While its odd that 67 of the 69 children survived in times of greater infant mortality rate, it is also odd that the mother herself survived through so many childbirths, in times when the mortality of women during labor was also markedly higher than is today. Also, the British magazine stated that Feodor was 75 years old and in perfect health. Record information. Genghis Khan is a popular historical example. Log In. Doyou agree with the scientists that its almost impossible tosurvive somany labors and still have healthy children? When pregnancies goone byone less than. See Photos. At the time, an average family had 2 to 3 children, while this big family was fitting an entire clan under a single umbrella. According to documents, Valentina lived to be 75,. Mr. Vassilyev, on the other hand, married again after her passing and continued to procreate. Other publications and articles in the late 1700s and 1800s mention the Vassilyev case but warn readers to take it with a grain of salt. Hewas married 6times and became the father of45biological and 5adoptedchildren. Hadhazy also wonders whether the Russian woman was really fertile over such a lengthy period of time. James Segars, director of the Department of Reproductive Science and Womens Health Research at Johns Hopkins University told the BBC: It sounds like fantasy. Taking into account that the ability to get pregnant is less after each pregnancy, and that after a certain age the fertility of women decreases considerably even before menopause. Some sources mention her name could have been Valentina. The author ofthe list says that the extraordinary fecundity may come from the man singly, orthe woman, orboth jointly, but its more likely that the reason was Feodor, asthe story repeated with his second wife. WHAT MAKES A GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS TITLE? (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Legend holds that Valentina Vassilyev, a peasant from Shuya, Russia who lived in the 1700s, gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets between 1725 and 1765. // Doyou prefer totrust the historical facts? On the other hand, the existence of multiple ovulation should be taken into account, which is when a womans body releases several ovules per menstrual cycle. (Source: Medium). . Valentina Vassilyev (c.1700 - d.) - Genealogy Valentina Vassilyev Back to Vassilyev surname View Complete Profile view all Immediate Family Feodor Vassilyev husband view all Valentina Vassilyev's Timeline These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Other publications and articles in the late 1700s and 1800s mentioned the Vassilyev case but warned readers to take it with a grain of salt. With a total of 87 children, of which 84 actually survived childbirth and grew up to see their father grow old, Mr. Vassilyev lived a fruitful, full life, to say the least. Sometime in 1925, Jones captured the unusual part when he paid a visit to a local wife and husband that had been buying a lot of shoes, not because they had shoe-wear obsession, but because they had thirteen children. But how many children did Vassilyev have in total? Traveller, writer and history buff. When calculating her fertile years, wefigured out that they would befrom approximately 1725-1765. that she gave birth to multiple sets of multiples, because some women can have a genetic predisposition to hyperovulate (release multiple eggs in one cycle), which greatly increases the chances of twins and multiples. So the question remains, can a woman really go into labor 27 times and deliver that many babies during her lifetime? Legend holds that Valentina Vassilyev, a peasant from Shuya, Russia who lived in the 1700s, gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets between 1725 and 1765. All photos by Lessie Jones/Boston Public Library, As you can notice the majority of the crowded familly are girls, The proud father cleaning the shoes for his army of children, The proud father show off the pile of shoes of his 12 children, The whole familly fits under one umbrella, The thirteen newborn child of the fertile couple. It has also been claimed that Feodor Vassilyev fathered 18 more children with his second wife, bringing the total to 87 children, with 82 of those surviving infancy. Valentina Vassilyeva, set the record for most children birthed by a single woman. (You will need to register / login for access). Her name is uncertain, but she was the wife of a peasant farmer called Feodor Vassilyev. However, in the 18th century, history recorded the case of Valentina Vassilyeva - the woman who set a Guinness record for childbirth when she had 69 children. Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Vassilyeva ancestors, such as occupation. But what does the science say? Copyright pixelatedplanet.net 2018 | Alright Reserved. 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We don't know her first name (although some sources say her name was Valentina), but we do know that she's claimed to have given birth to 16 sets of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets . Even in the 18th and 19th centuries, people were hesitant to buy such a story. The monastery had registered births between the years 1725 and 1765. Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Vassilyeva surname lived. . We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. It is thought she lived to the age of 76. Valentina Vassilyeva from Russia had 69 children with her husband in the 1700's: 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets! But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. According totheBBC calculations, Mrs. Vassilyeva couldve had 37-week pregnancies with twins, 32-week pregnancies with triplets, and 30-week pregnancies with quadruplets. This may seem enough atfirst glance, impossible atsecond glance, and dubious for the third glance, solets make some calculations. Maddalena Granata (born 1839) of the City of Nocera, Italy, who married at age 28, had given birth to 52 living and dead children, 49 being males, by 1886. Valentina Vassilyeva Not much is actually known about Valentina Vassilyeva. However, the more children you have inthe womb, the more likely itisthat your labor will come earlier. If the content contained herein violates any of your rights, including those of copyright, and/or violates any the above mentioned factors, you are requested to immediately notify us using via the following email address operanews-external(at)opera.com and/or report the article using the available reporting functionality built into our Platform Valentina Vassilyev from tree Vassilyev Family Tree (Private) Birth 1707 Russia No publicly available family members 2 People 1 Record 1 Source Contact Tree Owner Alexandra Vassilyev Alexandra Vassilyev from tree European Royals Family Tree (Private) No publicly available LifeStory events No publicly available family members Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Historians, however, generally agree there is a fair amount of truth behind the claims about the unbelievable number of offspring that came out from Vassilyevs womb. Click. High Data Accuracy. Mrs. Vassilyev still holds the official, validated world record for being the most prolific mother ever and theres doubt it will be broken any time soon. Not much else is known about Mrs. Vassilyev except that she is believed to have lived until her mid-70s. Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Vassilyeva, Browse profiles of historical people with the Vassilyeva last name, This page needs Javascript enabled in order to work properly. That is, they present several ovulations in the same month and all these ovules are capable of being fertilized. 67 of these children were said to have survived infancy. However, few other details are known of her life, such as her date of birth or death. My husband and I said we wanted a big family. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Vassilyeva census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more. Later, the French Academy attempted to ascertain whether the Vassilyev case was authentic, and were supposedly told by a member of the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg that no verification was needed, as thesons and daughters of the Vassilyevslived in Moscow and received government favors for their large brood. His second wife presented him with 18children: 12twins and 6triplets. Lancet (1878) refers to a twin study carried out by the French Academy and: " This peasant woman was the first wife of Feodor Vassilyev. Nsk92 04:23, 29 November 2009 (UTC) Reply . 67 of the 69 children born were said to have survived infancy. GET IN TOUCH WITH A RECORD SPECIALIST (Opens in a new window), original sound - Guinness World Records, A history of record-breaking births: From the heaviest baby to most prolific mother ever, How to set or break a Guinness World Records title. In total there were 35 births and 87 children, of which 84 are alive and only three are buried. The above can be trusted, although it is surprising, since it came directly from an English merchant in St. Petersburg to his relatives in England, who added that the peasant was to be presented to the empress, completed the publication of the magazine . We can speculate it was achievable given that triplets or quadruplets typically arrive before the nine-month margin. The family lived in the 1700s, between 1707-1782. Depending on when she started menstruating and when she began menopause, Mrs. Vassilyev may very well have been pregnant 27 times, but the likelihood of her (and nearly all of her babies) surviving childbirth and infancy, respectively, is low, especially for poor Russian peasants in the 1700s. The Monastery of Nikolsk recorded information about births for the Moscow government, and the monastery reported in 1782that Feodor was a 75-year-old peasant who had 87 children total between his first and second wives, 82 of which were alive that year. He also runs a blog This City Knows. All investigation was superfluous, that members of the family still lived in Moscow and that they have been the object of favors from the Government. She delivered 16 sets of twins, seven triplets and four squads of quadruplets. Valentina Vassilyeva was the first wife of Feodor Vassilyev; both were peasants and living in Shuya Russia in the first half of, Writer + Editor | Slow Living + Science Nerd | Repd by Folio Lit | Follow my stories here: https://sarahcottrell.medium.com/membership, https://sarahcottrell.medium.com/membership. Apropos of the enquiry, the Committee of the Academy recall an account of a quite extraordinary fecundity that was published by M. Hermann in his "Travaux Statistiques de la Russie," for Fedor Vassilet [sic]. It is also not impossible for a woman to have 27 pregnancies during her fertile years. According tosome sources, her name was Valentina Vassilyeva, and she holds the Guinness World Record for the most children ever. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. These cookies do not store any personal information. Furthermore, all of her children would have survived except for two. Valentina Vassilyevawas the first wife ofapeasant named Feodor Vassilyev from Shuya, Russia. While theoretically, Mrs. Vassilyeva had enough time tocarry all the babies, there are acouple more facts toconsider. The Radford family, in the United Kingdom, had 16 children, or the case of Nadya Suleman, the mother who had octuplets, managed to have 14 . Ormaybe youre somewhere inthe middle, with your own truth? Obviously, she wasnt giving birth for the entire period ofher life. His photographs document both the usual and the unusual in the daily life of Boston. Although there may be some debate about precisely how many children Valentina birthed, her story has been fairly documented. CLAIM: A photograph shows Valentina Vassilyeva posing with her 69 children. Only two children didnt survive past infancy, leaving her with 67 healthy children. In1783,The Gentlemans Magazinepublished anarticle that included alist regarding the Vassilyevs case. Wealso have asmall myth-busting bonus atthe end, sodont missit! Valentina Vasileva. Quarternary Twins are When Two Babies are Both Cousins and, Who Holds the Guinness World Record for the Longest TV. She gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets between 1725 and 1765, in a total of 27 births. What complicates the story and makes it even weirder is that Valentinas husband eventually separated from her and married a second time. Sounds pretty challenging initself, doesnt it? Valentina Vassilyeva was the first wife of a Russian peasant named Feodor Vassilyev from Shuya. Many critics have questioned the claims, citing the 17th centurys lack of modern science, which would have made it extremely difficult for any woman to bear that many children.