Call The Midwife 

 African American midwives have always played an important role in Black communities. Up until the middle of the twentieth century almost all African American babies were delivered by midwives. In my own family, two sisters, one brother, and I were delivered at home. Delivering babies  was what they are remembered most for, but sometimes midwives, also called “grannies”, were the equivalent of today’s nurse practitioners. Their knowledge of medicinal plants, traditional remedies, and attention to sanitation helped people with medical issues other than pregnancies. Women with gynecological issues were often in need of counseling and treatment  

My own 3x great-grandmother, Marinda Hadnot, was one of those whose hands caught many babies and helped heal the sick and injured. Marinda (affectionately called “Mama Rindy”or “Rena”) was born in Sabine County, Texas in 1853. Her mother, Malinda Hadnot, might also have been a midwife. It seems most of Marinda’s deliveries were in Peach Tree and Bevilport communities of Jasper County, Texas.  

A few of the babies delivered by Mama Rindy:

Drew Ella Armstrong Harris (1905-1981); born in Bevilport; 

daughter of Wash and Lula Armstrong 

Eareen Armstrong; born in Peach Tree; daughter of Joe and R. V. Armstrong 

Alton Adams (1905-1980); born in Peach Tree; son of John and Nancy Adams 

Marinda even helped deliver her own daughter, Alice Armstrong in 1905 in Peach Tree. 

Most midwives served the community in which they lived. Here are some of the other midwives serving Jasper County in the early 1900s:

Ellen Renfro - Bevilport 

Emma Fisher - Jasper 

Viney Trotti - Jasper

Matilda Lockett- Kirbyville and Magnolia Springs 

Marinda would give birth to another daughter, Mary Seale, the mother of Albert Hadnot my great grandfather. Marinda lived to be 87 years old. She died in 1940 and is buried in Hadnot Cemetery, Jasper County, Texas. 

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