iza Dora" Henson and her profile is https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Henson-2357. She is buried in the Leonard Cemetery. They lived across the street  from my mother family and across the family cemetery the Leonard Family Cemetery. One of her kid which was a son lived in Knoxville, Tennessee above where we lived in Loudon, Tennessee. Then she has a daughter who lives in Portland, Oregon. Issadora birthday was on September 18 and mine is September 19th