Whether it be what we might today call Victorian-era prudishness or out of respect for the privacy of the bereaved family, finding references to a mother dying in childbirth is very rare. This is a remarkable example, which caught my attention initially from the age of the mother and the mention of an infant daughter.
DEATH.
McDonald. — On the 17th instant, at her residence, Maheno, Sarah, the beloved wife of Alexander McDonald, aged 19 years.
The funeral will leave her late residence for the Maheno Cemetery, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, the 19th instant. Friends are kindly invited to attend.
G. L. GRENFELL, Undertaker, Tees-street. -North Otago Times, 18/3/1898.
A correspondant writes: We regret to record the death of Mrs McDonald, of Maheno, wife of Mr Alexander McDonald, who, for the past few weeks, had been the subject of much anxiety. Married about a year ago, she was recently passing through the experience of early motherhood when severe convulsions set in, bringing about the loss of the babe and critical symptoms to the mother. For a time all due care was rewarded by the high temperature gradually falling, but the young mother gradually sank through exhaustion, passing away in quiet trustfulness with two desires — one that her Saviour would soon call her, and the other that she might rest with her infant in Maheno comotory till the "Morn of Morns" appears. Much sympathy is felt for Mr McDonald, whose ardent affection for his young wife was well known; also, great sympathy is expressed for the parents (Mr and Mrs French, of Incholme), who may be comforted in the thought of their daughters having been well trained for both worlds. A large number of friends followed in the funeral procession, and all that was mortal of the young wife and mother was laid in the Maheno cemetery. The Rev. A. D, Thomson officiated at the grave, and much genuine sympathy flows for both families bereaved. -North Otago Times, 21/3/1898.
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