Rosina Heydrich
Schwenkfelder community, Lower Salford, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1770-1819Rosina Heydrich
An extensive midwifery manuscript in the archive of the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center, this journal attributed to Rosina Heydrich, is a rare artefact of women’s work and medical practice in early America, covering 1775 to 1819.
It contains recipes and cures for ailments dealing with childbirth and also records the births of over 1,700 children.
Donmoyer, P. (2021). Deliver, ritual and discretion: Discovering the past in early Pennsylvania midwife’s register. Pennsylvania Heritage, Winter 2021.
Martha Ballard
Hallowell (Augusta) Maine, 1785-1812Martha Ballard
Explore Martha Ballard’s Diary online
Explore the film A Midwife’s Tale, produced by Laurie Kahn-Leavitt and directed by Richard P. Rogers, which chronicles the interwoven stories of two remarkable women: eighteenth-century midwife and healer Martha Ballard; and the twentieth-century historian who brought her words to light, Laurel Thatcher Urlich.
Buy the book A Midwife’s Tale: The life of Martha Ballard, based on her diary 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcher Urlich