Illinois couple welcomes their 100th grandchild

[theinvisiblegirl]

I logged onto my Facebook to find this - http://www.wfsb.com/story/29157902/illi ... grandchild

QUINCY, Ill. (AP) - A western Illinois couple recently celebrated the birth of their 100th grandchild.

Leo and Ruth Zanger of Quincy have 53 grandchildren, 46 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. The birth of great-grandson Jaxton Leo on April 8 made the number 100.

Leo Zanger tells The Quincy Herald-Whig that "the good Lord has just kept sending them." He says his family "could start our own town." Ruth Zanger says "there's always room for one more."

The Zangers have been married 59 years and have 12 children. The youngest, 31-year-old Joe, was already an uncle 10 times when he was born.

Most of the family lives in the Quincy area. When they get together they rent a church hall and it takes 50 pounds of ham or ten turkeys to feed everyone.

As soon as I saw the title of the article, I said, out loud, "Oh fuck, are they Fundies?" Then seeing what the article says... If they aren't Fundies, then they're at least not big proponents of birth control and possibly don't believe in overpopulation.

[Rachel333]

So one of those grandchildren has a grandchild older than their youngest cousin...

[socalrules]

Actually, if they were fundies or didn't believe in birth control they would have way more grandchildren and great grandchildren. They had 12 kids but only 53 grandkids, that's an average of a little more than four kids each. Only 46 great grandkids out of 53 grandkids, someone is definately using the pill. Fundies would not be pleased. I think there numbers are pretty normal for the number of kids they had.

[SPHASH]

So one of those grandchildren has a grandchild older than their youngest cousin...

And their youngest son had ten nieces and nephews by the time he was born.

[quincygal]

I only know one Zanger but I don't think they are fundy. There are a lot of good German Catholics in town though. I checked it out & they are counting grandkids and great grandkids in the total. My dads family is the same way.

[Eater of Worlds]

This guy I dated in college was half Mexican. His mother was one of 17, and he was grandchild 51. He actually lost count of how many cousins he had. It was over 100.

[Black Aliss]

I'm the youngest of five but my mom was the youngest of 13. I had 50 first cousins by the time I was born and a number of my cousins had already been parents for at least a few years by the time I was born.

[ADoyle90815]

If not fundie, then I would wonder if they were LDS or Catholic. Mormons often have larger than average families, and strict Catholics don't use birth control. I've known Mormons who had several cousins since in those families, everyone had at least 4 children. In some families, there's an aunt or uncle who is the same age or at least a year older than a niece or nephew so they were childhood playmates and friends.

My dad's family was mostly Irish Catholic, so if everyone in that family married and didn't use birth control, my brother and I would have had a lot of cousins. As it was, my dad and uncles who did get married at least used birth control because I only have 3 cousins. At my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary, there was a family reunion of sorts, and I met relatives that I didn't even know I had, and we rented a huge hall inside a restaurant to hold everyone. By the time my grandma died, most of her relatives had died, so there wasn't many family at her funeral at all.

[FundieWatcher]

I can't imagine that many cousins...I only have 2.

My paternal grandparents only had 1 child, my dad of course, to survive to adulthood. And my maternal grandparents had 3 survive to adulthood, but 1 died in his early 20s. My 1 uncle married later in life and had 2 kids.

[Jana814]

I'm the youngest of five but my mom was the youngest of 13. I had 50 first cousins by the time I was born and a number of my cousins had already been parents for at least a few years by the time I was born.

Wow!!

[Jana814]

I can't imagine that many cousins...I only have 2.

Neither can I!! My mother was an only child. And I only have 2 first cousins & they r impossible.

[Rachel333]

I have cousins who have kids my age, and one of my cousins is now a grandparent, but I don't have any cousins who have grandchildren my age, that's just crazy to imagine.

I actually don't know how many first cousins I have off the top of my head--I want to say around 30? I never know how to count step-kids since there are a few I've grown up with and are as much my cousins as any biological relatives but then there are others I've never even met.

I will say I've always loved having a big extended family. Family gatherings are always a lot of fun on that side of the family.

[2xx1xy1JD]

In my husband's family his oldest 1st cousin is in her late 70s and has a grandson who is the same age as his youngest cousin. His father is one of eleven and his oldest sister had nine kids. According to the cousins the oldest sister got married as soon as she got her period. His grandmother was over 100 when she died and had about 100 descendents.

[maybeizfundie]

I thought that was interesting. I think it would be hard to keep up with that many grandchildren. But I did have a childhood friend who was grandkid #68 or something, and by the time we lost touch it was nearing 100 grandkids. I also knew her grandmother, and she was an amazing lady. She had no trouble remembering all those kids and their birthdays. She was a prolific artist and crafter and a lot of her work featured her grandchildren, and she made who knows how many hand-made, personalized pieces for them over the years. The grandchildren who lived near her geographically were always at her house, and so was I because she was cool and very welcoming. So I can imagine this family being very closeknit, even with that many people, because I've seen it.

[2xx1xy1JD]

Neither can I!! My mother was an only child. And I only have 2 first cousins & they r impossible.

Have you ever seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding? There's a scene where she talks about how he has 2 cousins and she has 27. I loved that movie because it perfectly describes my family meeting my ILs.

[singsingsing]

My dad's dad had 14 or 15 brothers and sisters. My dad has no idea how many first cousins he has.

[apple1]

Personally, I think this is kind of sad.

I'm a grandma. There is no way they can love (not just in a theoretical "I say I love them" kind of way, but as in investing time and effort in each child) that many kids the way I love mine - all two of them. Shoot, I bet they have trouble listing there names, not even to mention their birthdays and oh, say, one thing each child specifically is interested in.

I'm not talking financial or material things (which is just one more thing).

I happen to love getting mine special little things that make them happy. I love spending one on one time with my granddaughter (grandson is still too young for this). I love having her stay overnight with grandma. I like taking her to get an ice cream. etc etc

[lexiloumarie]

Mortons has 22 or 23 grandbabies with only half their kids married. Even if they don't bat 100 for brides/groom for the remaining 5, they're going to hit 100 in about 15ish years.

[SassyPants]

Personally, I think this is kind of sad.

I'm a grandma. There is no way they can love (not just in a theoretical "I say I love them" kind of way, but as in investing time and effort in each child) that many kids the way I love mine - all two of them. Shoot, I bet they have trouble listing there names, not even to mention their birthdays and oh, say, one thing each child specifically is interested in.

I'm not talking financial or material things (which is just one more thing).

I happen to love getting mine special little things that make them happy. I love spending one on one time with my granddaughter (grandson is still too young for this). I love having her stay overnight with grandma. I like taking her to get an ice cream. etc etc

This is why I have always felt bad about the Duggars and their reproductive habits. For most families, babies are so, so special, but if you add a new one every 13-18 months for years on end, are they still all that special?

If Christmas happened once a month, would it still be as special?

[bluehydrangea]

Personally, I think this is kind of sad.

I'm a grandma. There is no way they can love (not just in a theoretical "I say I love them" kind of way, but as in investing time and effort in each child) that many kids the way I love mine - all two of them. Shoot, I bet they have trouble listing there names, not even to mention their birthdays and oh, say, one thing each child specifically is interested in.

I'm not talking financial or material things (which is just one more thing).

I happen to love getting mine special little things that make them happy. I love spending one on one time with my granddaughter (grandson is still too young for this). I love having her stay overnight with grandma. I like taking her to get an ice cream. etc etc

Since I've been married, I've thought about this a lot and I so agree with you. I share my grandparents with only my sibling, so in essence, they're like a second set of parents for us. My husband shares his grandparents with a dozen cousins or more, which isn't even nearly as many as these people have...but the differences are vast in terms of the relationship we have with his grandparents vs. mine. His grandparents are great, but they simply don't have the closeness that I have with grandparents, because there are just too many of them. Maybe it's not like that with everyone, but I totally get what you mean. It's one of those random blessings I've uncovered as I've gotten older.

[Rachel333]

I'm closer to my grandmother who has 40 some grand-children and great-grandchildren than I am to my grandmother who just has 8 grandchildren, most of them from my family. I think that's really just due to the fact that I saw one side of the family a lot more than the other. Still, my grandmother has stayed close to all her grand-children and has a very close relationship with her great-grandchildren who live near her.

I do see how having fewer grandchildren could create closer bonds, though, which isn't something I had really considered before. I just know that I've always loved having a huge extended family. Our Thanksgivings were always my favorite day of the year because there would be 50+ people there and a ton of kids to play with. I love the other side of my family too of course, but holidays with them were never nearly as fun, as a child or now as an adult. During hard times too it's nice to have that huge network of support.

[DGayle]

Actually, if they were fundies or didn't believe in birth control they would have way more grandchildren and great grandchildren. They had 12 kids but only 53 grandkids, that's an average of a little more than four kids each. Only 46 great grandkids out of 53 grandkids, someone is definately using the pill. Fundies would not be pleased. I think there numbers are pretty normal for the number of kids they had.

They can be the predecessor of fundies (the term quiverfuller is newer, but people have been trying to outbreed others for longer), and still have a kid who secretly took the pill or used condoms, maybe as unmarried kid whose secretly gay, or somebody is infertile.

[DGayle]

Personally, I think this is kind of sad.

I'm a grandma. There is no way they can love (not just in a theoretical "I say I love them" kind of way, but as in investing time and effort in each child) that many kids the way I love mine - all two of them. Shoot, I bet they have trouble listing there names, not even to mention their birthdays and oh, say, one thing each child specifically is interested in.

I'm not talking financial or material things (which is just one more thing).

I happen to love getting mine special little things that make them happy. I love spending one on one time with my granddaughter (grandson is still too young for this). I love having her stay overnight with grandma. I like taking her to get an ice cream. etc etc

This. My mom's side has tons and tons of kids like that. Multiple kids by 20 isn't uncommon, not for religion, but because of not bothering with birth control in a community where welfare long-term is an acceptable way of life, and another baby means more welfare money (that's not working too good now with all the cuts going on-- it was going to catch up to them sometime). I am the oldest, and got most attention of my cousins, but more because I was the biggest helper, which made a lot of animosity. I never got to be just me at family events. It was always, Dani, can you help Joyce chase the kids? Dani, can you change that diaper? Dani, go get down more plates. When I was about 12, my parents stopped taking me over there a lot. None of the grans were individuals. Even me. There were too many of us, and our grandparents didn't know us well, and didn't always get the names of the rest right. I used to feel special since my name at least was known. To this day, I can't name all my own cousins (last count years ago, close to 70), and all I know about their kids is there are at least 20, and some greats also. But it's not a feel-good news article when it's a situation like my mother's side, where most dads aren't known, and the first level (my mom and her siblings) have 4, possibly 5, dads. Parentage of my mother is in question. I remember going to a gas station in the small town 1 day, and talking to a girl inside, and we found out we have the same grandma. Too many of us for us to even recognize each other.

On my dad's side, there are 9, which isn't a tiny number, really, but much smaller. We're known! Our names, our ages, our activities! We're all special, really special, because we're individuals. We are really people. Our grandparents got to spend personal time with us, and even if it was a couple of us at a time because a couple of us were interested in going to the same event, we were known!

There's big families, then there's excessive, and it's really excessive when there are so many that most people are strangers to each other, and just knowing you're related doesn't mean not a stranger.

[DGayle]

Still, my grandmother has stayed close to all her grand-children and has a very close relationship with her great-grandchildren who live near her.

What about the grands and greats who aren't near? Does she have enough time somehow to stay close to all of them?

[MamaJunebug]

Big meh from southern Illinois.

I was the 10th of 14 grandchildren and the only reason Grandma noticed me was that I was the child her son *finally* produced after the interruption of WW2 and then infertility.

I had no expectations of my grandparents. I was there to say hello to them and wait to be dismissed. They were Victorians.

Same with this group with its 100 2nd- & 3rd-generation descendants. Doubtful the grands know the names of all the 46, much less the 53 (howevermany).

Quality trumps quantity.