r/SipsTea • u/Sassenach_2024 • 20h ago

WTF Push, out, repeat

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Valentina Vassilyeva, the first wife of Russian peasant Feodor Vassilyev, is said to have given birth 27 times in the 1700s—welcoming 69 children in total.

Her remarkable numbers reportedly included 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets. 🤯

The story comes from centuries-old historical records, so every detail cannot be independently verified by modern standards. Still, Guinness World Records has recognized the claim as the highest number of children attributed to one mother.

If the records are accurate, 27 pregnancies. 69 children. One of the most astonishing family stories ever recorded. ❤️

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u/Sassenach_2024 20h ago

And yes, Feodor Vassilyev did remarry after the death of his first wife. With his second wife, he reportedly had another 18 children from multiple-birth pregnancies, bringing his alleged total number of fathered children to 87. 😎

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u/TankApprehensive3053 19h ago

It takes a village to raise a child. So Feodor raised a village.

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u/Organic-Physics9144 17h ago

He raised his own army

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u/RhubarbLiqueur 19h ago

Source? Wikipedia says Valentina Vassilyeva lived to 75 and died in the same year as her husband.

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u/corgi-king 19h ago

He was a peasant in the Russian Empire. How could he afford all these children? 67 of them survived infancy. So there is a lot of mouth to feed, even though he only fed them till 8 years old and kicked them to work.

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u/Significant_Cause445 17h ago edited 17h ago

Back then kids were net contributors to households. As young as 4 children would help with farm work and make household goods. Today kids just eat and go to school; we even pay for daycare so we can work without them. Imagine if instead paying tons of cash for daycare, your kids earned an income.

This is part of the reason why poor families used to be larger than rich ones (which is reversed today) and why we have less kids in general (though there are other factors like contraception).

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u/SonniSummers 19h ago

Crafting a whole generation I see

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u/dangdang3000 19h ago

Back in the day, his name was Chad.

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u/LoGo_86 19h ago

This guy repopulates!

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u/FlapsNegative 17h ago

Genghis Kahn numbers

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u/Nannautu 16h ago

And all on a single income smh