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These essential workers made sure that every black baby conceived as chattel was delivered sound and healthy to their master. These babies would become the labor force needed to assure that the slaveholding economy thrived in the South.
In the slave community, Granny midwives were a combination of folk healer and spiritual leader. They believed they were called by God to this work and were often trained by a female family member making this a family tradition. They not only attended the births, but provided care to the mothers afterwards. Because they practiced in rural agricultural areas, white women also availed themselves of their expertise. The midwives called this, catchin' babies!
The need for Granny midwives continued after slavery, as white doctors who were mostly male did not attend births (black or white). It was only in the early twentieth century men returned to the field of obstetrics and births were moved from the home to hospitals. Later because of a rise in mother and infant mortality, the state required midwives to be certified in order to practice. (Oddly, it appears that mortality increased only when the doctors became involved.) It was as I collected birth certificates of my siblings and deceased relatives for research that I found we had two Granny Midwives in our own lineage. One from the Kees side of the family and one from the Harris.
Our family roots are firmly established in Mississippi slavery and sharecropping. I knew that generations of our family were delivered by midwives but I didn't know who they were. Mississippi did not require statewide birth registration until after 1912. Death registration occurred between 1903 and 1920. It was on the birth certificates of my aunt Ollie Mae Kees (born in 1914 to Harry and Amanda Ferdinand Kees) and eldest brother Samuel born in 1930 that I saw a notation: Certificate of Attending Physician or Midwife: Clarecy Kees, Midwife.
Clarissa (with variations of Clarecy or Clarysie) Kees, was Ollie Kees', grandmother. She was Harry Kees' mother and the daughter of Civil War veteran, Gylie Herring. Clarissa was born in 1860 and died in 1940. Ollie was the second oldest of Harry and Mandy Kees' children so Clarissa probably delivered my mother, Josie Mae Kees too. However, I cannot confirm because Mama Josie was born in 1912. What should be noted is that great grandmother Clarissa was certified. This meant that she received formal midwifery training and was recognized by the state of Mississippi.
Of my nine siblings, six were born in Mississippi (Samuel, Mildred, Vedi, Mary, Jacob, and Ellen). I have a birth certificate for only one - Jacob Charles born February 13, 1938. Again, noted in the section for Certificate of Attending Physician or Midwife, a familiar name comes up: Louella Rucks. Louella Hilson Rucks is the niece of my great grandmother, Laura Matilda Hilson Harris. Her father, Eli Hilson, Jr. was the relative that was killed by White Cappers for his land. (See blog post: Eli Hilson, Jr. Family Civil Rights Martyr, January 20, 2021). Louella Hilson Rucks was born in 1885 and died in Champaign, IL in 1947.
As I write this, I'm thinking how proud my sister siblings who were nurses (Mary, Ellen, and Jeanette) would be knowing we had this rich legacy. Especially Jeanette Harris Jefferson, who assisted in the delivery of my own first born, LaMarr in 1968. Jeanette, following the family legacy was catchin’ babies at the University of Missouri Medical Center, Columbia, Mo. when I went into labor.
This 1976 newspaper clipping is one of many honoring her service. Jeanette received her L.P.N. license in 1964 in OB/Gyn. She continued her studies to become an R.N. and after graduating from Columbia College was a nursing team leader for 29 years in Family Medicine for University Hospitals and Clinics, Columbia, MO. She was forced to retire after complications from a stroke, but this in no way deterred her spirit to serve.
At the time of her death in 1999 she had served as a former chairwoman of the Columbia Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, was a former member of the Stroke Survivors Club, and was a volunteer for the Columbia/Boone County Department of Health and University Hospitals and Clinics. Her daughter, Cynthia Jefferson follows in her footsteps. She too is an L.P.N. with a concentration in Family Medicine.
Catchin' Babies! you see is in our family blood! Brother Alfred just shared this with me: Daddy A.J. Harris (father of ten children himself) was known to catch a few babies in his time. When the local doctor for our home town could not be reached (he lived 60 miles away) A.J. was a trusted substitute!
Knowing this history, makes me so proud of the many medical professionals and healthcare workers we have in our family. In addition to my aforementioned sisters, we have Elijah Peterson, Jr., Medical Engineer specialist; Maria Peterson Henderson, Army Paramedic; Larry Crider, Radiology and MRI; LaTonya Maddox, R.N.; Lexxus Betts, Biomedical Engineer; and a host of nieces and nephews who have served as C.N.A.s or assistants in various medical facilities.
This list is far from exhaustive forgive me if I have missed a few, but during this time when Essential Workers are under so much pressure trying to keep our nation and its people healthy I salute them all for their hard work and heart of service.
In honor of Black History Month, I will be providing to my beloved family interesting facts and amusing anecdotes regarding family traditions. If you would like to include some of your own please send my way. Sharing these stories are a personal joy and so needed during these troubling times when family values and their contributions are vastly being diminished!
Your Family Griot,
Carolyn Harris Betts
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