Day 29. Birth and Death

One of the biggest influences on the development of the modern world was our advancing standards of medical care. In previous centuries, people lived much closer to death, which had a great cultural and emotional impact on their way of life. Many parents would have lost a child to a vast array of illnesses; most people would know of a woman who had died as a result of childbirth; accidents and injuries claimed the lives of many working men. It is difficult to imagine today, what it was like to live with death just around any corner.

 

These adjacent entries in the Preston burial book illustrate an all-too-common tragedy. In the 19^th century, around one in two hundred pregnancies resulted in the death of the mother, from either pregnancy or childbirth-related problems. And often the baby that the mother had laboured so long to birth was unlikely to survive long. 

Catherine was the daughter of John and Ann Hone of Preston.  Ann, widowed at 34, ran the bakery at No.50. Catherine married John Barber Bailey, a farm labourer from Wimpstone, aged 23 in 1874.

The couple lived at Wimpstone where their family rapidly expanded. Catherine had eight healthy children within ten years. The family then moved to a cottage at Washbrook Farm in Pillerton Priors. In April 1887, Catherine went into labour with her ninth child.

The delivery was a difficult one. She gave birth on 7^th April, but suffered severe haemorrhaging after the delivery. She died shortly afterwards. She was 36 years old.

Her baby, a daughter named Charlotte, was born alive, but sadly died at three days old. The trauma of the birth had likely been too much for her. Mother and daughter were buried together in Catherine's home village.

John then moved to the village of Newbold Pacey with his large brood. His unmarried sister lived with them as housekeeper. The subsequent fate of the family is unclear.