Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher, A Midwife’s Tale, The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812, (New York, Vintage Books, A Division of Random House, INC., 1990).
Reviewed by: Amanda Doran
A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard was written by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Ulrich was born and raised in the Rocky Mountain West and moved to New England in 1960 where she has resided ever since. Laurel is the author of many articles, essays and books including The Age of Homespun (2001) and Goodwives (1982). Her articles and essays were written on early American history. Laurel’s book, A Midwife’s Tale, won her the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1991. She also assisted with a documentary production of her book which aired on PBS. Her work can also be found on the award-winning website, dohistory.org (Ulrich, 1990). In the eighteenth century women didn’t play a role in politics or hold any high position in their community which was worth noting. Because of this, the lives of these women are left somewhat a mystery. Ulrich uses the diary of Martha Ballard, a midwife who practiced in Hallowell, Maine, along with other documents such as: prison logs, newspapers, court documents, and town records to bring to life the lives of late eighteenth century women. Ulrich’s purpose for this book is simple, she shows the day to day lives of women in the late eighteenth century and how they played a crucial role in their society. Ulrich organizes her book into chronological chapters providing excerpts from Ballard’s diary at the beginning of each chapter. Following the diary entries Ulrich then goes into detail using other documents to give an analysis and to discuss the events surrounding the entries of Martha’s diary. Using this technique the reader is able to look back in time and understand women played a larger role in their communities rather than just being a mother and housewife. Ulrich shows the readers the personal lives of these women including their skills, relationships, finances, births, and even more private matters such as their premarital sexual relations. This book gives the reader a look at what day to day life consisted of for women at the turn of the nineteenth century. In the 1700s men held titles such as; doctor, Colonel, Reverend, or Judge while women were simply referred to as Mrs., according to Ulrich in chapter two. However, women still played a large role within their communities. Women were housewives, watchers, nurses, midwives and much more. In chapter one Ulrich goes into detail about the work of the midwife, Martha Ballard. Ulrich states, “Martha Ballard was a midwife- and more” (Ulrich, 1990, chapter one, para. 1). Martha went beyond her “title” and took care of not only those pregnant but those suffering from illnesses and injuries. Ulrich states that Martha also helped prepare bodies for burial and gave medications to patients in need. Many midwives could perform much of the same care as the male physicians during this time and they charged less for their services. In chapter six Ulrich tells the reader doctor’s fees were as much as two to three times the fees of midwives. Midwives were able to assist their neighbors with comparable care as a doctor and saved them a good deal of money.
Other women in the town also played the role of a nurse. In chapter one it is said that all women aided in caring for the sick. Some women, like Martha Ballard were more experienced and offered a wider range of care. For those who weren’t as experienced, such as Sally Patten, they served as watchers. The reader learns in the introduction the job of a watcher is to sit with the patient and offer comfort and to note any changes in the appearance or health of the patient and to summon the midwife or doctor as needed. While patients were healing, these watchers and after nurses would stay in the patients home and provide them with care. Women were not confined to their home doing housework and taking care of children. They traveled throughout their community and helped their neighbors in times of need. Staying in others homes was a common practice in the late 1700s. Mothers would send their daughters off to live with another family to learn a trade that would help them be successful in their future. Ulrich states in chapter two that “living for a while outside of one’s own family was a kind of education for young women in this period” (Ulrich, 1990, chapter 2, para. 11). The reader learns in the next sentence that Martha’s own daughter Hannah Ballard spent eight months in Oxford living with her aunt and other relatives. It is documented in Martha’s diary that she had 39 different girls at different periods between 1785 and 1800 living and working in her home. Young women would learn to weave while living in others homes. Weaving provided many items families needed such as blankets, sheets and towels. Most of the women who worked in others homes would travel between homes helping with what was needed. In chapter two it is said that these young women would spend a week or more spinning at one house, go back home to help with the harvest then move along to another neighbor where their help was needed to care for the sick or to spin and wash. All of the women within the community pitched in to help each other, whether it be through education of a trade, caring for the sick, or helping with a quilt they were generous with their time. Nursing care and weaving were ways the women were able to help with household finances and needs. Trading was also another way these ladies helped around the house. Martha was paid for her work as a midwife with monetary payments and other times with payments of goods or services. Paying a debt with goods or services was a common practice for these women during the late 1700s. Women seemed to have their very own economic structure. The reader learns some of Martha’s own finances in chapter two when she states in her diary, “borrowed 6lb and 13oz of muttun of Mr. Andrews & received candles I lent him; I have since paid for the muttun in baking” (Ulrich, 1990, chapter 2, para. 17). Muttun is the meat from an adult lamb. Neighbors traded and borrowed everything and settled their debts in many different ways. Martha was able to pay her debt off by baking goods for Mr. Andrews. Martha also accepted goods as her payment. Also documented in Martha’s diary is a payment from Colonel Howard. He gifted Martha with a gallon of rum and two pounds of sugar for her care of his sick family. Martha also helped with needs by allowing other women to use her loom. Before weaving their own pieces they would weave an article for Martha Ballard as payment for allowing the use of the machine. Premarital sex during this period was considered a crime and if discovered charges were pressed. Premarital relations however, were quite common in the late eighteenth century. According to Martha’s diary entries between 1785 and 1797 she delivered 106 total first births and of those, 40 of them were conceived out of wedlock. While giving birth the mother was asked at that time to identify the father of the child. No one questioned the mother in the case of paternity because they believed she wouldn’t be able to lie during a time of such pain and chaos. The mother could then sue the father for support of the child. In many instances the mother and father would marry after learning of the pregnancy and court would not become necessary. According to Martha’s diary, 31 of the 40 women who conceived out of wedlock had already married the father before the baby was born. In other instances, the mother and father would marry after the birth of the child. Martha’s own son Jonathan was accused of being the father of young Sally Pierce’s child. Court records show that Jonathan married Sally four months after the child was born and only a month before he was due in court. If a couple planned on becoming married, Ulrich states they had to be “published.” The couple had to document their intentions for at least 14 days or speak of the marriage three separate times on different days at a religious hearing before they could become married. Once married the bride did not immediately go live with her groom. Ulrich describes the early part of marriage like a courtship. The groom would come and go while the bride remained in her parent’s house for a month or more. After this time passes the two would “take up housekeeping,” as they called it. During the time leading up to the wedding the family would obtain household goods the couple would need to start a home. An entry in Martha’s diary showed that eight days prior to her daughter, Hannah’s wedding she obtained forks, knives, plates, silk and other items that were typical for a newlywed couple to start out with. Ulrich did a phenomenal job at opening a window into the lives of these late eighteenth century women. Through reading the book the reader is able to discover the many day to day activities and the traditions these women held. Young girls worked in home for their mothers, quilting, weaving, and washing. They would be sent to live with others to learn a trade for their futures and once they were married they would “take up housekeeping,” where the skills they learned became essential to helping provide for their homes. Ulrich delved into the history of this small town in Maine and uncovered stories that made a way of life for women in the late 1700s. Ulrich’s organization of the book allowed for a nice flow of events to connect one big story. I enjoyed being able to read the diary entries as they were originally written and then able to read an analysis of what they meant and what was going on during the time of her entries. By showing many different aspects of these women’s lives, like their finances, relationships, and their education of new skills the reader is able to piece together and really imagine what their lives were like. I was inspired by the stories of these women and the major role they played within their communities. I know very few women today who can produce their own blankets, clothes or towels. Today we are blessed with many opportunities but in the late 1700s these women took what they had which seemed to be very little and created a life. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the history of women in our country.

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[ 1 ]. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Lamb and Mutton, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_and_mutton, (accessed July 19th, 2014)