I have always been fascinated by multiple births. When I was young I had friends who were mirror twins. One was left handed, and the other right handed. One had her hair parted on the right, and the other parted on the left. They had the cutest cheek dimples - one on the left and the other on the right. I don't know if they found it creepy that I was fascinated by their appearance & how they moved that I stared intently at them while we played. On the playground watching them doubles skip perfectly synchronized I wished my future children would be twins or triplets or quadruplets of quintuplets....they would be so darn cute.
I was a smidge disappointed when our first child arrived as a single. My disappointment changed to gratitude when he developed colic. I have always been blessed to receive what I need - not necessarily what I want. I can't imagine looking after 2, 3 or more colicky babies at once.
I found 6 sets of twins in our Bramble Bush. No triplets or quadruplets, or quintuplets.....
I am pretty sure I have added more multiple births in my tree, but I just can't find them. It's only been recently that I have begun identifying multiples with a suffix (ie twin 1, twin 2) in family tree entries which allows for easy searching.
The twins I write about for this blog are my great aunts:
Clara and Lena Pellack.
They were born about 1914 as evidenced by this census record:
 |
| 1916 Canadian Prairie Census, source: Library and Archives Canada clickable link to the full document in sources below |
Family members listed are Alexander, Marry, Harry, Stephania (Esther), Max (my grandfather), John, Annie, Lena, Clara.
The twins were not in the 1921 census:
 |
| 1921 Canadian Census, source: Library and Archives Canada clickable link to the full document in sources below |
Family members listed are Alex, Mary, Harry, Esther (Stephania), Max (my grandfather), John, Mike.
Something happened to the twins (Lena & Clara) between 1916 and 1921.
I wondered if they had died in the Spanish Influenza Epidemic 1918-1919.
I wondered if they were buried on the homestead.
I found no record of their birth, but none of the children born on the homestead had their births registered. Mike and John appear to have registered their own births as adults.
The lack of birth registration made if fairly easy for my grandfather to recreate himself as an entirely different person.
A cousin theorizes Clara and Lena were not the children of Alexander and Mary - that they may have been neighbour children who happened to be there on the day the census was taken.
They are listed as daughters, but the census records have been known to be wrong. Take a closer look at Max in the 1921 record above - my grandfather is listed as female and a daughter.
If I ever get a chance to walk the old homestead I would keep my eyes down searching for a spot where my two great aunts might be buried.
Remembering this set of multiples who I believe are my aunts.
Clara Pelleck
BIRTH ABT. 1914 • homestead, SW, Section: 1, Township: 48, Range: 17, Meridian: W2, Gronlid, Saskatchewan, Canada
DEATH BEF 1921 • Not in 1921 census with family, but there for the 1916 census
Lena Pellack
BIRTH ABT. 1914 • homestead, SW, Section: 1, Township: 48, Range: 17, Meridian: W2, Gronlid, Saskatchewan, Canada
DEATH BEF 1921 • Not in 1921 census with family, but there for the 1916 census.
Remembering those who left their mark on the generations to come even when passing too young to leave a mark on the world!
This is why I search -
Cause ...
You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***
Sources:
1916 Census records, Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 10th 2020 from
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1916/Pages/1916.aspx
1921 Census records, Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 10th 2020 from
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1921/Pages/search.aspx
Pellack family, 1916 Census records, Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 10th 2020 from
https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1916&op=&img&id=31228_4363971-00315
Pellack family, 1921 Census records, Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 10th 2020 from
https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1921&op=img&id=e003219191
Links:
Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/
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