Many readers of this blog will already be familiar with the life story of Margaret Bethune. Her remarkable career as local midwife and her meticulous record-keeping have been documented elsewhere. Nevertheless, this site would not be complete without the inclusion of her story. Margaret Peebles was born in Largo in 1820. She married William Bethune in early 1844 and together they had two children, Margaret and William. The family were living in Lundin Mill when William senior, a coal miner at Carlhurlie, was killed in an accident at work. The Fife Herald of 17 June 1852 described what happened:
"On Friday forenoon, William Bethune, a miner, residing at Lundin Mill, was found lying dead in a coal-pit to the north-ward of that village; part of the roof of the pit having fallen down upon him while occupied in excavating the coal. He was a sober and industrious man, in the vigour of life, and was an elder of the United Presbyterian Congregation, here. He was about to leave off the occupation of a miner, and commence shop-keeping, but this melancholy and fatal accident has ended all his plans and earthly prospects. His death is universally deplored, while he has left a widow and two children to lament his untimely fate."
While anyone reading those words would quite rightly feel great sympathy for William's widow, few would have imagined the strength of character that would motivate Margaret Bethune to do what she did next. By the end of the same year, at the age of 34, Margaret was enrolled in the midwifery course at the Chalmers Lying-In Hospital in Edinburgh. This was during the era of the legendary Edinburgh-based obstetrician, James Young Simpson, who had discovered chloroform in 1847 and who pioneered several other advances in obstetrics.
Early in 1853, Margaret returned to Largo, ready to begin putting her training into practice. From the first birth she attended, on 27 February 1853, a careful record was kept of each new arrival. Her casebook would go on to record 1,296 births and it is preserved to this day in Register House in Edinburgh. It is the oldest surviving record of its kind and pre-dates the 1855 law which required the statutory recording of all births. Below is an example of a page from her records. The columns show: case number; mother's name; place of residence; hour in the day; number of the pregnancy; sex of the child; the date; and the outcome.
"On Friday forenoon, William Bethune, a miner, residing at Lundin Mill, was found lying dead in a coal-pit to the north-ward of that village; part of the roof of the pit having fallen down upon him while occupied in excavating the coal. He was a sober and industrious man, in the vigour of life, and was an elder of the United Presbyterian Congregation, here. He was about to leave off the occupation of a miner, and commence shop-keeping, but this melancholy and fatal accident has ended all his plans and earthly prospects. His death is universally deplored, while he has left a widow and two children to lament his untimely fate."
While anyone reading those words would quite rightly feel great sympathy for William's widow, few would have imagined the strength of character that would motivate Margaret Bethune to do what she did next. By the end of the same year, at the age of 34, Margaret was enrolled in the midwifery course at the Chalmers Lying-In Hospital in Edinburgh. This was during the era of the legendary Edinburgh-based obstetrician, James Young Simpson, who had discovered chloroform in 1847 and who pioneered several other advances in obstetrics.
Early in 1853, Margaret returned to Largo, ready to begin putting her training into practice. From the first birth she attended, on 27 February 1853, a careful record was kept of each new arrival. Her casebook would go on to record 1,296 births and it is preserved to this day in Register House in Edinburgh. It is the oldest surviving record of its kind and pre-dates the 1855 law which required the statutory recording of all births. Below is an example of a page from her records. The columns show: case number; mother's name; place of residence; hour in the day; number of the pregnancy; sex of the child; the date; and the outcome.
Today it is difficult to imagine what the life of a midwife would have been like a century and a half ago. In the days before telephones, cars, electricity and such like, the practicalities of even contacting the midwife and of her travelling to the mother-to-be would have been challenging. I imagine Margaret Bethune would have known the mothers-to-be well and would keep close tabs on the progress of their pregnancies. Yet, she would have to be prepared at all times for the unexpected. She would have worked closely with the local doctors - Dr Lumgair and then Dr Palm. She would have had to travel between the local villages and to outlying farms and cottages. All this she did hundreds of times, for 34 years, with an impressive record of safe outcomes, and up until two months of her death in 1887 at the age of 67. Margaret's children went on to have fulfilling lives also - more on that another time.
With thanks to John Band for providing the images.
With thanks to John Band for providing the images.
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