108-Year-Old Man Had 70 Descendants, None Named their Son After Him, Until Now

This man is Mr. Esmond Allcock. A husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great grandfather. At 108-years-old, he also happened to be one of the oldest men in Canada.

Six kids. 17 grandkids. 36 great-grandkids. 11(soon-to-be 12) great-great-grandkids.

That’s 70 descendants in total, none of which carried on his first name. Until one of Esmond’s great-granddaughters, Jenna Lehne, decided to change that.

Lucky # 71

Jenna shared on Love What Matters,

While most people’s great-grandfathers are faded childhood memories, I’ve been lucky enough to have had [Esmond] with me for the past 30 years.

When I found out I was pregnant with my first son, he got on the phone and called all his children to let them know that I was increasing the population.

When I got pregnant with my second, he mentioned to my grandmother that he was responsible for [soon-to-be] 71 descendants and no one had named their son after him. My husband and I had wanted to name our new son after family, and that just sealed the deal.

My Esmond was born on January 11, nearly 107 years after his great-great grandfather.”

‘You don’t know how much this means to me’

Esmond and Jenna didn’t live in the same province (state), but Jenna did make the trek to her great-great-grandfather to introduce him to his namesake when her Esmond was around one year old.

At 108-years-old, you can imagine he had a little trouble remembering Jenna (after all, he had 36 great-grandkids) but he had no trouble remembering Esmond’s name.

As he held my son, he kissed his head and said over and over again, ‘You don’t know what this means to me. You don’t know what this means to me.’

I wish I could fully explain how much it means to me. I am blessed.”

As Jenna explained, the snowy weather made it hard to keep up the frequent visits with Esmond Sr but he asked about his great-great-grandson often.

Once the snow melts, we’ll be on our way to visit him again.”

Sadly, Esmond passed away on 22 March, not long after meeting his namesake. He was 108 years and 55 days old. We are so glad that his name will live on through his 71st descendent.

What a beautiful story.