A birth a century in the making.
A Texas family learned its 108-year streak of only giving birth to boys will come to an end when they welcome a little girl to the brood next year.
Michael Sherman Jr. and his wife, Joacquia Sherman, shared the exciting, once-in-a-lifetime news with their relatives during a surprise gender reveal party on Sunday.
“We didn’t think it was quite possible for us to even have a girl, so, I just knew if we had another child, it was going to be a boy, so I was very surprised,” Joacquia Sherman told ABC Good Morning America.
Sherman Jr., a lieutenant in the Montgomery County Fire Department, was surprised by his wife with a large gathering at their home, which included relatives from around the country and a camera crew.
“I was just getting off shift that morning and we had a, [what] was supposed to be a small gender reveal, [with] very close family members, and … going into it, I took the blindfold off and there’s a camera crew, and there’s family from all over the United States,” Sherman Jr. told the outlet. “It was a huge surprise on top of me finding out that it’s a girl. So it was pretty amazing.”
Sherman Jr. opened his eyes to the joyfully screams of his loved ones when he found out he snapped the girlless streak his family had for over a century.
His young son, Mekai, held a cup of cake with a pink ribbon, signaling the young family was expecting a girl as his wife held up a pink napkin.
The last time the Sherman family welcomed a baby girl through birth was in 1917, when Sherman Jr.’s great-great aunt Orah Belle Sherman was born.
Orah Belle was described as a “trailblazer in Atlanta,” heavily involved with the civil rights movement.
Relatives hope the future family member will follow in the footsteps of her ancestor.
Sherman Jr.’s father, Michael Sherman Sr. reflected on the massive milestone his son and daughter-in-law will bring to the family.
“It’s like a monumental thing. I have three boys. My dad had two boys. His brother had two boys. So, it’s never been nothing but boys, boys, boys,” said Michael Sherman Sr., the baby’s grandfather.
The unborn baby has already been welcomed into the family despite not being due until March.
“I love her. No matter what path she chooses, we will be with her… She’s going to always have support here for us, and I pray she makes the right decisions in life and takes the right path,” great-grandmother Lydia Robertson told the KTLK.
Sherman Jr.’s five-year-old son is also excited to meet his younger sister, who is due around March 11, 2026.
“I think he’ll be a great big brother and a great leader. He’s definitely looking forward to meeting his new sister,” the expectant father said.
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