Genain quadruplets
American identical quadruplets (born 1930)
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The Genain quadruplets (born in 1930) are a set of identical quadruplet sisters. All four developed schizophrenia, suggesting a large genetic component to the cause of the disease.[1] The pseudonym Genain, used to protect the identity of the family, comes from the Greek, meaning dire (αἶνος) birth (γεν-).[1] The sisters were given the pseudonyms Nora, Iris, Myra and Hester, to represent each of the four letters in NIMH, the acronym for the United States National Institute of Mental Health.[1] Nora, Iris, and Hester were hospitalized for their schizophrenia at least once each.[1]
The Morlok quadruplets — identical sisters born on May 19, 1930, at Edward W. Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan — were among the earliest documented cases of naturally conceived identical quads in the United States. Known as Baby A, Baby B, Baby C, and Baby D at birth, they later gained national attention for their public appearances and inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records.[2]
Biographies
Helen Morlok (May 19, 1930, in Lansing, Michigan – October 31, 2003, in Lansing, Michigan) is one of the four sisters listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest identical quadruplets. Her sisters were Edna Morlok, Wilma Morlok, and Sara Morlok. The sisters performed tap dance and comedy routines throughout the mid-east U.S. in the 1930s and 1940s.
Wilma died in 2002. Helen died on October 31, 2003, at age 73. Edna died on April 10, 2015, at age 84.[3] Sarah Morlok Cotton died on July 7, 2025 at the age of 95.[4] Cotton published a book on the girls' childhood called The Morlok Quadruplets: The Alphabet Sisters (ISBN 978-1-5141-5281-2).[2]
Personal lives
The sisters were born in a midwestern American town (nicknamed "Envira") on April 14, 1930.[5] They were considered local celebrities because of the quadruple nature of their birth.[5] The four sisters grew up with their parents in the same household. The Genain sisters' parents were described as "disturbed".[1] Their paternal grandmother might have had schizophrenia with paranoid symptoms, and their father was described as abusive. Myra and Nora were probably treated more favorably by their parents, while Iris and Hester were treated more harshly.[5] The parents considered Hester to be a "habitual masturbator"[1] and referred to her as a "moron type" or "sex maniac".[5] Iris and Hester were both circumcised as children to prevent them from masturbating.[6][5] The quadruplets were reportedly physically abused by their father, given the pseudonym Mr. Genain. Subsequently, the Genains accepted an offer by the NIMH to take the daughters into their clinic and each was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
All of the sisters except Hester graduated from high school.[5] Myra worked as a secretary for most of her life. She married and had two sons.[5] When she grew older, she frequently visited her sisters Nora and Hester. Her older son contracted AIDS after a blood transfusion and died in 1996, while her younger son became a maintenance worker and retained a close relationship with his mother.[5] Nora later managed the income the sisters received for having their photograph published in textbooks.[5] Iris worked as a beautician for a while but most of her adult life was spent institutionalized.[7]
Illness and scientific research
All four sisters developed schizophrenia by the age of 24.[5] There was a history of mental illness in Mr. Genain's family that might have been an example of genetics being linked with mental illness or it may have just been a dysfunctional and abusive family free from a specific genetic component. Mr. Genain's mother had had a three-year nervous breakdown in her late teens.[citation needed]