It’s not unusual to see a five-generation picture in the local paper, a proud great-great-grandmother holding the new arrival. Although not a directly connected descent from each generation, the Blackburn family currently has descendants living in TEN generations – yes, TEN generations.
The immigrant John Blackburn was born about 1675 in Ireland, he being the first generation to come to North America. Today there is actually still one known descendant living from the 6th generation – a great-great-great-grandchild. There are also seven recorded descendants living in the 15th generation – 12th great-grandchildren of the immigrant. That makes TEN generations alive today.
While the 7th generation is also represented today, it too is few in numbers. Of the 15,879 descendants identified in that generation, there are only 30 still alive today. Living 7th generation descendants were born as early as 1918 and as late as 1962 – so the 7th generation will be around for a while.