Instant Family.

[Alan SHARP]

Greetings All.

Came upon the following today while roaming through our New Zealand PAPERS PAST collection. I can remember the fuss being made about the LAWSON quintuplets being born, and their trials and tribulations through to adulthood at age 21.

But eight on top of two sets of twins in six years. Phew !!

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bi ... Johnston--

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 5788, 5 June 1880, Page 7. Eight Children at birth following two sets of twins.

Alan SHARP

[Anniespangles]

Phew indeed! Poor Mum was lucky to survive especially way back then.I like the way they gave us her weight on marriage,it makes the poor girl sound like some sort of prize heifer!I wish we knew more about her and her story ,but hey its usually the men who wrote the history.Womens history can be a bit patchy on the ground but what a woman,yip phew indeed

[nelmit]

Great story ..........................here they are in 1880 at Trumbull. Eunice seems a wee bit old but I'm pretty sure it's them as her surname is transcribed as Morrey when Mary Pearl dies in 1939.

I don't have access to US census records but hopefully somebody who does will follow this up.

Self Timothy Bradley M 53 Ohio, United States
Wife Eunice Bradley F 47 Ohio, United States
Daughter Mary P. Bradley F 13 Ohio, United States
Other Minnie Howard F 22 Ohio, United States
Other Jerome Rumbaugh M 27 Pennsylvania, United States

Regards,
Annette

[Currie]

I thought it a bit strange that it took 10 months for the news to get from America to NZ, even in 1880.

But there was no need for concern because it took less than 4 months to get from America to Australia, and a further 21 years to get across the Tasman to NZ. Must have been sailing against the wind. http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/3717301

All the best,
Alan

[nelmit]

I thought it a bit strange that it took 10 months for the news to get from America to NZ, even in 1880.

But there was no need for concern because it took less than 4 months to get from America to Australia, and a further 21 years to get across the Tasman to NZ. Must have been sailing against the wind. http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/3717301

All the best,
Alan

Thanks for that Alan - I thought the date must be wrong as I could see she was already Mrs Bradley in 1860.

Regards,
Annette

[SarahND]

I don't think we have to worry too much about Eunice, as this story seems to be made up whole cloth. I was suspicious at first because of the "in August" when the paper came out in June, so had a look for this family. Annette has the right family in 1880.

They were married in 1854 (so the story already seems to be 20 years out of date), had no children in the 1860 census and had two girls age 10 and 3 in the 1870 census.

Eunice can be seen with her parents and siblings in 1850 and there is nary a twin in the bunch. All eight children are orderly lined up in age with anywhere from two to four years between their births.

Perhaps it was a slow day in NZ and someone decided to have a bit of fun...

All the best,
Sarah

[Currie]

Hello Annette & Sarah,

The newspapers probably had a book of stories used to fill up blanks on slow news days. I think that nowadays they just make something up about a politician or celebrity or something to fit the space.

Seems like it took 3 years to get to Ireland.
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/t ... 1081654866

Then it’s bounced back to Australia in 1865.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/38659140

It took 13 years to get to Cincinnati, and that’s really slow.
http://www.ohiogenealogyexpress.com/tru ... y_news.htm

I was wrong about NZ the news was there in 1872.
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bi ... --1----0--

And then in 1935 in Montreal someone found an old clipping ……
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1 ... 12,3939664

All the best,
Alan

[nelmit]

If Alan hadn't found so many old newspaper stories I'd be suspicious because of today's date. They are a day ahead of us down under aren't they?

[SarahND]

Good point, Annette!

Sarah

[Alan SHARP]

Greetings.

There was a reason for posting it on HEARTHSIDE, as I took the article with a pinch of salt. However April 1st did not cross my mind. I've been rather busy lately.

The Pukekohe East Presbyterian Church is 150 years old this weekend, so the historic group who look after it had it open on Saturday with historic displays, and it will be the same again today. Yesterday they held a 2pm Church service, [the first in many years] to mark the first service in the Church 150 years ago on Easter Sunday. Several weddings take place in it each year now, and groups of interested parties are constantly calling.

Though my Gt Grandfather was one of the settlers involved with the early days of the Church, the family left there in 1906 when the farm was sold, and the two youngest sons came down to the land that I now reside on, about one hours travel away. Though I went to my local yesterday, I'm off again shortly to assist with the manning of the Pukekohe East history displays.

Alan SHARP.