RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: bibliotaphist on Thursday 01 February 18 13:21 GMT (UK)
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Is there a general term used in English for a sole last child in a family, born to older parents, long after its siblings were born? It seems to be a common phenomenon in large Victorian families, and you'd think there would be a name for it.
Google has thrown up terms in other languages - Afrikaans laat lammetjie ('late lamb'), Norwegian attpåklatt ('afterthought') - and, I'm guessing recent, American English slang caboose baby, but has anyone come across any other term?
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.an afterthought?
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;D ;D
or often a grandchild taken on as supposedly there own - Adopted
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I’ve heard “late lamb” in English too.
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;D ;D
or often a grandchild taken on as supposedly there own - Adopted
Yes that did occur to me!
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Accident/afterthought/change of life baby - they don’t sound quite as tender as late lamb.
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Sometimes the presence of an unmarried daughter of child-bearing age in the household will raise the suspicion that the infant 'sons' and 'daughters' of elderly parents might be illegitimate grandchildren.
Stan
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Miracle baby ....said by parents who've spent years trying to conceive
I like late lamb expression
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That’s lovely brigidmac.
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I called my youngest daughter my perfect little surprise, she was born 19 years after my first daughter.
I do like late lamb though, very sweet.
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Sometimes called 'change of life baby'
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My grandparents had one daughter, then two years later another daughter, and then seven years later thanks to a whoops they had my mother ::)
I admit, when I see a sudden child long after the others my suspicions are raised immediately :)
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As I mentioned and see aghadowey has the same phrase ‘change of life baby’ was one I was aware of.
I remember as a child hearing the expression ‘she had him/her - on the change’. This might be said in a whisper or mimed - a bit like Les Dawson ;)
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Illegitimate grandchild. A late arrival.
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My foster daughter had two children before her mother had a second child ....
The 18 year old call sometime s calls him uncle tho he.s only 15. !
thru 3 generations of my ex husband's family ....people had uncles and aunts who were similar ages to themselves .his sister was 20 years younger they called her " la surprise "
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In New Zealand such a child was referred to as an autumn leaf
Jean
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My mom and dad had their much wanted second child, another daughter, 18 years after they had me. People sometimes assume a late baby is a mistake, not always! We are lucky to still have our dad who is 96, my sister was in her forties when we lost mom .
The only downside is that my sister didn't know our grandparents ,she has no memory of our paternal grandmother who was the last of the grandparents to die when my sister was three.
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Sometimes the presence of an unmarried daughter of child-bearing age in the household will raise the suspicion that the infant 'sons' and 'daughters' of elderly parents might be illegitimate grandchildren.
Stan
Yes quite so and that must at times happened.
However this suspicion was often the result of the misconception that older people do not engage in sex and it was more acceptable to imagine a late child (of respectable parents) was the result of a wayward daughter than the fact that her parents still engaged in such lewd acts.
Such was the hypocrisy of Victorian attitudes!
Cheers
Guy
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I like "late lamb" and "autumn leaf". I'm known as the "life destroyer" :( Still trying to make amends at 40.
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As I mentioned and see aghadowey has the same phrase ‘change of life baby’ was one I was aware of.
I remember as a child hearing the expression ‘she had him/her - on the change’. This might be said in a whisper or mimed - a bit like Les Dawson ;)
I think 'change of life baby' might have been the phrase I'd seen before but couldn't bring to mind. Not quite as poetic as late lamb or autumn leaf...
Thanks, all.
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I'm wondering if there's a name for me. According to my mum, I was born (27 Sep) "as the result of an over-zealous Christmas party" (everyone being fed up of the long years of war?). Being the child of a Victorian dad and an Edwardian mum, it was quite the revelation... ;D
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In Dec 1835 my ancestor Clara Emma Auber was born in Shoreditch. Her mother Elizabeth was 51 at the time. The previous child was born 8 and a half years earlier. Could be that Elizabeth had Clara during "the change". However a daughter born in 1813 had several illegitimate children and I worked out that she used tactics to cover this up. Her name was Emma, and Clara's middle name was Emma. I still think she is an illegitimate grandchild. She was baptised the same day as her cousin as though she was the last child of John and Elizabeth.
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My Mum arrived 13 years after her nearest sibling in age - when my Grandmother visited the Doctor because of her "unusual" symptoms he told her my Mum was a "tissuey growth", I'm sure she would much prefer to be thought of as a late lamb or autumn leaf.
Pinetree
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Ha ha my cousin aged abt 30 was told she may have a tumour and it was actually a baby !
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In the book "The Islandman" by Tomas O Crohan, he describes himself as "the scrapings of the pot". Also referred to himself as "an old cows calf". His siblings were all well grown when he was a baby. Tomas was born in 1856 on the Great Blasket Island off the south west coast of Ireland.
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I have only two children myself and they were born fifteen years appart.
First one was born with a severe hole in the heart leading to a number of years of trauma, this putting off any idea of another.
All ended well though as she is now in her mid fifties and doing fine.
Was a late decision to have another, no problems with this one.
I know in years to come, Family Search will insist on giving 'hints' saying there are likely to be missing children.
Never crossed my mind as to there being a 'term' for it.
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Though rather unpleasant... I have heard a few people being referred to as a 'Menopausal Mishap'.
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I think one should be very careful about any term which implies that a child is an accident or unwanted in any way. Even if this might in fact be true.
Just imagine the situation from the child's ( and then the adult he quickly becomes) point of view.
I was born when my 20 year old parents had been married 18 months- so nothing obviously untoward about my arrival. But one small comment from them about my birth coming unexpectedly and too soon from a financial point of view (ie they were extemely poor at the time), has coloured my entire relationship with them.
No child should have to think of themselves as being unwelcome or unwanted.
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My female self used to ask my father " What did you want to call me ?" He always replied "Gary!!"
Then I would ask "Dad did you really want a girl or a boy" He used to reply "A new motorbike"
So although I was loved I always felt a bit of a disappointment ! Its a wonder I wasn't called Norton !!
Mind my grandmother was 47 when she had my father (she was 17 when her first child was born) Granddad was 60 when he was born
However they did have a younger handsome lodger
so not sure what you would call my Dad!!