Twins Born On Different Days?— The Curious Case of the Rogers Twins

You’d think twins—born side by side, raised under the same roof could at least agree on one thing: the day they were born. But…

Not these twins!

My great-grandmother, Clara Bessie Rogers, always celebrated her birthday on July 18th, while her twin brother, Bennett Hester Rogers, insisted his birthday was July 15th. A three-day difference for twins sounds like something out of a tall tale—but in this case, it’s just a classic example of old-school record keeping, family memory, and maybe even a little clerical chaos. For their entire lives Bessie and Hester, as they were known, celebrated different birthdays—neither knowing who was right. To top it off, July 18th is also the day Bessie enter into a marital bond with Reuben Alford Lowery. Not only didn’t Bessie never know when her actual birthday was, she also believed she married on her birthday.

Two twins. Two birthdays. One long-standing mystery.

After some digging into Franklin County, North Carolina birth records, I found the original listing for both Bessie and Hester. According to the record—just a long, handwritten list of babies born around the same time—both names are listed under July 15th, 1917. Not the 18th. Not different days. One shared birthday.

So how did this mix-up happen?

The Era of Records

Bessie claimed that her mother, Mary Minerva “Lou” Perry Rogers, told her they were born on July 18th, and maybe that’s what was celebrated at home. But in 1917, children were still born at home, usually with a midwife, relative, or neighbor attending. Doctors were rare, and many births not recorded until weeks or months later, with the official filing of birth records spotty at best. The system took time to catch up—especially in rural counties like Franklin.

Driver’s licenses, which weren’t mandated in North Carolina until 1935—Bessie and Hester were 18 yearn old adults. And even then, you didn’t need to show proof of your birthday. No birth certificate. No ID card. Not even a driving test! Mistakes like this were common, and once the ink dried, well, that was that. There were no online forms to double-check. No digital databases to sync up. Just handwritten logs and best guesses.

Neither of them was ever quite sure who was right, and despite their efforts over the years to correct the paperwork, the mystery remained, at least during their lifetimes. Whether a clerical error or some other unknown reason official documents could never be corrected.

More Than a Date

Though their birth dates didn’t match on paper, everyone important knew the truth. The community, the church, the family—they all saw them as a matched pair.

It’s likely they celebrated on the same day when they were younger, if birthdays were celebrated at all. Back then, birthdays weren’t the balloon-filled, cake-and-streamer events we know today. Most rural families focused on chores, not candles.

Bessie and Hester were twins and proud of it. And that’s the part that matters most.

So here’s to Bessie and Hester—born together, remembered together, and forever twins, no matter what the paperwork says.

Do you have twins in your family? Any unique or funny birthday stories?—Leave it in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!