I talked to the man who designed the Republic SeaBee (and the homebuilt Spencer AirCar) back in the 1970’s at Oskosh. He told me about his father, who designed the Spencer Carbine and showed it to Abraham Lincoln.
He looked really old, but I thought that he meant his grandfather, not father. Since the Internet came about, I found out that he really was the son (not grandson). Evidently, he was a very late surprise with a younger wife.
My parents were both 42 when I was born. Not exactly Tony Randall territory (father at 72) but my maternal grandfather was born in 1870 and moved from Michigan to Nebraska via covered wagon when he was a boy.