Dutch-Colonies-L Archives

Archiver > Dutch-Colonies > 2000-06 > 0959862733


From:
Subject: Re: [D-Col] Just a general question
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 08:32:13 EDT


In a message dated 05/31/2000 5:32:53 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

> Hi gang
> Just a general Genealogy question... how many years is usually considered
> a 'generation'?
> Tom
>

Tom,

Your question caused me to drag out some very heavy old reference books.
What I get from these is that "generation" in the sense that you mean is a
relative term as to its length, and varies somewhat from culture to culture,
and, I suppose, over time. One reference states that it is "commonly" held
that there are three generations in a century. Another has it that one way
of reckoning is the mean age of mothers when they bear daughters. (Tell me
how you figure that!). I had thought that 30-35 years was a reasonably good
working figure, and nothing I saw contradicted that.

Regards,
Ted Snediker

This thread: