Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 January 1902 — Big Families of Big Boys. [ARTICLE]

Big Families of Big Boys.

The Indianapolis News recently gave a group picture of a family of eight brothers, all of whom live in the same neighborhood, in Fulton county, and all of whom are married and have families of their own. They never had any sisters, and not any other brother. Jasper county can not, so far as we know, quite match that record. But we have two families who come pretty close to it. In M. B. Halstead’s family, in Newton tp„ eight sons were born, and all reached adult ages, but one of them was killed years ago, in: Dakota, by a pistol shot, and supposed accidentally. The seven surviving brothers are all at or near the old home, but most of them, it must be admitted, do not display the amount of enterprise in getting wives and homes of their own, that their otherwise vigorous characteristics would lead one to expect. There is or rather was still another large family of boys straight vicinity of Rensselaer, the W. H. Churchill family. Eight boys were born to them and no girl. One boy died in infancy, but seven are still living, and of adult age. Several of these boys have moved to other states.