Most Prolific Mother
Effie Dickey gave birth 22 times
Excerpt from my upcoming book “Official World Records”
Effie Dickey of Maine (b. 1866) was the most prolific mother in history, giving birth to (and raising) 22 children. You have probably never heard of Effie because she doesn’t usually get credit for this record.
Some explanation is in order. Russian authorities assert that Valentina Vassilyeva gave birth to 69 children, beginning in 1725. However, poor documentation (and common sense) makes this claim unlikely.
There is better evidence that Moddie Oliver, of Lumberton, North Carolina (U.S.) gave birth to 33 children; the last in 1952. Similarly there are good records showing Mary Jonas (b.1814) of Chester, England also gave birth to 33 children. Mary received some acclaim when a popular magazine wrote that she was “judged to have contributed most to the population of the Empire.”
Moddie and Mary seem to have bested Effie, and do hold a certain record for birthing. But, sadly, many of the children born to both Moddie and Mary did not live to adulthood. In fact, this is the unfortunate situation for nearly all claimants to this record.
But Effie was different. She raised all 22 of her children to adulthood. None died before age 30, and that’s a world record.
Effie was born on December 4, 1866, in Clinton, Maine, and married Charles Dickey in 1881. If you’re doing the math, she was only 14 when she married—and gave birth to her first child, Emma, nine months later. Charles was 22.
By her 18th child, Effie seemed to have run out of names—and named her daughter “Effie.” But then she rallied with some new ideas, naming her last four children Ivan, Arline, Jessie, and Hilda.
Once Effie gave birth to her twentieth child, she gained national notoriety. President Teddy Roosevelt offered the family land in the Midwest. But the president didn’t add money to transport all 24 people across the country. So Effie and Charles decided to stay in Maine. In fact, it’s not really clear how (or if) the family ever went anywhere as a group. They’d need the equivalent of an airport shuttle bus, and even then it would be a tight squeeze.
Unsurprisingly, Effie was known to be resourceful and clever; once scaring away robbers by persuading her horse to attack them. Yes, Effie apparently had an attack horse, according to published reports. But is that really more unlikely than birthing 22 children?
Most reportage on Effie includes photos of her at an advanced age—when she made some unfortunate choices in hairstyling. However, the image below is Effie as a young woman, smiling, and likely pregnant. Because she was almost always pregnant between the ages of 14 and 56.
