The American Couple Who Had 13 Sons — Then Something Unexpected Happened

In 1955, Emory and Thelma Harrison of Tennessee had something that newspapers found remarkable: 13 surviving sons and not a single daughter.

The boys ranged from a young child to men in their twenties. Their unusual family attracted national attention, and the Harrisons traveled to New York that year after Thelma was named an “Honor Mother of the Year.”

A photograph from the trip, preserved in the Bettmann archive, shows the family outside a clothing store on West 34th Street in Manhattan. Contemporary reporting described the Harrisons as America’s largest all-boy family.

There was one detail behind the number that often gets lost.

Thelma had actually given birth to 14 sons.

One of them, Alvin Landon Harrison, was born in 1935 and died in infancy. Cemetery records identify him as the son of Emory and Thelma Harrison.

So when newspapers described the Harrisons as having 13 sons in 1955, they were referring to the 13 boys who were still living.

And the family wasn’t finished growing.

Then Came Another Son

The Harrisons had another boy in 1955, bringing the total number of sons born to them to 14.

Then, three years later, something happened that the family had been waiting years to see.

On April 28, 1958, Thelma gave birth at a Johnson City hospital.

The baby was a girl.

Her name was Barbara Ann.

An Associated Press report published at the time described the event as a mother of 14 boys finally giving birth to a girl. It said the Harrisons had been hoping for a daughter for 24 years and that 13 of their boys were living.

Barbara Ann grew up and eventually married Jerry Roberts. She remained connected to the large Harrison family throughout her life.

Her obituary, published in 2026, confirms her birth date, her parents and her Harrison family connections. Barbara died on April 24, 2026, at the age of 67, just four days before her 68th birthday.

The Harrison story is memorable because the numbers tell only part of it.

In 1955, a Tennessee couple had 13 surviving sons and had become famous because of it.

Then they had another son.

And in 1958, after 14 sons had been born, their first daughter finally arrived.

Barbara Ann was the unexpected final chapter in one of America’s most unusual family stories of the 1950s.

Quick Facts

• Parents: Emory and Thelma Harrison
• Location: Johnson City area, Tennessee
• Surviving sons in 1955: 13
• Total sons born: 14
• Son who died in infancy: Alvin Landon Harrison
• First daughter: Barbara Ann Harrison
• Barbara Ann’s birth: April 28, 1958
• Famous family photograph: New York City, 1955