Sophia SLAUENWHITE

1839 - 1878  (38 years)

• Name	Sophia SLAUENWHITE
  Birth	13 Aug 1839	Northwest Arm, Halifax, NS   [1]
  Gender	Female
  Baptism (Cond)	7 Jan 1858	Terence Bay, Halifax, NS   [2]
  Death	1878	Terence Bay, Halifax, NS   [3]
  Person ID	I8742	A Few Relatives of Bob and Mary Hegerich
  Last Modified	20 Apr 2008

  
  

  Father	John Frederick SLAUENWHITE,   b. 15 Mar 1803, St. Margaret's Bay, NS d. 23 Jul 1876, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS (Age 73 years)
  Mother	Catherine GLOVER,   b. Abt 1809, NS d. 7 Jan 1892, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS (Age ~ 83 years)
  Marriage	28 Nov 1832	Halifax, Halifax, NS   [4]
  Family ID	F809	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Absalom COUNTWAY,   b. 19 Apr 1843, Lunenburg County, NS d. 22 Nov 1882, Corbett's Wharf, Halifax, Halifax, NS (Age 39 years)
  Marriage	18 Dec 1861	Halifax, Halifax, NS   [5]
  Children	1. Infant COUNTWAY, [Twin],   b. Terence Bay, Halifax, NS   2. Infant COUNTWAY, [Twin],   b. Terence Bay, Halifax, NS   3. Infant COUNTWAY, [Twin],   b. Terence Bay, Halifax, NS   4. Infant COUNTWAY, [Twin],   b. Terence Bay, Halifax, NS   5. George William COUNTWAY,   b. 8 Jun 1862, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. Yes, date unknown   6. Sarah Ann COUNTWAY, [Twin],   b. 1 Aug 1866, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. Yes, date unknown   7. Infant COUNTWAY, [Twin],   b. 1 Aug 1866, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. Yes, date unknown   8. Charles Alfred COUNTWAY, [Twin],   b. 1 May 1869, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. Mar 1930, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS (Age 60 years)   9. Thomas William COUNTWAY, [Twin],   b. 1 May 1869, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. 14 Jun 1869, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS (Age 0 years)   10. Jane Elizabeth COUNTWAY, (Quadruplet),   b. 29 Dec 1871, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. 6 Jan 1872, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS (Age 0 years)   11. Amy Sophia COUNTWAY, (Quadruplet),   b. 29 Dec 1871, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. 9 Jan 1872, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS (Age 0 years)   12. Mary Eliza COUNTWAY, (Quadruplet),   b. 29 Dec 1871, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. 1 Jan 1872, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS (Age 0 years)   13. Absalom COUNTWAY, (Quadruplet),   b. 29 Dec 1871, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. 29 Dec 1871, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS (Age 0 years)   14. Mary Catherine COUNTWAY, (Quadruplet),   b. 22 May 1873, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. 15 Jun 1958, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS (Age 85 years)   15. Annie Odell COUNTWAY, (Quadruplet),   b. 22 May 1873, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. 22 Oct 1874, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS (Age 1 year)   16. Margaret Ann COUNTWAY, (Quadruplet),   b. 22 May 1873, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. Yes, date unknown   17. Infant COUNTWAY, (Quadruplet),   b. 22 May 1873, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. Yes, date unknown   18. Henry Percy COUNTWAY,   b. 13 May 1876, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS d. 3 Jul 1946, Terence Bay, Halifax, NS (Age 70 years)
  Family ID	F4462	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	16 Nov 2024

  
  

• Notes

  A Presbyterian Witness article--dated 6 Jan 1872--has this from a correspondent: “ I just returned from a visit to Mrs. Countaway of Torn's Bay, who presented her husband on Friday last with a New Year's gift of four babies--three girls and one boy. Mrs. C. told me that she was ten years married and gave birth to thirteen children. The first three were single, the next three twins each time, and now four. Beat that if you can. “ A second Presbyterian Witness article--dated 31 May 1873--states: “At Terence Bay, a woman lives who has given birth to more children within a given time that any other woman of whom we remember to have heard. Her name is Sophia, the wife of Absalom Countaway. She was married in 1863, and about a year afterwards gave birth to one child. This was followed in due course by four sets of twins, then, about fifteen months since, came four at birth, and on Thursday last, this phenomenon was repeated, thus making seventeen children, in seven births within ten years.” It would appear that the second article has her year of marriage wrong, and the two articles make it unclear whether the second and third child were single births or twins. I suspect they were twins as all that would be consistent with the otherwise consistent pattern of births at two year intervals. Whatever the case, it is clear that the children born in 1873 were quadruplets. That brings the total number of known children of Sophia (Slaunwhite) COUNTAWAY to 18, although some cannot yet be identified and most likely died in infancy. [Bob H]

  
  

• Sources

  [S9289] Parish Register, St. Paul's Anglican Church--Halifax, Cited by Iris Shea. [S9219] Parish Register, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel--Prospect, 1858, page 180. [S9120] Observation--Date of Spouse's Second Marriage. [S9453] Religious Marriages in Halifax, 1768-1841, P. 142, #S-306. [S9275] Parish Register, St. Luke's Anglican Church--Halifax, Cited by Iris Shea.