QUEBEC-L Archives

Archiver > QUEBEC > 2003-08 > 1060541775


From: "Barbara J Bassett" <>
Subject: Re: [QUEBEC] Degree of kinship - translation
Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 14:56:15 -0400


In answer to the question whether twins can be born months apart, the answer is yes.
About 30 years ago we had a neighbor who announced to me one day that she was pregnant and expecting twins. A few weeks later she went into labor, delivered one twin, who soon died, but carried the other to term. She gave birth to a girl, who survived.
Twins can be born days, weeks and months apart from each other. These are most likely fraternal twins, ie, each fetus is in a separate sac from the other. I am no expert on twins but this I do know from experience. We were close neighbors and involved in each others lives as we had children who played together.
A situation like this can explain the unusual in dating of births. Also I find that some birth dates on the record are dates the birth was reported and not always the day it actually happened. This was often the case in our small New England towns. A town clerk told me once that births that were stillborn, or which babies which were delivered alive but who died shortly after were never reported. I have a grandmother who lost four babies and we have found the births recorded but never have been able to find the deaths in the records of the town or the church. This in the early 1900's.
Also other dates are actually christening dates. For all my siblings and myself, the christening date was the same day. If we went by that date we would look like quintuplets on the record.
BJ Bassett

----- Original Message -----
From:
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2003 12:52 PM
To:
Subject: Re: [QUEBEC] Degree of kinship - translation

In a message dated 8/10/03 09:50:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

> I ran into an unusual situation, though, when I was working on their
> children. They had 8 children - 4 died in infancy and 4 grew up and married.
> PRDH has two of the sons born in the same month of the same year, but 26
> days apart. Nicolas was born 1 June 1755 (died the following year) and an
> unnamed son was born (and died) 27 June 1755 -- both in
> St-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud. The priest who entered these records was
> Father Bedard. He made some mistakes in other records.
>
> So, I'm wondering if he wrote down the wrong date for one of these
> boys. Either that, or they were twins and one was born almost a month before
> the other (if that's even possible).

While I acknowledge that clergy make errors in completing baptismal, marriage
and burial records, I believe it is most likely that the data concerning the
birth and baptism of Nicolas Thibault on 1 June 1755 and the birth, ondoyement
(provisional baptism administered by the midwife) and death of his unnamed
brother on 27 June, and his burial on the 28th are factually accurate.

It is quite unlikely, in our own times, that twins would be born four weeks
apart. Modern obstetrical technology and practice would specify an ultrasound
within several weeks after the pregnancy was verified, and, if more than one
life were present in the womb, there would be close supervision of the progress
of gestation, and, delivery would probably be by c-section, especially if the
onset of labor was very premature. Mothers and midwives in the mid 18th
century could not avail themselves of these technics. Marie Anne Richard
probably learned she was pregnant in the usual manner. There is no way of
determining what the gestational age of either twin was at the time of their birth.
Marie Anne might not have know that she was carrying twins until labor began
again after Nicolas was born.

I will try to discover the exact nature of the blood kinship of Francois
Thibault and Marie Anne Richard. Their families are in my file but they are not.
When I find out, I will present the results of my inquiry on-line.

As the next governor of California might say: "I'll be back!"




==== QUEBEC Mailing List ====
**Do not use signature lines after your message**
**They confuse our keyword archives through repetition**
*** Don't forget to thank someone (offlist) for their help ***

This thread: