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Mike Watson, History: A Remarkable Family, X 2

Adair County, KY, historian Mike Watson uncovered this remarkable 8 November 1871 story about birthday coincidences which may never be topped around here again

By Mike Watson

A Family Remarkable for Twins

Near Jamestown, Russell County, Ky., there lives one of the mostremarkable of families. Mr. James Jeffries, lately attending theUnited States Court in Louisville, as a juror, tells the story.


Hesays that he was married before he was seventeen years old, his wifebeing only five days younger than himself. They lived together sevenyears without children, when his wife gave birth to twins, a boy and agirl. In the fifteen years which followed, nineteen children were bornto the happy couple, each of the first three births being twins, andeach subsequent birth alternating between twins and single birthsuntil fifteen years accomplished and nineteen births composed thefamily circle, seven pairs of twins being born during this time.

Mr. Jeffries is only forty-five years old and is still youthful inappearance and very stout. His wife never had better health in all herlife than at present, though she will not weigh 100 pounds. Hergreatest weight at any time was 110 pounds.

The boy of the first twins now weighs 165 pounds, the girl 125 pounds.All the boys who are grown have made large men; the girls are of goodsize and the children healthy, but five of the nineteen have died.

Mr. Jeffries has ten brothers, all of whom are large men, and withinthe families of the eleven brothers there are thirty-seven pairs oftwins, making seventy-four twin children; to say nothing of the hostof single births. Five of Mr. Jeffries' children are married, and,added to all those singular facts, notwithstanding the absence ofsilver locks on his head, he is the grandfather of five children.

Juniata Sentinel, Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, 8 November 1871, page 1.This story was copied from a Louisville paper; good filler across thenation for a slow news day. Remarkable, but true. -MW

*****

A Remarkable FamilyThe following is from the Danville Advocate:

Mr. Samuel Jeffries, whodied in Casey County some time since, left a family consisting of awife and eight grown children and eighty-seven grandchildren. Mr.Jeffries had a rather interesting and remarkable family record. Hewas married in Russell County many years ago, but for six years andsix months after his marriage no child was born to him. During thesucceeding fifteen years, however, he became the father of nineteenchildren. Eleven of them were girls. There are seven sets of twinsthat arrived consecutively, and then five singles. Two of the girlsmarried and each of them became twice mothers of twins. from reprint in Adair County News, 3 May 1905, page 5. - Mike Watson


This story was posted on 2012-04-05 07:04:11
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