On 26 February 1928, Johannes Beers, 24, and his wife, Aaltje Mooij, 23, welcomed their firstborn children – twins Rika and Nick – into their lives.
The couple went on to have 13 more children – amounting to a total of six girls and nine boys – with their youngest being born in 1949, when they were aged 45 and 44.
Johannes and Aaltje are no longer alive, and sadly nor are two of their children, Piet (1929–1999) and Jan (1934-2011). However, the remaining 13 siblings, aged 74–95, are still going strong – in fact, they’ve broken the record for the highest combined age of 13 living siblings.
As of 21 December 2023, the Beers siblings (Netherlands) have a combined age of 1,116 years 340 days, surpassing the Donnelly family (Ireland), who were awarded the record in 2017 with a combined age of 1,075.
The Beers children were all born and raised in the city of Heerhugowaard. Their family home was built by their father, who later extended the house to accommodate his growing family.
Four sisters shared a bedroom, whilst the other two slept in a medieval-style box-bed. All the brothers slept in the attic, two boys per bed.
“Coincidentally, we have never slept with all 15 children at home at the same time,” revealed Jos, the youngest sibling.
“My eldest brother was stationed as a soldier in Indonesia before I was born, during the war in the late 1940s. When he returned, my eldest sister was just married.”
Additionally, sometimes one or more sisters would sleep at other houses in the neighbourhood, as Jos says they were “outsourced” to other large families to help with the housework. “They had to stay overnight there, even if that family lived less than 100 metres away,” he recalls.
Jos says he enjoyed the “pleasant hustle and bustle” of being surrounded by so many siblings during his childhood.
His older brothers were always around to help him with homework, and he has fond memories of playing football with them in the garden.
The downside was that money was spread thin, and he remembers receiving fewer Christmas presents than other children in the area.
“Another disadvantage was that father was very strict,” Jos said. “If the girls sometimes had fits of laughter that wouldn't stop, father wasn't easy on them.”
Mealtimes were a hectic affair; Aaltje usually cooked all the food by herself, whilst the sisters did the dishes afterwards.
“There was a large table, but when we were all at home a small table was used separately,” Jos recalls. “When the sisters were dating and their friends stayed for dinner, we were sometimes forced to eat in the hallway.”
When the Beers siblings all became adults, almost all of them continued living in and around their hometown (the exception was Nick, the oldest brother, who moved to the USA for 25 years before returning).
This meant that the family was able to get together often every year, doing so on each of the siblings’ birthdays, as well as those of their spouses.
Nine of the 13 living siblings still live in close proximity to each other, and they usually meet up once per week; the brothers play tennis together, whilst the sisters spend the afternoon playing cards.
Once per year the siblings all spend a weekend together in the countryside, in addition to the brothers’ tradition of taking a one-day trip to a new location each year.
The 15 Beers siblings produced 45 children, 77 grandchildren, and 26 great-grandchildren – adding up to a total of 163 descendants of Johannes and Aaltje.
To keep everyone updated on each other’s lives, the family produce a biannual newspaper, titled Beersenkrant. “It contains interviews with grandchildren, explanations about our professions, fun anecdotes, famous Beers in the media, and much more,” Jos explained.
Jos doesn’t attribute his siblings’ longevity to good genes, due to the fact that their mother died aged 62, and their father died at 73.
Rather, he believes there are several more important factors which have led to his siblings becoming record breakers, such as having a strong family bond, having empathy towards each other, living healthy and relaxed lifestyles, having good senses of humour, having positive outlooks on life, never holding grudges, and simply being lucky to have never had serious illnesses.
Our advice is: take people as they are, not as you want them to be. And always be positive, even if those around you are not. - Jos
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