LINCOLN COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Family portraits are always special, but one photo taken recently is especially remarkable. That's because there are six generations of women pictured.
The women in the photo range from 98 years old to just weeks old. The matriarch is MaeDell Taylor Hawkins, who's from Kings Mountain in Lincoln County, Kentucky.
She's holding her great-great-great granddaughter Zhavia for the first time.
"It's very rare to have six generations," said Gracie Howell, MaeDell's granddaughter. "It's also rare to have all women. So we knew when Zhavia was born we wanted to get a picture with Grandma MaeDell."
Also in the photo are MaeDell's daughter Frances, of Fairborn, Ohio. Gracie lives in Myrtle Beach. Her daughter Jacqueline also lives in South Carolina. Jaisline is the mother of baby Zhavia, and they both live in Somerset, Kentucky.
Gracie told LEX 18 they took the photo while visiting MaeDell in Kentucky. It's a chance to recognize her and the large, loving family she created.
"I think about how blessed we are to still have Grandma around," she said. "She relatively is in good health. She's bedbound, but her mind and her memory is as sharp as a tack. She's held hundreds and hundreds of babies, so it was a special moment."
There are still more babies to add to MaeDell's family. The next baby born will be baby number 623 for their sprawling family. MaeDell had 23 children, including 10 step children.
Gracie says she was a hardworking, strong woman who never complained even when life was tough.
She married her first husband when she was a teenager. Gracie says while her grandfather was away working on the railroad, her grandmother always made sure she had hot meals for her children, even without running water, indoor plumbing, or other modern conveniences.
"She did the best she could with what she had," Gracie said. "She's always just worked hard. We don't ever remember Grandma sitting down, eating. She never took the easy way out of anything. She drew water out of the well. She cooked for all those people on a wood stove."
Gracie's favorite memory with Grandma MaeDell is her tomato preserves. She recently learned to make them like her grandmother did and she took them to her in the nursing home.
It's rare to have six living generations. Guinness World Records say the current record for most living generations in a family is seven.
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FAQs
That's because there are six generations of women pictured. The women in the photo range from 98 years old to just weeks old. The matriarch is MaeDell Taylor Hawkins, who's from Kings Mountain in Lincoln County, Kentucky. She's holding her great-great-great granddaughter Zhavia for the first time.
Who is the 7 generations family alive? ›
Augusta Bunge's family holds the title for the most living generations, seven, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. But after a recent discovery, there's a new bloodline, the Ayco*ck-Crawford family, with the same amount of breathing generations today.
Is there a family with 6 generations alive? ›
MaeDell has helped create a huge family including her 23 children, which includes 10 step children. The next baby born will be baby number 623. It is rare to have six living generations, but the Guinness World Records said the record for most living generations in a single family is seven. Copyright 2023 WDRB Media.
What is the most amount of generations alive at one time? ›
In 1989, in Wisconsin, USA, an extraordinary feat was achieved: seven generations of a family were alive at the same time. This remarkable occurrence remains undisputed and stands as a world record. The individuals involved were Augusta Bunge, aged 109, accompanied by her daughter Ella Sabin, aged 89.
How rare are six living generations? ›
It's rare to have six living generations. Guinness World Records say the current record for most living generations in a family is seven.
How rare is it to have 5 generations alive? ›
Statistics say that five living generations is rare but still occurs. There are 92 years between Ellie-Jane and her great-great grandmother, Dona Elaine Draper, who is the Matriarch and eldest member of her family. Ellie-Jane is lucky enough to also have her maternal great-great-grandmother, Sandy, 76, to look up to.
How many generations until you are no longer genetically related? ›
Based on a family tree, you are always genealogically related, but you may not be genetically related. After about 8 generations, you have genetic material from fewer and fewer of your ancestors. After 16 generations, you only have DNA from about 2% of your ancestors, and it keeps decreasing.
What generation has the longest lifespan? ›
It is a known fact that lifespan increases with each generation. For baby boomers, the average life expectancy is 70 years, for Gen X its 85, and newer generations like Gen Z and Alpha will likely exceed the 100-year mark.
How many generations of humans are left? ›
The average lifespan of a mammalian species is about 1 million years. The human species has existed for about 200,000 years. So, the remaining 800,000 years divided by about 25-30 years per generation gives roughly 25,000 to 30,000 generations left for the human species.
How many generations are still alive? ›
Students then view an introductory video clip in which Twenge provides a brief overview of the six living American generations: Silents (1925-1945), Boomers (1946-1964), Gen. X (1965-1979), Millennials (1980-1994), Gen. Z (1995-2012), and the “Polars” (2013-today).
About 20 generations (about 400 years), ago we each have about a million ancestors - and after that the numbers start to get even sillier. Forty generations ago (800 years) gives us one trillion ancestors, and fifty gives one quadrillion.
How long is 7 generations in years? ›
A more practical length when thinking about how long it takes people to have kids might be 25 years, meaning seven generations is 175 years into the future.
