A midwife named Hannah (circa 1751, Shropshire)

In the winter of 1751 in Shropshire, a woman named Hannah served as the village midwife. One bitterly cold night, snow covered the roads and the wind cut through the hills, yet Hannah set out on foot to reach a woman in urgent need of help. The journey was long and the snow deep, but she pressed on until she arrived at the small cottage where the mother labored in pain.

Through the night Hannah worked, guiding the baby safely into the world and offering warmth and reassurance to the exhausted mother. When morning came, the grateful woman tried to pay her, but Hannah refused any coin. She accepted only a warmed cup of ale and a loaf of bread before stepping back out into the cold. Years later, a local minister wrote in his diary that Hannah had brought more comfort to that home than weeks of sermons ever could, preserving her quiet act of care in his personal record of the faithful.

Photo Source:
Andy F / Carding Mill Valley footpaths