09 March 2023 , 12:43
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A woman with 230 great-great-grandchildren has met her great-great-great-grandchild for the first time.
MaeDell Taylor Hawkins, 98, has more than 600 descendants and her enormous family, from Kentucky, just keeps on growing.
The matriarch married her first husband at the age of 16 when he was 50-years-old - becoming stepmother to his 10 children and having 13 children together.
According to one of her granddaughters, MaeDell has "outlived her husbands" and all but one of her stepchildren - and she is still going strong ahead of turning 99 in July.
Eight decades later, MaeDell reportedly has 106 grandchildren, 222 great-grandchildren, 234 great-great-grandchildren and 37 great-great-great-grandchildren living across the US.
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When the latest great-great-great-grandchild was born in December, it provided the opportunity to get a rare photo of six generations of women in the family.
MaeDell is still going strong at 98-years-old (Facebook)MaeDell held the newest member of the family, baby Zhavia Whitaker, in her arms for the first time in bed in her nursing home a couple of weeks ago.
Standing behind the pair were MaeDell's daughter Francis, granddaughter Gracie, great-granddaughter Jacqueline and the great-great-granddaughter Jaisline, who is the baby's mum.
Gracie Howell, 58, though the photo was "special because it's all girls" so posted it online - and the adorable snap has now gone viral.
MaeDell Taylor Hawkins with six generations of her family, including her great-great-great-grandchild (Facebook)She told People that her grandmother is still "smart as a tack" and isn't afraid to "tell you how to take care" of a child.
This was proven when at one point during Zhavia's visit, the baby got a little fussy and MaeDell "swooped her right out of mama's arms."
While she admits her family has an "amazing" story, Gracie says she never thought their photo would get such traction.
Gracie said it have been an amazing opportunity to get her grandmother some recognition and she has been overwhelmed by the positive response.
There are a lot of babies being born (Getty Images/iStockphoto)MaeDell married her first husband, a 50-year-old railroad worker with 10 children from a previous relationship, when she was just 16-years-old.
While husband Bill Taylor was frequently away for work, she raised the 13 kids they had together and her stepchildren.
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While MaeDell's life hasn't been easy, her granddaughter says she has "never heard her complain" and "just went about her day".
She wasn't a wealthy woman and lived without a lot of modern day necessities - but gave her kids a great childhood.
"She had no modern conveniences, no washer dryer, no dishwasher, no running water. I mean, I can remember I was a teenager and she still didn't have running water," explained Gracie.
She also added that her mother doesn't remember ever going without a hot breakfast and dinner or having no clean clothes to wear.
As well as establishing a foundation for her future generations - MaeDell's legacy will also be passing down her famous tomato preserves recipe.
Members of the family plan to all meet up again in June to get another picture with their incredible matriarch.