http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/169196,CST-NWS-xbolden12.article

It gives the statistics on all her grandchildren (with multiples greats), but it doesn't say how many chidren she had. But I would guess it was a lot.

TG

It was a different time. I can't speak for this lady or her family, but my grandfather, who would be of the same age as this lady's children, was one of 9. My stepfather is one of 11, 8 of whom survived to adulthood. In the rural south where agriculture was king, large families were essential to survival.

Good Lord thats a lot of kids! I would bet she had 10 or 11 (or even more) kids....that was a long time ago and those women pushed out kids pretty much one a year for the entire childbearing years....

not for me thanks!! Either the 10 kids or living to 116!

Seven


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Bolden

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It gives the statistics on all her grandchildren (with multiples greats), but it doesn't say how many chidren she had. But I would guess it was a lot.

It seems that question was answered (seven, i believe?), but it made me remember something from an old copy of the Guinness Book of World Records.

Under the 'Reproductivity' section, here's what it says under 'Most Children' :

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The greatest number of children produced by a mother in an independently attested case is 69 by the first wife of Fyodor Vassilet (1816-72), a peasant of the Moscow Jurisdictiary of Russia, who in 27 confinements, gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, 7 pairs of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets... Mme. Vassilet became so renowned that she was presented at the court of Czar Alexander II.

This is taken from the 1976 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.


CQ

Thank you, CQ - now I have many many questions about THAT woman, but I know Guiness doesn't answer them. Oh well....

TG

The thing is, our generation, and our mother's are able to choose to have, or not have, children. Before the advent of reliable and legal family planning, this was not the case.

I think we forget that, and we forget how many women (and infants) died in childbirth, not so very long ago. A walk through a older cemetery can be very sobering, when one thinks about the lives our grandmothers and great grandmothers lived.

Lisascenic

I suppose if I wanted to stir the pot a bit, I could mention that I have a friend who has 9 children (four/five? grandchildren). And the answers to some of the questions would be:
Only one father, married through all of it and still married.
Yes, she is quite sane. A great Mom, fit and beautiful too!
Her children are all well dressed, well fed, well educated and well adjusted. If you ask any of them, they enjoy the big family.
I cannot imagine their family any other way!
Stacy

http://www.duggarfamily.com/

I've met them and I get the impression that the older kids are required to take care of the younger ones. To me that's not right.They should be able to be kids and not have to raise a kid that's not theirs. Helping is one thing but being responsible is another.

Shiloh

My great aunt (now in her early 70s) has 16 children:

The boys: Mike, Randy, Jeff, Mark, James, Booger, Driver
The girls: Jill, Nancy, Vickie, Connie, Sissy, Julie
and 3 that died as babies, either at birth or just after.

In the first 30 years of marriage, That woman was pregnant or nursing almost 90 % of the time. (oy!)

Yes, same father. Yes, still married (55 years this last spring).

As far as being well dressed, well educated... i dont know.
and as for well (or not so well) adjusted.... hmmmm well, that may be more due to the genes not necessarily as much as the circumstances in THIS case....
lol

I have NO idea how many grandkids there are now... too many to count!

The most kids I've came across in my family was 10. My great grandmother had 10 children. As far as I know, they all ended up OK. *shrugs*
Siobhan :) AKA Penguin

off the topic just a little bit, but PLEASE tell me "Booger" is a nickname....

My parents are from the same era as this woman's kids. My grandfather (dad's side) was born in 1896 and big families were the norm due to farming. My dad is child #13 out of 14 and my mom is child #8 out of 14. I have so many cousins I don't even know them all. I myself am one of 6 kids and my hubby is one of 7. Good German farm families.

Mama Bear

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http://www.duggarfamily.com/

I remembered hearing about this family even before I clicked the link. The fact that they have so many children is amazing enough, but when you count the fact that all the kids' names start with the same letter, it is just insane. :)

TG

Mother's family (early 1900's) 12 children in Kingstree, SC. Nine lived to adulthood. Father's family in northern Maine--nine children--7 lived to adulthood. Now these days, a family of three or four is considered big. Most of the families here have one or two children.

In some ways, I miss the big families of my own childhood. Never was a shortage of kids to play with. I find it fascinating that many of our 5 year olds arrive at school with a me-me-me attitude- never had to share a toy, wait for a turn, make a sincere appology or accept mediation. Now, present company accepted--you are all wise beyond my years and I am preaching to the choir, but kids need love, play, dinnertime conversation, good manners/rules food and shelter. Everything else is extra.

I want childhood to be a happy, healthy time but we have to get better at developing social skills in youngsters like the ability to be empathetic, friendly, the ability to understand a different point of view.

I know I started off with the intent of adding my family history to the thread (and off to bed), but I seemed to have veered off onto something else. Must have been on my mind after hearing so much whining at Micheal's the other day. One little guy just about drove the rest of us out of the store.

Eaglewatcher in (southern Maine)

yes ma'am.. Booger was a nickname.. as was "Driver" (his daddy was a truck driver) and he was Li'l Driver at first, then became just Driver. and Sissy was a nickname too, but i cant think of any of their real names hahah. Randy was "Runt" for a long long time.

I think all of them except Jeff turned out to be perfectly legal US citizens really. Vickie had a close call with breast cancer a few years ago but as far as i know is still a survivor. I need to check in on all of them!! *embarassed look*

cam (the bad cuzin')