At the end of the 18th century, average life expectancy in France was less than 30 years, and half of all children died before the age of 10. Statistical data from nearby Switzerland were not likely to differ much, so we can measure the astonishment of the pastor of Aubonne, in the canton of Vaud, at the sight of a newborn child, Charles-Henri-Salomon de Mestral, being held in the baptismal font by his two grandfathers, aged 45 and 55, a paternal grandmother aged 47 and his two maternal great-grandmothers, aged 59 and 75. The father, captain of a company of Carabinieri hunters, was 25 years old. The young mother was 19 years old.
The pastor, who must not have seen this often, notes in the margin of the act: “NB: the 4 generations were in front of the pulpit”. The time bridge between the newborn and his eldest great-grandmother, Suzanne de Chandieu, born in 1720, at the beginning of the reign of Louis XV, is therefore 75 years. Four generations together is hardly surprising at a time when 5-generation families, headed by centenarians, are no longer the exception!
Sources :
– Archives cantonales vaudoises, Eb 8/10, Reformed parish of Aubonne, 1782-1818
– Photographie : vintagefamilies, Quatre générations, 1905
On this subject: Geneviève Arfeux-Vaucher, “In 5-generation families, I ask for the great-great-grandparents”, in Gérontologie et société 2001/3 (vol. 24/n°98), pages 113 à 128 [disponible sur CAIRN.INFO : https://www.cairn.info/revue-gerontologie-et-societe1…]