Midwife from 1847???
 

Where would I get information about a midwife that would have lived in 1847 in Hancock County, Ohio? I am supposed to portray this person (probably a fictional character!). I need to learn everything....manner of dress, speech, knowledge of herbs (what else?), political climate, etc.

I've been able to find a bit about the dress (I found stores that carry reproduction materials -- and I've been told that I can use anything from the 1840-1859 vintage, but much after that would be too obvious). I found information on hairstyles. I was told that the midwife supposedly wasn't too well thought of? That surprised me. I suppose that with the "invention" of modern medicine, she was probably seen as more of a snake-oil salesman with her bag of herbs? The historical site's garden is well stocked with all the herbs and such, and I know that I need to learn what each of them are for and how to use them...which seems daunting to me, too. But I'm sure I'll be questioned about other herbs and medical practices, I would think.

What else do I need to be "learning up on"? Oh yeah, I was given a 3 page sheet of popular sayings from that time, too. Can't be saying "yeah", "ok", or "cool", etc. :rock:

Hope this helps...

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/midwife...ore/index.html

Wow...interesting. I should probably look into renting that video. It doesn't seem to go into any detail, but might be a good overview.

Better yet would be to get a copy of the actual diary. I had my son on the dining room table with a chiropractic midwife so what she did was probably not all that different from what your 1847 midwife did. She would be calm, reassuring, take control of a room, set the men to chopping firewood and boiling water, collect up cloth to staunch all the blood and wrap the baby in. Probably she had a special thick stick for the mother to grip hard on during her delivery pangs. She would have had raspberry leaf tea and maybe a little hard stuff. Disinfectant, you know.
Your best bet would be to hunt up some modern day midwives and attend a few actual home deliveries. You can fake the clothes but not the feelings and the actual experience, if you want to give an accurate portrayal.

I have the "book" you will learn a whole lot from it. How they spoke. what she ate. How she got around. Good read.

myheaven. By the "book", do you mean the Midwife Diary book?

Any insights on the status of a midwife during the 1840-1850's? I know that during the time of this movie, they were held in higher regard, but have heard that they were in disfavor in the mid 1800s because of "modern" medicine being more prevalent.

I can't "fake" my way through too much because this is for a historical museum that is STRICTLY governed that things must be accurate to 1847, not a place that kinda demonstrates what it might, sorta, be like. You know the places where you see the actors wearing something in an old style, but it is polyester or has plastic buttons, and they have a watch on, or a diamond ring. Or plastic-framed eyeglasses, pierced ears. And eyeliner. LOL

I was even told all the details of how the corsets have to be, and how they are worn based on your duties (because I will be working in the gardens to get my herbs, I can leave the bottom undone so I can bend over). I asked how anyone would know if I even had a corset on or not and they said that "you can tell". :)

maybe this one might help too: http://www.amazon.com/Orlean-Puckett...ref=pd_sim_b_3

haven't read it, but it came up searching for midwives on amazon

I am seriously doubting the corset.
City women used the corsets because they were seen and were expected to act within a certain affluence, but country women, and especially working women, would not have been corsetted.
And certainly when out working the the garden. There would have been a camisole type undershirt, a rough skirt and an apron.

But also realize that women then were as unique and individual as they are now. You can play her anyway you deicde. You can make her real, no matter her idiosynchronies.

http://books.google.com/books?id=c5d...201847&f=false

And the part about the midwife not being well thought of... in towns and cities, most definitely. By that time 'medicine' and hospitals etc.. were becoming all the rage. And quite often hospital births ended badly from lack on common hygeine (which country midwives knew all about. Childbed fever was rampant in the hospitals and caused by doctors with filthy hands from other women and from autopsies etc.. examining the women. And this led to childbirth being treated as an illness.

Midwives knew better. They knew to be clean, they knew about uterine massage and herbs (medicine really) to stop bleeding.
They were revered..at least down in the country here..and I am assuming in the country everywhere. "Granny women" were respected and revered. And they saved many lives.
They cooked during labor and fed the rest of the family and if time allowed, they stayed after the birth.
They went out in the middle of the night, during storms etc..
They showed up for any medical emergency..not just childbirth.

I would strongly suggest the FoxFire books to give you an idea about the actual use of herbs and the realities of the situation.
And in the 1840's Ohio was still almost frontier. You were just 20 years or so from the westward expansion into the area.
We are talking LHOP.

Dont use the shortcut words either, ie Aint, cant, wont, dont, and many more.Had to learn that in the SCA. Took some time, but once around it, it came easy.

Whaddia u gonna do for shoes??

I do not know! (How's that for not using shortcut words!) LOL

I was told black leather, square toed, low heel. And black wool socks. :(

Try Conner Prairie in Indiana

geo

I'm reading Uncle Tom's Cabin which is from 1852, and there are a lot of contractions used. Maybe depending on which strata of society you came from, you would use of different words.


Nomad

That's what I'm thinking. I was at Sauder Village a few weeks ago and they had a homestead that was from the same decade as the Litzenburg farm. And they seemed worlds apart. The Sauder Village house seemed very primate....almost like a soddy.

The McKinnis House (where I'll be reenacting) was the homestead of a well-to-do family of judges, commissioners, etc. It's still primitive, but it had wall coverings, stenciled muslin carpets, etc. Of course, because of the "great black swamp" of northwest Ohio, that section where Sauder is didn't get settled for decades after the rest of Ohio, so maybe it WAS behind the times.

Was it the blacks in Uncle Tom's Cabin that spoke with more contractions?

No, actually it was a wealthy southern gentleman that I noticed today. I probably wouldn't have even thought about it if it wasn't for this thread. And I believe that swamp left behind some mighty fine ground.

Nomad

I have also heard of them called "granny women". The 2 old ladies I heard the most about were widowed sisters who lived together. They not only delivered the babies, but stayed on for several days doing cooking and various jobs for the new mom. They took payment any way you could. My grandpa often paid for their services with a calf.
Now this might creep you out, but these ladies also were known to provide abortions. An herb I think called pennyroyal was used in some form for this. As well as more, er, mechanical means using, er, tools. I'm sorry if this is way too much information. Just telling what I heard.

Demeter

Your best bet may also be a university.. maybe start tossing emails at the history dept.

They weren't in disfavor in rural communities. If there is no hospital or doctor around, the midwife was either the best option or the only one, and that continued well into the 20th century.

Ebay has the video for $13.00 I would like to have the book but having trouble finding anything but the video..anyone..

http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780679733768-3 for the book.
I used to have it and it was very interesting.