Large Families in WV (house, living, store)

[HomersBoy]

Who came from large families in WV? I was 1 of 15. I was #12 and the first to be born in a hospital. There were 13 of us living at home at one time and in a house that was probably less than 1,000 sq. feet of living space and only one car in the driveway. Mom and Dad worked hard most of their lives providing for us and both lived into their late 80's. Dad was a coal miner and chemical operator and Mom stayed at home and took care of all of us. I can't even imagine doing that in this day and time. Those were the good old days but it sure didn't feel like it at the time.

[David Kennedy]

People were more responsible then...sacrifice was seen as a duty...
I'm sure your siblings have All turned out well and were better off for the lives that were shared...

A very dark contrast exists to all of that now...we are poorer in a spiritual way.

Few have mothers who would craft a family as their lifes work... Yours was certainly remarkable.

[GottaHerdOn]

I'm 1 of 1.... an only child. Which is a rarity it seems. I was born in 1987

My dad was the 3rd of 4.

My mom was 4th of 7

Both were born in 1956.

My maternal grandfather was the youngest of 6 and the first born in America (born in 1933), my maternal grandmother was an only child (born in 1933). My paternal grandfather was one of over 20 children, there were step, half, and full brothers and sisters (born in 1929). My paternal grandmother was the 2nd youngest of 6 (born in 1935.)

So yeah while my immediate family has shrunk considerably over the years the Thompson family with their 20+ children still make up for it. Even with 20+ children the settling of the estate still left the decedents living very comfortably.

[Janipoo]

My mom is 1 of 8 and my grandfather was a coal miner as well. My sister was born in a house also. My sister and I was born in hospitals only because my parents had moved out of WV.

[Newtgirl]

(I'm not from West Virginia *sad*) But dad was 2 of 7. Dad was born at home. His father was the oldest of 3 (Born 'round 1924, his younger brother's name was Shirley, his sister Guilda). His mother was one of 3, I believe. They may have also been step-siblings (she's not really clear about her younger years).

Mom was 4 of 4. I have very little information of her mother (who was adopted) and father (who committed suicide before she was born).

[BJC]

I am the eldest of 2; however our mom is the 3rd of 12! My grandmother was pregnant 15 times, but only 11 resulted in an Aunt or Uncle for me (my mom being the 12th). It is funny/odd but they are all two years apart and they are all either odd or even. For example, when they are 76, 74, 72, 70 or 75, 73, 71, and so on. Growing up I do not EVER recall a time when one of my mom’s sibling did not live with us. Sometimes even their spouse and small child lived with us.

I do not even get to eat at the adult table when we all gather in and I am 50ish! Used to bother me when I was a young adult, but then I realized some one has to die before I get to move up! I would rather eat on the stairs!

My grandmother is 94 and she has 66 grandchildren, well that includes great and great-great. She loves each one of the MOST!

[snorpus]

Most of my family have had a relatively small number of children. I'm 1 of 2, my wife was 1 of 3. Our siblings have had 2, 2, and 0 children. My father was 1 of 4, my mother 1 of 3. It's only when you get back to my wife's parents and my grandparents do you start finding 5, 6, and larger number of children.

BJC- Does your grandmother keep a crib sheet of pictures and names when the great- and great-great-grandchildren come to visit? Do you ever all get together at the same time?

[HomersBoy]

Originally Posted by David Kennedy

Few have mothers who would craft a family as their lifes work... Yours was certainly remarkable.

David, my mother was something special. She was nearly 21 years old when she gave birth to my oldest brother and was almost 43 when she gave birth to my youngest sister. Most of my brothers and sisters are about 2 years apart but I have a brother that is 11 months younger than myself. I was born in January of 1953 and he was born in December of the same year. She worked from daylight to dark and could work circles around most people. She made a lot of the clothes we wore from feed sacks and canned nearly everything Dad raised in his garden to get us through the winter months. Mom had a heart the size of Texas and a temper that we all knew too well not to tangle with. She was the youngest of 10 in her family, Dad was the youngest of 6 in his. Mom passed in 2001 at 87 and Dad in 2003 10 days before his 89th birthday. They were married for over 66 years and in addition to their 15 children, they had 39, grandchildren, 41 great grandchildren and 5 great great grandchildren and counting.

[David Kennedy]

Homersboy: I glad you had them for such a long time..they created a legacy of goodness, frugality and hard work.
Strange traits in the world we live in now...

Those feed sacks were of a good material and print...nothing wasted by that feed company and a market magnet for their product...momma would go to the feed store with us to get the right print and pattern..that all ended with the paper packaging.