I forgot to say there were three sets of twins in the family of 23 I spoke about last entry. That is still a lot of births. We thought John's mother's family of 12 were a lot and I thought my sister's family of 10 is a lot. John's mother gave birth at home to all but the last. John says she was really impressed with having a baby in the hospital and thought it was very easy. I was lucky there were only four of us and we were spread far apart in age so we didn't ever go without food and we had good clothes because my mama could sew. We did however live in a house with no paint and no bathroom. Daddy didn't think those things were inportant. He had a good solid cement porch built to sit on and a good roof put on. Those and good plain food was important to him. I remember one of my sister's ten would hide food in her dresser drawer at times. She could have a snack when she wanted it before the other kids ate it up. Mothers of large families deserve a crown but at the same time it isn't always fair to the kids. John's family was in two groups. He was the oldest of the second group so he had to quit school to help support his younger siblings. He didn't get to play football or graduate. His sister said they never got to play they always had chores to do or work in the field. I can't imagine missing out on playing baseball in the street or rock school on the church steps or sitting on the bench in front of the barber shop with girlfriends giggling and waving at strangers on Sunday.
This Way To My Blog
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Mother's Of Large Famlies
I forgot to say there were three sets of twins in the family of 23 I spoke about last entry. That is still a lot of births. We thought John's mother's family of 12 were a lot and I thought my sister's family of 10 is a lot. John's mother gave birth at home to all but the last. John says she was really impressed with having a baby in the hospital and thought it was very easy. I was lucky there were only four of us and we were spread far apart in age so we didn't ever go without food and we had good clothes because my mama could sew. We did however live in a house with no paint and no bathroom. Daddy didn't think those things were inportant. He had a good solid cement porch built to sit on and a good roof put on. Those and good plain food was important to him. I remember one of my sister's ten would hide food in her dresser drawer at times. She could have a snack when she wanted it before the other kids ate it up. Mothers of large families deserve a crown but at the same time it isn't always fair to the kids. John's family was in two groups. He was the oldest of the second group so he had to quit school to help support his younger siblings. He didn't get to play football or graduate. His sister said they never got to play they always had chores to do or work in the field. I can't imagine missing out on playing baseball in the street or rock school on the church steps or sitting on the bench in front of the barber shop with girlfriends giggling and waving at strangers on Sunday.
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10 comments:
If I could have, I would have had a big family. After my two, I was told I would not be able to carry anymore. I love big families. I wish we had more big families like the good old days!
I'm the only one there are times that is great , but like what happened the other day I wish I had some siblings.
the blue bonnets are beautiful. we saw a few on our way home, but nothing like your picture. was glad to catch up a little tonight. hope next year we can stop by your town---barb
Hi Paula...I was number 13 of 14 children...and my mother had all but me and my younger brother at home...I don't think they new much about "birth control" back then...and if they did...they didn't know how to use it...LOL...I have two...and that is more than enough for me...LOL...and if I can believe the stories my older sisters would tell...I am glad I was youngest...life was hard...for everyone!!! hugs...Ora
I was always glad I did not belong to the families that had 14 and 15 children, but me and my sisters had to work harder than they did because our parents believed in working kids hard. My dad had more ranch land so there was more work. He wanted us to raise a huge garden just like his folks used to raise. Sounds like John had a pretty hard scrabble childhood and had to work very hard.
I am number 4 of 5, and am a twin. My great grandmother was a twin, too. Runs in my family, I guess!
We were lucky I did have to practice piano for an hour then go play, Jump rope, skate on the sidewalk, kick the can, walk on stilts, ride bicycles and I was a pitcher on soft-ball team in the 8th grade. I think that
is sad when children don't get to play growing
up. I have grown-up and still playing.
Shirl
Shirl and I were the lucky ones. We were the last of two sets of children. We had a younger brother to die early, and was buried Baby Darnell. Two brothers and a Sister who were the older set. We have known two comparitively large families, many stories in each. One of our favorite families was a farm family in Missouri. I have written of them often, because they are special.
I had very few chores, and I played a LOT! (and got into a lot of mischief, because of Shirl of course.)
Great entry Paula. (sorry about the duplicate, I tried to delete the other.
It is amazing to me how little folks had to survive on, and had so many mouths to feed. Nowadays its hard to raise just a couple of kids. But there werent Ipods and Laptops and video games back then either. Not to mention all the other stuff we have today.
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