Supposedly the average life expectancy in 1776 was 35. Hard to believe. I guess they expected presidential candidates to come from families that had the resources to live beyond the average.
Think of John Adams and his son, John Quincy. That boy was a scholar at an incredibly young age, as many were back then who were fortunate to be educated. Young boys grew into manhood at such an early age. I marvel to think of how educated they were. Nit silk, mind you, but especially those who were instrumental in leading this country to independence and governing it going forward. By the way, I believe John Adams lived to be about 90-91, and was by no means a wealthy man in terms of financial, land wealth.