Was the Largest Baby Ever Born Really Birthed in Ohio?

Did you know the Guinness World Record for the largest baby ever born was in Ohio?

I was under the impression that the largest baby ever born in the United States was Phil Loadholt, who went on to be a successful NFL offensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings standing 6'8", 343 lbs. Whatever lockbox in my brain held on to that information was wildly wrong as Loadholt was 10 pounds at birth.

Make no mistake, 10 pounds is big for a newborn, but it's less than half of the world record set in Ohio nearly 150 years ago.

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The world record belongs to a baby who was simply referred to as "Babe", born to Martin van Buren and Anna Bates weighing 22 lbs and measuring 28 inches. The baby girl was born to parents who both had gigantism. Martin stood 7'9" while Anna stood 7'11". The couple still holds the world record to this day for the tallest married couple ever with a combined height of 15'8".

The baby boy was born on January 19, 1879, at the Bates' home in Seville, Ohio. Sadly, the child died 11 hours after birth. His father wrote ...[He] was perfect in every respect. He looked at birth like an ordinary child of six months."

It's worth noting that Guinness points out that the heaviest baby born to a healthy mother weighed 22 lbs 8 oz in Aversa, Italy, in September 1955. However, it doesn't appear that Guinness recognizes it as an official record for some reason, though it doesn't offer dispute as it does with other contenders for the record.