Size of the Thomas and Elizabeth Ducklow Family Tree
[Published September 30, 2010]

How big is the Ducklow family tree today?  How many descendants do our common ancestral grandparents (Thomas and Elizabeth) have?  The short answer is that there are over 1,000 descendants.  Not all of the descendants have been identified, but the upper number is likely less than 1,500.  

Here is an update on the size of the family Thomas and Elizabeth Ducklow / Dukelow family tree by generation as of September 2010:

1st Generation: Thomas and Elizabeth had 13 children; 8 sons and 5 daughters
2nd Generation: Those 13 begat 30 children
3rd Generation: Those 30 begat 80 children
4th Generation: Those 80 begat 205 children (so far)
5th Generation: Those 205 begat 383 children (so far)
6th Generation: Those 383 begat 303 children (so far)
7th Generation: Those 303 begat 46 children (so far)
8th Generation: None of the 46 has children yet.  The oldest four are between 17 and 24 years old—the 9th generation will arrive soon enough.

Working on the family tree over the last four years has brought some perspective that this hobby will certainly be a life-long endeavor.  The number of descendants to identify becomes larger and larger over time.  As each generation comes into child producing years, the mathematics of geometric progression causes the numbers to explode. When the 7th generation is completely done producing children there will be over 6,000 descendants forming the 8th generation.  And when the 8th generation is done having babies, their progeny, the 9th generation, will count over 15,000.    

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Footnote:  The average birthrate is estimated to be 2.51 children for each descendant. All numbers presented do include adopted children. The term begat is defined to mean, “Was the parent of.”