The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-02-02
THE ovERWoRkEp sroRk

/ l
Mrs. VIM. G.. Clark of Cleveland, O..
mas recently become the mother OF
| her third set of triplets. Between
| times the stork has left four sets OF
\ twins at her domicile.
Although but 80 years old Mrs. Clark
has been mother OF seventeen children
seven Of whom are living. She was
a French girl and came to America
when years of age. s.
She was, married when 10 and a veal
later twins were born to her: wher
Ia she became the mother of trip
| lets.
She has twenty-six brothers.
The proud papa of the last set OF
! triplets is a blacksmith.
Mrs. Clark did the family washing
two days after the tripIets were born
She believes that homes without lots
OF children are mere empty shells.
The remarkable record made by Mrs
Clark does not equal the records made
| by many other mothers according ia
history.
Nowadays, when the advent of twins
excites such commotion and triplets
are good for "scare heads" type. while
bankruptcies are worth big salaries on
the museum stage it behooves a
Sinking race to bark back to the time
when a woman at Dunstable, England
was thrice blessed with triplets and
twice did usher into being FIVE babies
at a time.
But even this record was outdone
by a German woman at Dayton. O..
about a, half a century ago who gave
birth to sextuplets. Just think of six
babies waking up at night and all
wanting tired dad to carry them!
In 1890 Mrs. Edith Bonham of Wash
ford, Magma England, surprised her
husband with septuplets. The entire
seven were taken to church in a huge
tray for baptism.
A Dutch woman went this one Cor
seven) better by two sets of seven
babies each. All fourteen of these
children seemed as healthy and nor :
NAL as any other youngster of their
age might be reasonably expected to
be.
But early America was not to be
beaten. In 1851 three boys and five
girls were born to woman in Trum-
bull county, Ohio. Imagine the proud
ing up eight fingers.
PIT that was not the worlds rec
cord. The Journal des Savants of
Faris made the statement that in 1850
a Frenchwoman gave birth to nine
children at one time.
Lady Elphinstone of England, who
died In 100, was the mother of thirty
six children. of whom twenty-seven
were living at one time. The youngest
brother of First Lord Bathurst was
presented with twenty-five children
by the first wife and fourteen by his
second. Mrs. Thomas Urquhart Of
Cromarty castle, Scotland, who lived
in the sixteenth century. presented her
husband with thirty-six children. all
of whom lived to a mature age
Dionora Salviati of Florence, Italy,
was the mother of fifty-two children.
OF these there was one set of sextu-
plets. while the rest, save one, were
triplets.
The largest family in the United
States, of which any trace can be
found is that Of David Wilson Of Madi-
son, Ind, who died about forty years
ego, the father of forty -seven chill
rem.
But the champion papa of them
all was Ferdor Wassiliev, a Russian
peasant. His first wife presented him
with sixteen successive pairs oftwlng
then tripIets seven times in as many
years, and finally capped the climax
with sets Of bankruptcies, making q
grand total OF sixty-nine chilrden.
When she died, Ferdor felt the need
of a stepmother for his motherless
brood and took unto himself another
wife The second Mrs. Wasiiiev added
to the big regiment of sons and
daughters of Ferdor" two sets OF
triplets and six sets of twins making
eighteen In all; which added to the
original sixty-nine made a grand
chorus Of eighty-seven children who
could In union or otherwise call Fer
dor papa.