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I couldn't imagine having so many children like they did a century ago. It would drive me to insanity!
You and me both! I had four and, believe me, that was plenty!! I suppose, back then, that's just the way it was. One of my family lines supposedly had 24 children from one couple but I'm not totally positive that's true. I think they got a few 'mixed up'. Some of them had a habit of naming a child after a deceased child too, which didn't help for a while.
When you get a chance viist a older cemetray and see the faily plots with so mnay children that dies withi five years of birth being so common. We are very fiortuneate to live in such times and the miracle of modern medicine.Its easy to see the age of the poarnets by the dates to see it was common occurance.
My Dad's fathers first wife bore 14 children, 10 who died before the age of six. This was between 1900 and 1918. It probably didn't help that he married his cousin. (shotgun wedding)
I've had a few first cousin marriages in my family, but most turned out okay. It's amazing how some first cousin marriages have sickly kids and others have healthy kids. all about genes I guess. One couple that were first cousins only had four kids that I know of, but they all turned out okay as far as I know. Both daughters and one son had (I know for a fact) families of their own. The other son I'm not sure about.
What struck me far more as I was beginning was the death of women...child after child after child, until the woman drops; then the man with a truckload of kids marries again and proceeds to have child after child after child with the new woman.
Those women's bodies must have been a mess even if they were strong enough to survive eight to ten or more pregnancies!
All I can say is I'm so thankfull to have been born AFTER the discovery of antibiotics.
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I suppose, back then, that's just the way it was. One of my family lines supposedly had 24 children from one couple but I'm not totally positive that's true. I think they got a few 'mixed up'. Some of them had a habit of naming a child after a deceased child too, which didn't help for a while.
