These days the birth of twins is usually not too much of a surprise, thanks to the scans available through modern technology. But it wasn’t that long ago that twins were quite an unexpected addition to the family. 

As you might imagine, giving birth in the nineteenth century was significantly more risky than today, and even more so when it was a multiple birth, though the extra child was generally unknown until more than one baby arrived.

It helped to have money and the ability to pay for medical care. This was recognised by Queen Victoria who started a tradition known as the Queen’s Bounty which continued until 1957. It was a Royal donation to mothers who had three or more babies in one birth, so they could meet the unexpected expenses of the surprising additions to their family. Wonderful, but what about twin births?

You’re most likely to find twins in your family tree if you research siblings of your direct ancestor, and look closely at all dates of birth. It’s by doing that I’ve discovered twins on multiple branches of my family. Here are five sets of twins born in the nineteenth century, all from my maternal family.

Twins born to John and Elizabeth Ashby were my 3x great-grandfather John and his sister Elizabeth. They were born in Seal, Kent in 1835, but baby Elizabeth died at the age of “5 months & 1 fortnight”. As an adult in his early twenties, John emigrated to Australia where he had a family. John died in his thirties.

My 2x great-grandmother Harriett Pickering was also a twin. She and her sister Josephine were born in Carcoar, outback New South Wales, in 1848 to Richard Pickering and Ellen Kennewell. Harriett had a large family and died aged 92, but it appears that Josephine may have died as a child.

William and James Hampton are my first cousins four times removed. Born in Montrose in 1864, they were adopted by their uncle and aunt after the deaths of their parents.

Lilly and Isabella Reid are my great-great aunts. They were born in Aberdeen in May 1876. Both married and had families. They both died in Arbroath, within two years of each other when in their late seventies. Their mother also had siblings who were twins, my 3x great uncle and aunt Alexander and Agnes Smith who were born in Aberdeen in 1855. Agnes died as a baby after contracting mumps.

How many twins have you found in your family tree?

Selected references

The History Press, ‘Wealth, poverty, and childbirth in Victorian Britain’, https://thehistorypress.co.uk/article/wealth-poverty-and-childbirth-in-victorian-britain/, accessed 5 February 2025.

The Social Historian, ‘The Queen’s Bounty’, https://www.thesocialhistorian.com/the-queens-bounty/, accessed 5 February 2025.

Google Arts and Culture, ‘Seeing Double: How History Became Obsessed With Twins’, https://artsandculture.google.com/story/seeing-double-how-history-became-obsessed-with-twins/XgIiH-H78-86LQ, accessed 5 February 2025.

Wellcome Collection, ‘A History of Twins in Science’, https://wellcomecollection.org/stories/a-history-of-twins-in-science, accessed 5 February 2025.