Cousins are different flowers from the same garden, Part 1

Cousins! Now, of course, we all have a ton of "cousins"...but in this post, I'm strickly referring to 1st cousins. And, unless you're from a very small family, most people have a couple of cousins. Some, on the other hand, have a lot! I, for instance, have 27. This is both paternal and maternal. That 27 came from 7 aunts and uncles on my dad's side (2 never had children) and then 3 aunts and uncles on my mom's side.

I have two children of my own and they are babies compared to their cousins. Out of 5 siblings (2 are step), there are 18 cousins. I know that when my daughter was born, she was number 17 and my mom didn't seem too thrilled...almost like "oh, another grandchild". This got me thinking about really big families. I can't help but wonder if the grandparents were like "oh, another grandchild...number 25" LOL or "...number 35". 

My 3rd Great-Grandfather, Gerhard J. Jeckering "George" (1829-1898) immigrated to America from Germany about 1855. In Germany, he was a carpenter but when he moved to America, he opened "Jeckering Grocery: Four & Feed". He was married to Maria Elisabeth Kluneman "Elizabeth" (1830-1912) and they had 7 children. He, his wife and 7 children (9 people) lived in the apartment above the grocery store. I have no idea how many bedrooms or bathrooms this home had, wish I knew!!!


(Here is a picture of Gerhard J. Jeckering "George")

With 7 children, let's see how many grandchildren they had! 

George and Elizabeth Jeckering's children & number of children:
              

1. John F. Jeckering (1855-1941)

            -Wife- Katherine Feldman (1855-1924); 3 children.

2. Mary Jeckering (1857-1892)

            -Husband- Herman Schuer; 2 children.

3. Mary Wilhelmina Jeckering “Wilhelmina” (1860-1913)

            -Husband- John Adam Heider (1858-1911); 11 children.

4. Elizabeth Jeckering (1861-1957)

            -Husband- Louis H. Brinkman (1866-1922); 11 children.

5. Clara M. Jeckering (1863-1957)

            -Husband- Francis X. Heider (1860-1951); 10 children.

6. Joseph Herman Jeckering (1870-1931)

            -Wife- Rose A. Horn (1872-1933); 7 children.

7. Rose Margaret Jeckering (1874-1936)

            -Husband- Frank J. Raab (1876-1956); 4 sons.              

With 7 children, the 3 middle daughters had a ton of children, giving the total to 48 grandchildren! 

Grandchildren in order of Birth: 

(If you see a 👶 (baby) symbol, it means the child died before adulthood)

Date	Month	Child	Parent
1886	April	Louis Gerhard Brinkman	Elizabeth
	July	Joseph Gerhard Jeckering	John F.
	December	Mary Wilhelmina Heider	Clara
1887	December	Marie Margaret Brinkman	Elizabeth
1888	March	Emma Marie Jeckering	John F.
	July	Anna Josephine Heider	Clara
	December	Rose Marie Heider	Wilhelmina
1889	March	Harry John Brinkman	Elizabeth
1890	February	John Aloysius Heider	Wilhelmina
	June	Lawrence John Brinkman	Elizabeth
1891	January	Mary Schuer  👶	Mary
	October	Frank Joseph Heider	Wilhelmina
1892	January	Beatrice Catherine Heider	Clara
	February	Mary Schuer  👶	Mary
	February	Anna Elizabeth Brinkman	Elizabeth
1893	January	Clarence Leo Heider	Wilhelmina
	December	Helen Rose Brinkman	Elizabeth
1894	January	Carl Herman Heider	Clara
	March	Albert Vincent Heider  👶	Wilhelmina
1895	July	Wilhelmina Heine 👶Heider	Wilhelmina
	October	Joseph Henry Brinkman	Elizabeth
1896	January	Marie Claire Heider	Clara
1897	May	Clara Brinkman  👶	Elizabeth
	July	Victoria Elizabeth Heider	Wilhelmina
	August	Irene Marie Jeckering  👶	John F.
	October	Frank J. Heider	Clara
1898	Unknown	Gerhard Brinkman  👶	Elizabeth
1899	September	Anna Isabelle Heider	Wilhelmina
	December	Louis Gerhart Heider	Clara
1900	March	Urban Lawrence Brinkman	Elizabeth
	July	Gerhard Cletus Jeckering	Joseph
1901	January	Frances Gertrude Heider	Wilhelmina
1902	January	Cecilia Christine Brinkman	Elizabeth
	January	Charles Adam Heider	Clara
	April	Mary Julia Heider	Wilhelmina
	August	Cletus J. Jeckering	Joseph
1903	August	George Victor Heider	Wilhelmina
1906	May	Martha E. Jeckering	Wilhelmina
	November	Ellen E. Heider	Clara
1908	August	Norbert John Jeckering	Joseph
	Unknown	Gertrude C. Heider	Clara
1909	Unknown	Albert J. Raab	Rose
1910	April	Elizabeth Martha Jeckering	Joseph
1911	June	Leonard Raab  👶	Rose
1912	April	Infant Daughter  Jeckering   👶	Joseph
1913	May	Irene Jeckering  👶	Joseph
1914	April	Paul Henry Raab  👶	Rose
1917	February	Victor John Raab	Rose

             

                       

I really like this chart. Even though it was a lot of work to put together, it really shows how many children were born to this big family each year. And, with the "baby" symbol, you can really visualize how many grandchildren they lost- 11/48 grandchildren never made it to adulthood. This family only had 2 more than my immediate family...I suppose my mom should be happy that she only has 18 grandchildren and not 48! 😄

Try this with one of your "big family" ancestors and see what number you come up with! 

To see Part 2 of this post, Click Here