In the early years of Aldergrove, there wasn't an in-town doctor nor a maternity hospital, or even a municipal hospital for that matter, and there certainly weren't any telephones to request a house call from the doctor at Fort Langley or Langley Prairie when one's baby was about to join the community.
Expectant mothers often relied on the expertise and assistance of their female neighbours and relatives in delivering their babies. Today we're adding another layer to Aldergrove's history by learning the names of local women who often served as midwife (as well as the names of residents and their newly arrived off-spring).
Sometimes family stories talk about great-great-grandma having been a midwife, and my family had such a story. It was a great feeling to see "Mrs. JP Swanson" on a birth registration and know the stories were true, adding another verified fact - and layer - to my own family's history. I wonder if the descendants of Mrs. Goldsmith, Mrs. Murchison, Mrs. Towlan, Mrs. Satterthwaite and Mrs. Jackman know that their ancestors helped bring several babies into the world.
#storiesmatter #HeritageWeek #localhistory
