This 98-year-old matriarch was finally able to meet her first great-great-great-grandchild in her large family in Kentucky.
Last February, MaeDell Taylor Hawkins held seven-month-old Zhavia Whitaker for the first time.
Her granddaughter Gracie Snow Howell posted a photo of the moment that went viral. MaeDell today has more than 620 grandchildren, between her own daughters’ children and their children’s children.
“We thought it was special because it was all girls,” Gracie, who appeared alongside MaeDell, told People.
Pictured are Frances Snow, daughter of MaeDell, Gracie Snow Howell, granddaughter of MaeDell, Jacqueline Ledford, great-granddaughter of MaeDell, and Jaisline Wilson, great-great-granddaughter of MaeDell. Sheryl Blessing, Hawkins’ granddaughter, took the photo.
MaeDell will be 99 years old in July.
She married in 1940, at age 16, to a 50-year-old railroad worker who had 10 children from a previous relationship, Fox News reported.
Bill Taylor, her husband, was often away for work. According to Gracie, they still had 13 children together, and they all lived without most modern conveniences. The family had no washing machine, dryer or running water.
“I know she had a hard life, but she didn’t complain,” Gracie told People.
Gracie goes on to say that she never heard her mother, Frances, complain about the lack of anything in the family home.
As this photo of six generations of women shows, MaeDell’s support and love has clearly led to generations of happy, healthy women and children.
“If everything goes well, the baby is doing well, the grandmother is doing well, we will all get together in June to take another photo,” Gracie told Fox News.
According to Fox, the Kentucky matriarch has 106 grandchildren, 222 great-grandchildren, 234 great-great-grandchildren and 37 great-great-great-grandchildren who live in the United States.
We can’t imagine raising so many wonderful children with so little! Let us know what you think in the comments!
