Hedgehogs

Dear Readers,

Lately I have been putting together research from Dorset's Poor Law records. On Ancestry, a collection of Poor Law Records from Dorset are available from 1511-1997 for many parishes. I currently am searching Hazelbury Bryan's Churchwarden's Accounts to learn more about individuals within the parish. Betty Smart, the grandmother of Marina Smart, a wet-nurse, lived in Hazelbury Bryan after her husband, John, died. Betty served her parish by taking part in killing hedgehogs and jays in the area. Hedgehogs were a common sight in Dorset during this time, and the sport of hunting them was referenced in the churchwarden's accounts for at least a hundred years.

Hedgehog

Themes of Wet Nursing Scholarship, A Second Look

Dear Readers,

Lately I have been trying to organize my thoughts about the wet-nurses I have been studying. What were their common life experiences? What have people said previously about the practice that I have been able to correct? There have been many common misconceptions about wet-nurses and their charges, which I have concisely stated here:

Wet-nurses were not fallen women. While some of the women in this study had illegitimate children, that was not always the case. Women like Emma Rock were married and had their own families when they were employed as wet-nurses.

Wet-nurses were young women with family living near them to take care of their children. Through this study, it was seen that women with illegitimate children had their families take care of their children while they went out to nurse. Nurses stayed close to their parents or siblings, so they wouldn't have to send their children out to nurse.

The wet-nurse did not pass on undesirable characteristics through their milk to the children they nursed. While this emotional argument feels tertiary to us today, it was a common argument used in medical journals to discourage women from hiring nurses. Through this study, children nursed by wet-nurses were followed to the ends of their lives, and they all prospered according to their social standing.

Wet-nurses were neutral influences within the home. Most studies argue that wet-nurses treated their charges poorly and did not take their jobs seriously. In this study, none of the children that the wet-nurses were nursing died while in their care, which suggests that the mortality rates of wet-nurses’ charges is somewhat flawed. 

Friday Morning Storm

Dear Readers,

As I mentioned previously, I was supposed to go to the Utah Conference for Undergraduate Research this Friday, February 22, 2013. That morning my husband and I woke up at 4:50 A.M., rubbed our eyes and jumped in the car to drive up to Logan. I remember mentioning to him that it had started snowing, but the weather report told us that it would be clear on the highway, so we took no notice of it. We drove all the way out to Salt Lake City when the storm hit. We were shocked; we left early for Logan, and we had no idea that it was supposed to storm that morning. Within five minutes, I-15 stopped and everyone was slipping around with low traction at those slow speeds. My husband and I panicked and got of the freeway and stopped at a McDonald's to change our game plan. After praying and talking, we decided that our lives were worth more than an opportunity to present research.

Luckily, we had family living close by where we stopped, and we were able to ride out the storm while watching movies with my sister-in-law, who is almost about to have a baby. I was disappointed and a little embarrassed that I couldn't present my research, but I know it was the right decision.

If you want to see what the roads were like, please check out this blog post from KUTV:
White Knuckle Morning Commute | KUTV.com

Happy to be Alive,
Abbie Black

Podcasts and Conferences

            This week I had the opportunity to do a quick podcast about a wet nurse from Dorset named Marina Smart. If you want to know more about her, check the Podcast in the sidebar!

            This week I have been preparing to present a project I completed about wet-nursing at the Utah Conference of Undergraduate Research. The conference is next week; if anyone is in Logan, come and see me!

           

            Here is a sneak peek at my presentation:

This map was created courtesy of Maps.familysearch.org. Can you guess what this map is for? 

News and Nonconformity

            Hey my genealogists and historians, I have good news! I recently was awarded an ORCA Grant from Brigham Young University, which will allow me to continue my research on these women.

            In other news, I had a research breakthrough this week concerning Ann Griffiths. Previously, I had found a woman named ‘Anne Griffith’ on the 1851 census, living with the Herrmann family in Liverpool.[1] Anne Griffith was listed born in Oswestry, Shropshire, which is a parish right on the border between England and Wales.

            After searching FamilySearch, a nonconformist record for an ‘Ann Griffiths’ was seen born in Oswestry, Shropshire, and was baptized at the Old Bell Chapel, Independent, with the same birth information seen on the 1851 census.[2] I have transcribed the information found on the nonconformist record:

Ann Griffiths

Date of Baptism: 30 Aug 1827

Birthplace: Oswestry, Shropshire

Father: John Griffiths, Game Keeper

Mother: Elizabeth Parry

            With this information, I will be able to confirm Ann’s parents on the 1841 census, as well as the marriage of the parents.

Happy Researching!

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[1] James Zengheer Herrmann Household, Mount Pleasant, Liverpool, Lancashire, 1851 England Census, 36 Bedford Street South, Class HO107, Piece 2183, Folio 546, ED 1hh, Page 33, Household 109, www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed 8 Feb 2013.

[2] Ann Griffiths Baptism (30 Aug 1827), Arthur Street Old Chapel, Independent, Oswestry, Shropshire, digital images, original from RG4_2870, Folio 7, BMDRegisters.co.uk, accessed 7 Feb 2013.

Want to Know More?

Dear Readers,

If any of you are interested in looking into wet-nursing past what I talk about on this blog, here are a few sources that you can pick up:

Beeton, Isabella, The Book of Household Management, London: Ward, Lock, Bosden & Co, 1961.

Campbell, Linda, “Wet Nurses in Early Modern England: Some Evidence From the Townshend Archive.” Medical History 33 (1989): 360-370.

Fildes, Valerie. Breasts, Bottles, and Babies: A History of Infant Feeding. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1986.

___. “Breast Feeding Practices During Industrialisation 1800-1919.” In Infant and Child Nutrition Worldwide: Issues and Perspectives, edited by Frank Falkner, 1-20. Florida: CRC Press, 1991.

___. “The English Wet Nurse and Her Role In Infant Care 1538-1800.” In Medical History 32 (1988): 142-173.

___. Wet Nursing: A History from Antiquity to the Present. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Inc, 1988.

Gathorne-Hardy, Jonathan, The Rise and Fall of the British Nanny, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1972.

Valerie Fildes is a prolific writer on the history of wet-nursing in England. She has written many books and articles, all of which I find very interesting! 

A Brief Look into the Life of Emma Rock, Wet Nurse

Emma ROCK was born about 1831 in Birmingham, Warwickshire.^[1] Emma was the second of ten children born to her parents Joseph Rock and Martha Elizabeth (Cave) Rock. By 1851, Emma had left home and moved closer to London looking for work.[2] A year later, Emma met John Joseph Condick and married him at Laleham, Middlesex, which was about fifteen miles away from Rectory. ^[3] John Joseph CONDICK, son of Benjamin CONDICK and Francis Ann CLAY, was born about 1829 in Ashburton, Devonshire.^[4]

                        By 1861, the couple had fallen on hard economic times trying to support their newest child, William. Emma took up wet nursing in Greenwich, Kent, which was about seven miles from her previous residence in Lambeth. ^[5] Most authors look at the extremes of the practice as a whole rather than looking at the individual nurse and her conduct within the home of her employer. C.H.F. Routh summarized the medical opinion of nursing in the mid-nineteenth century by saying: It is usual in our profession to recommend as a nurse an unmarried woman who has fallen; and the reason assigned is, that her milk is less likely to suffer, because she has no husband or children to fret after; or, if she has fallen more than once, she is less likely to fret after a child left behind, her habits having inured her to this separation.” ^[6] This attitude is reflected in most recent scholarship, but is not true in the case of Emma: she was married, had recently had a child who would not die for another three years, and was in every case not “fallen.”

In the home of her employer, Emma most likely had a higher standard of living then she was previously used to: wet nurses working in the home received high pay similar to a domestic servant, clean food and water, and comfortable living quarters to help the baby receive the highest care. Emma most likely worked as a nurse from 9-12 months for the Harris family, and then continued on to another profession.^[7] Although Emma had a child of her own to nurse, the child’s last place of residence was seven miles away, and most likely was sent out to nurse.

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[1]. Joseph Rock Household, St Martin Birmingham, Warwickshire, 1841 England Census, Class HO107, Piece 1142, Book 2, ED 5, Folio 50, Page 20, Line 1, www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed 29 August 2012.  

[2] Emma Rock Household,  Rectory, Saint Marylebone, Middlesex 1851 England Census, Class HO107,  Piece 1488, Folio 551, Page 1, http://www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed 29 August 2012.

[3]. Emma Rock and John Condick Marriage 25 December 1852, All Saints Register of Marriages, P85/ALL2, Item 003, Page 29 of 32, accessed online at “London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921,” http://www.ancestry.co.uk/, accessed 29 August 2012, and  Emma Rock and John Condick Marriage 1852, "England Civil Registration Index," Lambeth, Volume 1d, P. 401, www.freebmd.org.uk, accessed 31 October 2012.

[4]. John Condick Death Mar 1872, "England Civil Registration Index," St Saviour, London, Vo. 1d, P. 118, www.freebmd.org.uk, accessed 6 October 2012.

[5]. Thomas Willis Household, Greenwich, Kent, England 1861 England Census, Class RG 9, Piece 399, Folio 55, Page 15, www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed 29 August 2012.

[6]. Routh, C. H. F., “On the Mortality of Infants in Foundling Institutions, and Genereally, As Influenced By the Absence of Breast-Milk.” The British Medical Journal 1 (February 6, 1858): 103-105.

[7]. Valerie Files, West Nursing: A History from Antiquity to the Present: 196.