Frederick County Landmarks Foundation

Being it is International Midwives' Day, you might be interested in learning more about the profession and life of midwives around 1800 in southeastern Pennsylvania. Rosina Heydrich, a midwife and member of the Schwenkfelder community in the Upper Perkiomen Valley, kept a registry of 1,739 births she attended between the years 1770 and 1819. Her manuscript also served as a compendium of specific remedies, treatments, and recommendations for women’s health that she used. Today you can read it on the PA Power Library (digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/papd/islandora/object/papd%3Asslch-sdsa). The translation and work to ready the manuscript for Power Library was supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's Historical Archives and Records Care Grant, a program funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.