During the second quarter of the 20th century, Rudolph August Schoelzel and Olivia Henrietta Schoelzel (née Gutenberger) of Colby, Wisconsin, welcomed 21 children — 10 girls and 11 boys.
Here are the names of all 21 siblings:
- Rudolph August, Jr. (born in 1925)
- DuWayne D. (b. 1926)
- Darlene D. (b. 1927)
- Doris Janet (b. 1928)
- Jerold Elroy (b. 1929)
- Lyle James (b. 1930)
- Beatrice Joyce (b. 1931)
- Darnell H. (b. 1932)
- Ione Mardell (b. 1933)
- Emerita Ella (b. 1934)
- Audris Ann (b. 1936)
- Ronald R. (b. 1937)
- Glen R. (b. 1938)
- James E. (b. 1939)
- Patricia Elayne (b. 1940)
- Arlyn August (b. 1941)
- Sandra, possibly Cassandra (b. circa 1942)
- Dennis Dale (b. 1945)
- Colleen Margarette Edna (b. 1946), nicknamed “Connie”
- Albert A. (b. 1947)
- Korliss Colette (b. 1948)
(The 21-child Schoelzel family was almost as big as the 22-child Schoville family, also of Wisconsin.)
More than half of the Schoelzel children are listed on the 1950 U.S. Census:
Which of the above names do you like most?
P.S. Thank you to Destiny for letting me know about the Schoelzel family! (Destiny also told me about both the Jones family and the Miller family.)
Sources:
- Clark County, Wisconsin – History & Genealogy
- Find a Grave
- FamilySearch.org
- Rudolph A. Schoelzel, Jr. – Obituary
Image: Clipping from the Marshfield News-Herald (8 Nov. 1949)
The first born gets named after their father, which isn’t unusual, but 21 kids and not one gets named after their mother? You would think they might have used something to recognize the parent doing most of the work involved in having 21 kids.
Olivia, Olive, Oliver, Ollie, Henrietta, Henry, Hank seem like good options. Or maybe something a little less common like Olivine or Heinrich.
It does seem unfair, doesn’t it? Even the simplest options (Henrietta/Henry) would have worked well in this set. Maybe she just didn’t want a namesake…?