GenealogyBank on their blog mentioned a newspaper clipping from 1903 which showed an image of a woman and her quadruplets in Toledo, Ohio. It also mentioned how many children this woman had. What it did not mention is more interesting and more sad.
There were quadruplets born to Stanislaus and Francis Spychalski in Toledo--the birth register from Lucas County, Ohio indicates as much. I bet that clerk never had to write "Quadruplet set" very often.
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| "Ohio, County Births, 1856-1909," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X6LN-MC3 : accessed 08 Dec 2012), Samuel Jones Spychalski, 1903. |
There were several digital images of newspaper articles discussing the births. Keep in mind that the best source would newspapers in the Toledo area as they may provide more details.
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Date: Tuesday, January 6, 1903
Paper: Daily Register Gazette (Rockford, IL)
Page: 6--obtained
on Genealogybank.com. |
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| Davenport Daily Republican (Davenport, Iowa)--January 6, 1903, page 1-- obtained on Ancestry.com |
This is the picture that garnered the attention of the folks at GenealogyBank.
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Date: Thursday, April 2, 1903
Paper: Sedan Lance (Sedan, KS) --obtained
on Genealogybank.com |
As usual there is more to the story:
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Date: Monday, August 3, 1903
Paper: Repository (Canton, OH)
Page: 7 --
obtained
on Genealogybank.com |
The 1910 census tells a sadder story. According to the enumeration, which could easily be incorrect, Frances Spychalski had given birth to 15 children, of whom three were living.
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| Year: 1910; Census Place: Toledo Ward 9, Lucas, Ohio; Roll: T624_1209; Page: 27A--obtained on Ancestry.com |
Frances presumably had at least one more child as per this 1920 census enumeration which has a nine-year old child Chester living in the the household. Mrs. Spycholski is deceased by the 1920 enumeration.
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| Year: 1920; Census Place: Toledo Ward 10, Lucas, Ohio; Roll: T625_1411; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 119;obtained on Ancestry.com |
Apparently, the number of children Frances had by 1910 is not exaggeration. There are several entries for births and deaths for children of this couple between 1900 and 1920.
Lesson:
The newspaper never tells the whole story and sometimes what might seem exaggerated could be true.
We won't have any more on this family on the blog as my interest in them is only passing--back to my own research.
