Hi Mary, I agree with you. I count myself lucky with information such as you have found. I think death in childbirth was at one time in epidemic proportions. I found this about 19th century Britain which has some useful links to other information as each paragraph is set out. http://www.localhistories.org/19thcent.html I then searched for information about Scotland in particular http://www.scran.ac.uk/scotland/pdf/SP2_3Health.pdf which has some interesting facts. >From my own family research it appears to me that those who were in farming survived more and maintained their new born children more than those in towns and cities, probably for obvious reasons of nature but also, as SCRAN states, the rate of infectious disease amongst those in overcrowded accommodation. My paternal Gt grandfather outlived 3 wives. His 3rd was my grandmother, already pregnant when they married, not unusual, returning to his former matrimonial home. ;-) Their first child a daughter died within 5 months, the second was my father, and there was a 3rd, a son who survived until aged 2 and my grandmother died of puerperal fever, in childbirth, which was apparently an epidemic in Aberdeen. http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.co.uk/pdf/0-19-820499-X.pdf Janet ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mary Legarth" <legarthm@levin.pl.net> | Hello Janet, | I can only reply ,there must have been an epidemic of Death in Childbirth. | As I mentioned, it seemed to me, when reading some Parish records there | were some 'Scribes , be it the Clerk, or the Minister , page after page | simply left out the name of the Mother. | Then sometimes she would be noted in subsequent Baptisms, along with other | Mothers of Infants, when it was obvious from the change of handwriting | that there was a change of recorder, Clerk or Minister. | | Other records have given just an amazing amount of information. | A Banffshire record gave me 3 generations. Both sets of Grandparents named, | frequently a Sibling of the Father of the child, occupations & places of | residence of all names, all in one Baptism. | It is a matter of luck, for which I was so grateful. | | Mary