Saturday, July 8, 2017

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- What Ancestor Had the Most Children?

It's Saturday Night, 
time for more Genealogy Fun!!


For this week's mission (should you decide to accept it), I challenge you to:


1)  The Family History Hound listed 20 Questions about your Ancestor, and I'm going to use some of them in the next few months.  

2)  Please answer the question - "What ancestor had the most children?  How many?" 

3)  Write your own blog post, make a comment on this post, or post  your answer on Facebook or Google+.  Please leave a link to your answer in comments on this post.


Here's my answer:

I think my ancestor with the most children is probably Zachariah Hildreth (1754-1829) of Townsend, Massachusetts.  He had 17 children by two wives.  The family story is that after his first wife died after bearing ten children, he married the young woman who had been residing in their home, probably to help with the children.  Here is the family:

Zachariah Hildreth, born 13 January 1754 in Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 16 March 1829 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of  Zachariah Hildreth and Elizabeth Prescott.  He married Elizabeth Keyes 1 September 1777 in Westofrd, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

Elizabeth Keyes, born 08 April 1759 in Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 06 August 1793 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  She was the daughter of  Jonathan Keyes and  Elizabeth Fletcher.

Children of Zachariah Hildreth and Elizabeth Keyes are:

i. Aaron Hildreth, born 30 October 1778 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 1851 in McLean, Illinois, United States; married Betsy Macomber Abt. 1816 in Massachusetts, United States; born Abt. 1797 in Westport, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States; died 1849 in Illinois, United States.

ii. Elizabeth Fletcher Hildreth, born 04 June 1780 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 02 September 1792 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

iii. Hannah Hildreth, born 10 September 1782 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 15 November 1848 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; married Levi Sherwin 24 April 1800 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; born 05 June 1776 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died in  .

iv. Zachariah Hildreth, born 10 April 1783 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 22 January 1857 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; married Hannah Sawtell 21 October 1810 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; born 06 November 1789 in Brookline, Hillsborough, New Hampshire, United States, and died 13 January 1857 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

v. Lucy Hildreth, born 18 July 1785 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 01 March 1865 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; married Samuel Scales 17 April 1806 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; born 1783 in Wilmington, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 18 October 1856 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

vi. Martha Hildreth, born 16 May 1787 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died in  ; married Stephen Scales 29 March 1810 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; born Abt. 1788 in Massachusetts, United States; died in  .

vii. Fanny Hildreth, born 22 August 1789 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 12 October 1865 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States; married Josiah Spaulding 25 May 1817 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; born 14 April 1795 in Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died May 1853 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

viii. Nabby Hildreth, born 16 April 1791 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 18 April 1791 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

ix. James Hildreth, born 17 July 1793 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 09 October 1797 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

 Zachariah Hildreth,  married, secondly, Abigail Hart 24 March 1794 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

 Abigail Hart, born 19 May 1769 in Fitchburg, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States; died 24 November 1846 in Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

Children of Zachariah Hildreth and Abigail Hart are:

i. Abigail Hildreth, born 07 February 1795 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 11 October 1797 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

ii. James Hildreth, born 23 July 1798 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 27 July 1798 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

iii. Joseph Hart Hildreth, born 02 April 1800 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 09 March 1868 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; married Louise Conant 24 October 1821 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; born 26 February 1803 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 22 January 1882 in Camden, Camden, New Jersey, United States.

iv. Mary Hildreth, born 17 August 1801 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 05 April 1848 in Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; married Sylvester Hildreth 31 May 1821 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; born 1799 in Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 19 September 1858 in Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

v. Jonathan Stowe Hildreth, born 17 April 1803 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 12 February 1863 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; married Mary Richardson 29 January 1832 in Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; born 08 August 1808 in Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 20 March 1884 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

vi. Elizabeth Hildreth, born 04 August 1804 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

vii. John Hildreth, born 04 April 1806 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 03 May 1868 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; married (1) Sarah Jane Jepson 11 May 1828 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; born 05 July 1809 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 08 January 1859 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; married (2) Louisa Adams 17 June 1862 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; born about 1813 in Grafton, Windham, Vermont, United States; died 03 March 1869 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

viii. Levi Hildreth, born 08 May 1808 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 27 April 1885 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; married Adaline Matilda Conant 06 October 1831 in Townsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; born 31 July 1812 in ownsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, died 27 February 1897 in ownsend, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.

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12 comments:

Linda Stufflebean said...

Too easy this week, as I had written a post about this a couple of years ago. My Samuel Tarbox had 18 children by two wives. http://emptybranchesonthefamilytree.com/2015/05/which-ancestor-had-the-largest-family/

Greenhill39 said...

Folklore says that Elizabeth & William Greenhill had 39 Children between 1630 and 1669. Wikipedia and a few hard bound books have a write up on Elizabeth. No actual documentation for the children exists except that my 6th Great Grandfather, Thomas Greenhill claimed he was the 39th child in a request for a Coat of Arms. The claim did not go viral until the 1830's which seems kind of late for publicity to spread. One Genealogist may have found a suggestion that multiple women were married to William. With the advent of DNA testing, multiple families with early Greenhill roots have matched suggesting a common Greenhill ancestor.

Lisa S. Gorrell said...

Here's mine. Lots of couples with ten or more children, but settled with an ancestor who had 17.

https://mam-massouthernfamily.blogspot.com/2017/07/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-what.html

Mary Rohrer Dexter said...

Here is mine for this week http://skeezicks1957.blogspot.com/2017/07/saturday-night-genealogy-challenge.html

Janice M. Sellers said...

I didn't find any ancestor with more than ten children, so had to settle for that number:

http://www.ancestraldiscoveries.com/2017/07/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-what.html

Mel said...

My post about Miguel do Monte and his 21 children.
http://www.researchjournal.yourislandroutes.com/2017/07/sngf-miguel-do-monte-had-21-children/

Unknown said...

Notation in marriage book for my third great-grandfather's third marriage (1856, Greenup co., KY)--"groom the father of 27 children & perhaps another on the way."

Mary Rohrer Dexter said...

Randy is there a connection to Francis Scott Key?

Mary Rohrer Dexter said...

Greenhill - 39 is a lot. Do you think he was having them by more than one woman during the same time frame?

Mary Rohrer Dexter said...

Unknown - golly 27 by two wives is a lot too. How many do you think he had with the third wife? Could some of the first two wives had children by a prior marriage?

Greenhill39 said...

Chaucer, Historical Antiquities of Hertfordshire; The British Medical Journal ,1883; Rev Joseph Greenhill, 1703-1788; and the British Guinness Book of Records; say that Elizabeth Greenhill had 39 children by William Greenhill with only one set of twins. They disagree on Elizabeth's maiden name being either White, Dwight, or Jones.

There is a marriage between a William Greenhill and Elizabeth Dwight 02 Dec 1652 at St Mary's Whitechapel which could be a second marriage for William Greenhill or totally different people with the same name.

The best write up on the claim that I have seen is in the book Hertfordshire Yesterdays by Frank Ballin.

The Abbotts Langley Church Baptism record book skips about 50 years that some blame on Cromwell being in power. I have heard differing stories about whether pages were torn out.

Nancy Ward Remling said...

I'm late doing this challenge, but here's my post

https://remlinggenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/07/for-this-weeks-mission-should-you.html

I thought 18 was very unusual until I saw some of the other comments.