There are lots of twins in my family, from close to extended family, and I’ve previously written about some of them. I’ve also made a fascinating discovery about multiple births in the maternal branch of my family.

Many years ago I was told there were three sets of twins in my 2x great-grandmother’s family, and it sounded as though they were her siblings. My research soon showed there was only one set of twins among them. However, I recently found the three sets of twins, just not in the way I expected.

In fact, my 4x great-grandmother, Elspet Smith nee Bain, had twins Alexander Leslie Smith and Agnes Smith who were born 1855. Then three of Elspet’s other children, daughters Margaret, Isabella and Rachel, each had twins as well. Agnes Smith sadly died as a baby, aged just four months, from mumps. I’m still researching Alexander.

Margaret and James McGlashan had twins Isabella and Mary Ann McGlashan born in 1874. Mary Ann died at five. Isabella McGlashan spent her early childhood in India, followed by her teenage years in Aberdeen, where she married, had two sons, and was widowed. She then emigrated to South Africa, remarried, and died in South Africa.

Isabella and James Reid had twins Isabella and Lilly Reid born in 1876, and they are my 2x great-grandaunts. Both Isabella and Lilly remained in Scotland where they married and had families. Isabella Reid married Thomas Jamieson and had five children, while Lilly had two children with Edward McKnight. The sisters died in the 1950s. Lilly was 78 and Isabella was 80.

Rachel and Alexander McPherson had twins Annie and Helen McPherson born in 1881. Annie had a daughter, Annie Smith McPherson, who was born prematurely in 1917 and died at five weeks. Annie never married. She worked as a shop assistant and a domestic servant, and was recorded as a retired housekeeper aged 78 when she died in 1960. Her sister Helen married James Carmichael in 1904 and they had two sons. Helen died of tuberculosis in 1927 when she was 45.

Did you know?

• Twins are more common than you might think. In Australia, twins are about 1 in every 70 births, and in the UK it’s about 1 in 65 births that are multiples.
• A woman who has a sibling who is a fraternal twin, is more than twice as likely to have twins herself.
• The likelihood of having twins may be determined by a mother’s genetics, but not a father’s genetics.

Select References

About Twins, Twins Research Australia, https://twins.org.au/twins-and-families/about-twins/, accessed 25 October 2025.

Do multiples or twins run in families and do they skip a generation?, Australian Multiple Birth Association, https://www.amba.org.au/faq/do-multiples-or-twins-run-in-families, accessed 25 October 2025.

Identical or non-identical?, Twins Trust, https://twinstrust.org/information/pregnancy-and-birth/finding-out/identical-or-non-identical.html, accessed 25 October 2025.