I've been researching my fourth great grandma, Ann, who was born in 1827 in Sussex.
According to the census records, she and her husband William Tompsett had 13 children together in the space of 33 years. They are as follows,
Martha Tomsett, born 1846
Lucy Tomsett, born 1848
Elizabeth Tomsett, born 1849
William Tomsett, born 1849
John Tompsett, born 1854
George Tomsett, born 1857
Edward Tomsett, born 1860
Caleb Tomsett, born 1861
Esther Tomsett, born 1863
Mary A Tomsett, born 1866
Ann Tomsett, born 1868
Bessie Tompsett, born 1869
Then, ten years later, we have:
Ebenezer Tompsett, born 1879, when Ann would have been around 52
Is this really feasible? I understand that women can and do have children later on in life, but was this common before the days of modern medical science? And why would there be a ten year gap between the births of Bessie and Ebenezer?
I apologise for sounding ignorant, but I feel like something is off somewhere here?
