Michigan Couple Welcome First Daughter Born to Family Since 1885

A Michigan family welcomed a new daughter in March — the first daughter in the father’s direct, patrilineal line in over a hundred years.

Carolyn Clark told Good Morning America she was surprised when her husband, Andrew, first told her no girl had been born in his family’s “direct line” in over a century — since 1885.

“I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s a 50-50 chance every time. What do you mean?’” she recalled. “I asked his parents to confirm that information and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, no, we haven’t had a girl in our direct line.’ He’s had uncles and cousins that have had girls but in his lineage, there has not been a girl.”

However, Carolyn was hoping she and her husband would be the ones to break the family’s multi-generation pattern of only having boys.

“When we decided to start growing our family, I just was like, ‘I’m going to try for it,'” she told WZZM 13. “I want the girl.”

Carolyn suffered two miscarriages before finally becoming pregnant with their daughter, Audrey, who was born on March 17, per WZZM 13.

She told the outlet she wanted to double-check the ultrasound after first hearing she and her husband would be having a daughter.

“We were just, like, overwhelmed with joy,” she told the outlet.

However, she told Good Morning America she ultimately wanted a healthy child of either gender.

“When we found out we were pregnant, we honestly didn’t care if we were having a boy or girl at that point. We just were thankful to be pregnant and just praying for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby,” she said. “It was just icing on the cake that it was a girl.”

The Mirror reported the couple told the rest of the Clark family about the baby’s gender at a “grand reveal” in September.

“It was just joy, you know, just that she was here and healthy,” Carolyn told WZZM 13. “It made it even more special that it was a girl because it was like, you were worth the wait and all the struggles.”