Today's prompt for the Fearless Female Women's History blog challenge is:
March 13 — Moment of Strength: share a story where a female ancestor showed courage or strength in a difficult situation.
One of the most difficult situations for any parent is the loss of a child. Most of my female ancestors lost a child, many of them their first. My grandmother Julia (Kain) Huigens lost her first child, a son named Paul Joseph, in 1914. He lived for 3 days and is buried with family in Creighton, NE.
My other grandmother, Esther (Johnson) Ogden, lost her first child Rose in 1930. When it was time for her to delivery her second child, my mother, in 1931, she traveled from Rushville, NE to Henning, MN to be with her parents.
Other female ancestors who lost babies were Mary (Fox) Kain, Katherine (Toemmes) Huigens, Hanora (Collins) Kennedy, Mary Elizabeth (Herren) Ogden and Anna Helena (Schmitt) Fitzler.
I admire the courage and strength it took for this women to continue having children after losing their first. They may have had no choice, given the absence of birth control, but I doubt it was easy for them. I'm sure they experienced many anxious moments as the time for delivery approached. I hope they all found whatever sources of support and encouragement they needed.
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