By Roger and Macia Eaton, grandson*
*Relation to Andy and/or Flora Lehr.
According to the Center for Disease Control, three percent of all births in the United States for the year of 2020 were twins. In the past seven generations, spanning 120 years, the family has produced ten sets of twins.
- Five sets of female twins
- Three sets of male twins
- Two sets of mixed (male/female) twins
A pdf version is provided below. It is in 11″x17″ format
Twins
Twins can be identical or fraternal. Identical twins occur when a single fertilized egg splits into two eggs during a pregnancy. Fraternal twins occur when two eggs are fertilized separately during a pregnancy. Another type of twin occurs when an egg splits before fertilization. Additional information is included at the end of the post.
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid carries genetic instructions for all organisms. It is unique for each person. Identical twins share 99.99% similar DNA. Fraternal twins share 50-50% similar DNA.
Fingerprints
Identical twins have different fingerprints.
DNA comparisons between the Eaton twins (fraternal) and the Lehr twins (Identical) Ancestry.com
Gwinner Twins
Martin and Grant Gwinner were the first set of twins in our family. They were born in 1905 in Ellsworth, Kansas. Flora (Rogers) Lehr was also born in Ellsworth. She was five years older than the twins. They were first cousins.
Martin “Mart” Gwinner – October 9, 1905-August 22, 1977
S. Grant Gwinner – October 9, 1905-March 22, 1983
Rogers Twins (first set)
Floyd and Lloyd Rogers were also cousins of Flora (Rogers) Lehr. They were born three years after the Gwinner twins – also in Ellsworth, Kansas.
Floyd Daniel Rogers – August 8, 1908-October 25, 1986
Lloyd Abner Rogers – August 8, 1908-July 27, 1996
Lehr Twins
Flora had two sets of twin cousins. In 1934 she delivered a set of twins. One was named after her mother, Caroline “Carrie” (Berkley Lehr) and Andy’s mother, Catherine “Kate” (Hughes) Lehr. The twins were numbers six and seven in a family of eight.
Caroline “Ruth” (Lehr) Smith – June 14, 1934-May 25, 2021
Catherine “Joan” (Lehr) Lewis – June 14, 1934-February 5, 2025
Rogers Twins (second set)
Donald and Donna became the fourth set of twins in the family. They are Flora’s cousins and a year younger than Ruth and Joan.
Eaton Twins
Flora and Andy had twin cousins, twin nieces, twin daughters and twin grandchildren. Roger and Margaret “Maggie” Eaton were the sixth and seventh children of James “Jim” and Mary (Lehr) Eaton.
Maggie, Mary and Roger Eaton, Age 8 1966, First Communion
Roger and Maggie Eaton, Age 10, 1968, Confirmation
From the collection of Roger and Marcia Eaton
Our mother told us to wash our faces and change our clothes. Neither of us was interested in stopping our important activities – playing.
She took us to a photo shoot. I remember being uncooperative, but my mother said whatever she needed to that would persuade me to make the best of the situation.
This happened at a time when I was experimenting with styling my own hair. My Uncle Charlie Smith had a barber shop, but I wanted a Beatle cut.
A few days later this photo was published in the local newspaper, The El Dorado Times.
Berkley Twins
Karla and Karen Berkley are Andy and Flora’s grandnieces.
Callihan Twins
Alexis and Kaylan Callihan became the first of four sets of twin great-great grandchildren of Andy and Flora.
St. Joseph Academy High School graduation
Kaylan’s graduation from Northwestern State University of Louisiana
From the collection of Dianna Phillips
Williams Twins
Zoe and Madelon are the second set of twin great-great grandchildren of Andy and Flora.
Jent Twins
Cayden and Colin Jent are the third set of twin great-great grandchildren.
Fournier Twins
The fourth set of twin great-great grandchildren are the Fournier twins.
Twins were a focus point for Doublemint chewing gum advertisements.
Resources
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/multiple.htm
https://matr.vcu.edu/resources/zygosity-information/zygosity-facts
Lehr Twins
By Jay Smith, grandson*
*Relation to Andy and/or Flora Lehr
I don’t know a whole lot about it but I know one of them was not feeling well so they decided to send the other one [on a date]. Either Dad or Wayne didn’t figure it out so they did it maybe a few times just for fun. I assume that it was early in the relationships.
Lehr Twins
By Celia (Lewis) Janousek, granddaughter*
*Relation to Andy and/or Flora Lehr
One time my Mom decided she didn’t like a guy after she had already made a date and Ruth [(Lehr) Smith] liked him so Ruth went on the date.
I remember when my mom [Joan (Lehr) Lewis] was rinsing off a dish in Ruth’s kitchen sink. Charlie [Smith] came in after work and came up behind Joan and hugged her around the waist. Mom turned around and started laughing and Charlie turned ten shades of red.
Lehr Twins
By Clay Smith, grandson*
*Relation to Andy and/or Flora Lehr
Mom [Ruth (Lehr) Smith said they switched dates. I’m sure they had more stories. I do remember at Gramma Lehr’s, mom grandma and Joan sitting on the back porch and I came in from playing and jumped on Joan’s lap and they were all laughing and I really thought it was mom.
Lehr Twins
By Judy (Lehr) Badwey, daughter*
*Relation to Andy and/or Flora Lehr
Photo: Joan, Ruth and Judy Lehr
Video clips – click to download
Judy Badwey Twins Story 01 1998-07-05
Judy Badwey Twins Story 02 1998-07-05
Eaton Twins
By Maggie (Eaton) Gurley, granddaughter*
*Relation to Andy and/or Flora Lehr
Stories about twins, well that subject matter is close to my heart. It seems for me at least, as I ‘grow up’ the lines between stories I’ve heard over the years and actual memories appear to blur!
Our dad’s mother, Granny-0, I’m told used to say that stories are always better when you embellish them. Having said all that, here we go!
There are a few stories that come to mind. One is the time twin brother Roger and I were walking into a store with mom. Roger turned to me and said, “Come on Sissy and I’ll buy ya a hat!” I’m still waiting for that hat, by the way!
Evidently it’s difficult to take twins shopping. Several times I remember mom tell this story (or something like this story), “The twins were five years old before I took them out with me to do some shopping. They, of course, hadn’t been to Woolworth’s before. It was a while before I took them back!” Roger and I thought all these awesome items were made just for us! Of course that’s what we thought, mom!
One important thing Roger and I have always had in common was the fact we always LUVED dogs. We had some great ones, too! It did start to teach us about the circle of life.
A few times in my life I’ve heard that I used to be a bit bossy when we were young. Today we call that ‘leadership skills.’
Hugs and Luvs,
Maggie Eaton Gurley
PS Today I am an excellent leader
Eaton Twins
By Roger Eaton, grandson*
*Relation to Andy and/or Flora Lehr
Our first friends are family. My first best friend was my twin, Margaret Ann. We did everything together. That wasn’t by choice. It was a functional efficiency. We shared everything. The most important thing that we shared was our family pet. First, a beautiful collie named Twister. After biting the post man, Twister was placed with a family living in the country. Jacques (French pronunciation) was a toy poodle who filled the gap in our family. We also shared our religious ceremonies and milestones; First Communion and Confirmation. In the summer, we would attend swimming lessons at the El Dorado municipal pool. The water seemed like ice in the morning. We shared many experiences. When it came to bike riding, we parted. Sissie didn’t learn to ride until we were in the fourth grade. I was four years old when my brothers, Joe and Mark, taught me to ride.
When Jimmy and Cathy left home, for college, the bedrooms at 112 North Emporia were reassigned. Sissie and I moved into the same room. We shared a full-sized bed. That worked for a while, but she liked to sleep later in the morning than me. It was important that I started my day (of play) early. I began to sleep in my (next day’s) clothes. That enabled me to begin my day sooner. Another streamlining technique was sleeping on the floor next to the bed. I used Matt’s sleeping bag as a mattress. To make a great thing even better, I brought a large cardboard box from my dad’s grocery store to use as a sleeping compartment. My days were filled and I did everything that I could to get the most from each day.
Callihan Twins
By Dianna (Lehr) Phillips, granddaughter*
*Relation to Andy and/or Flora Lehr
I got the President of NSU at graduation in his opening speech to talk about the two twins who have a tendency to trade places. He said that he will have to have a positive identification to give her the diploma. They did talk on stage.
The president said that Al and Dianna Phillips had a granddaughter who was an identical twin. He said both their names. Alexis was in shock and Kaylan texted me and said, “I know you did this”.