USA: A family tree of living long lives

The Tigges family of Dubuque County, Iowa, has had its share of people who lived to be 80 and even older DUBUQUE, Iowa (Telegraph Herald), August 19, 2008: NOSTALGIA By John Tigges Have you ever wondered why February has only 28 days? It started with Julius Caesar and Augustas Caesar. July, Julius name sake month, had only 30 days, as did February. Well, being who he was, he lifted a day from the second month and added it to July, which then had 31 days. Now, don't think even for a minute that while in power as head honcho of the Roman Empire, that Augustus Caesar would allow his month of August to be one day shy of 31. It was an envy thing, I believe, and Augustus Caesar didn't want Julius Casesar's month to have an extra day. What did A.C. do? Same thing. He snatched a day from February and added it to August's total. The fight, if that's what you want to call it, ended in a 31 all tie. Poor February. Stuck at 28 for three years, and one year of 29, was the best it could do. On to a bit more of history. My dad, John G. Tigges was born on Aug. 22, 1890, right here in good ol' Dubuque County. I always enjoyed J.G.'s sense of humor and industry of hard work. His father, John Tigges, was born in 1858, in Dubuque County and suffered an injury to one leg that remained an "open" wound the rest of his life. Unable to walk without help, he and my grandmother, Theresa Butlett Tigges, lived in a little house next door to one of the mansions in the 3000 block of Central Avenue. As for longevity, my grandfather lived to be 81 years old. Not to be outdone, my dad lived to be 82. Still, the longevity champion in the family has to be Bernhardt Tigges, my great-grandfather. Born in 1797, in Germany, a couple of years before George Washington passed on, great-grandpa Bernhardt left this mortal soil in 1890, the same year my dad entered this world on a farm near Centralia, Iowa. Don't misunderstand. The point I'm making is that checking out at age 93 is a bit on the unusual side, when considering the time -- 18th to almost the end of the 19th century. My maternal grandfather, John T. Heiberger, was a hard-working farmer and enjoyed a good long life of 92 years, from 1862 until 1954, the year Kathy and I were married. Her dad, Henry Johnson, who was a farmer/carpenter, lost his eyesight in his later years. He really pushed the longevity bit by being born in 1891 and dying in 1983, during his 93rd year on earth. One more nonagenarian: My great-grandmother, Anne Butlett. As big as a minute and otherwise well equipped to handle life from the 1850's until 1940. This revealing of the ages of relatives of Kathy's and mine, points out one thing that we have -- longevity from each of our families. But our children, Julie, John, Tim, Tracey and Jay, reap the benefits of both families. I wish them luck. Why not check out your family trees, and see how you and your children will fare in the longevity sweepstakes. Tigges is a longtime freelance writer from Dubuque, who contributes occationally to the Nostalgia page. Copyright (c) Woodward Communications, Inc. 2008