Marriage!

[Essex]

re Sam's and Rosie's children

I always thought that the 13 children was a bit excessive

Remember that the hobbits were seen to be Tolkien's 'Common Men'. In Tolkien's days, having a multitude of kids was not uncommon at all. Indeed, my grandparents on both sides, living around the same time as JRR, had approximately 10 kids each. So 13 kids for Sam is not excessive to me, but I've got 2 myself and I admit that's enough for me!