Khaberni - William Howel, the man who lived in the village of Trygaian in northwest Wales, set an extraordinary record after becoming the father of 43 children from five women during his life that spanned 105 years, significantly altering the demographics of this village which had a population of around 80 people at the time.
According to the "Mirror" newspaper, William began fatherhood at the age of 21 and continued to have roughly one child every two years until his death on March 11, 1581, when his youngest son, Griffith, was two and a half years old at the time of his father's death.
William married three times: first to Eilin Williams who bore 22 children, then to Cathrin Richards who bore 10 children, and thirdly to another Eilin Williams who bore 4 children, bringing the total number of children from his official marriages to 36.
In addition, he fathered another five children with women out of wedlock, bringing his total count to 43 children, an exceptional number for the 16th century, as the average family size in Wales and England at that time was less than 5 members.
Traveler Thomas Pennant, who visited the island in the late 18th century, said that William was a short, cheerful man who relied on dairy products for food and spent his time hunting and farming.
Church records showed that about 80 of his grandchildren were living in the village at the time of his death, while around 300 people from his lineage attended his funeral, extending to the fourth generation.
Today, William's memory is honored with a stone plaque and a small painting inside the Grade II listed St Caines Church, commemorating his unprecedented journey as a father of a remarkably large family in British history.
