52 Ancestors: Handed Down - Twin Mystery

This week's blog prompt, Handed Down, immediately brought to mind many of the items that have been handed down to me by my ancestors.  But since I've written about those so many times, I thought I'd focus on a story that was handed down to me over the years by my mom.  Mom often declared "twins run in the family because my grandmother had twins three times".  And then she would add that each time either neither or just one of the babies survived.  So down the rabbit hole I went to find something - anything - that pointed to that statement being true.  Mom really didn't seem to know much about her family, particularly on her father's side, so was this accurate?

First up, my mother's maternal grandmother, and the only great grandmother I knew, was Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald.

Mabel Viola (McAboy) Fitzgerald, c. 1952

The 1910 census is a great place to start.  In fact, it may be the only document that shows the number of children born and the number living in 1910.  I can't be sure if the number "born" includes still births but my gut tells me it would.

1910 United States Census, Township 3, Fresno, California,
Roll: T624_76; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 33; Image: 485.

That's a little small (you think?) so I cropped it.

And it checks out.  All three children had been born by 1910 (that's my grandmother, Clara) and it shows that Mabel and Edward had been married for 8 years and she had 3 children, all of whom were living.  So, I don't think it was this grandmother.

Next up was Mom's paternal grandmother, Frances Maria (Brooks) Martin.

Frances Maria (Brooks) Martin, c. 1930

Frances was the daughter of William Brooks who was killed in the Civil War at Fredericksburg - I'm sure she had a lot of stories to tell.  But would she have said she had twins three times?

1910 United States Census, Township 3, Fresno, California
Roll: T624_76; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 33; Image: 475.

Too small again but before I move on, it surprised me to see that not only were they in the same Enumeration District as the Fitzgeralds, they were only five pages away - they were neighbors!

And it checks out.  8 children born and 8 children living.  That's my grandfather, Earl(e), at the bottom.  So based on this, I'd say it wasn't Frances that gave birth to twins three times.

I decided to go back another generation, although some of those women were not living at the 1910 census.

Mabel's mother was Rebecca Moriah (Waller) McAboy.

Rebecca (Waller) McAboy

Both Rebecca and her husband, William Warren McAboy, were still living in 1910.

1910 United States Census, Township 3, Fresno, California
Roll: T624_76; Page: 26B; Enumeration District: 29; Image: 362.

While not in the same Enumeration District, they WERE in Fresno!

Again, this checks out.  6 children born and 5 living in 1910 as their oldest son, William L. McAboy, died in 1881 at the age of 17.  So I don't think Rebecca had twins three times.

Edward Fitzgerald's mother was Julia Horgan.  While Julia had seven children, she died in 1885 so no chance to see anything about her in the 1910 census.  And I have been unable to learn much from the children's birth records, when they do exist.  So did Julia have twins three times?  I'm not sure I'll ever know.

Frances' mother was Sarah Jane (Miller) Brooks Anderson.

Sarah Jane (Miller) Brooks Anderson

While Sarah was alive in 1910, I can't find her anywhere in the census.  I'm fairly certain she was in Fresno and I've checked with each of her living children to see if she was living with them - no luck.

I can account for seven children - four with her first husband, William Brooks, and three with her second husband, John Hayward Anderson.  But I can't be sure if any of those were multiple births.  I need to find her in the 1910 census!

And last, but not least, was Earle's paternal grandmother, Millicent Emilene (Moore) Martin.  Since Millicent died in 1884, I have nothing to go on in 1910.  I know that she had eight children overall but nothing to confirm whether any of those were multiple births.

So where does that leave me?  Not much farther along than I was before.  But I'll keep working on it!