At the end of February, 2017 I visited my second cousin Jo Ann Deerfield McGranahan. Jo Ann and I share one set of Great Grandparents, John and Hanna Smart Coleman. I had not talked at length with Jo Ann for many years. We kept running into each other at numerous funerals of family and friends; if you are above 60 you know the drill.
Jo Ann relayed information on her Deerfield Family and shared some compelling family photographs. One photograph really stood out for me and prompted this short article, a photograph of her father, Earthel “Erk” Deefield’s, younger sister, Lillian Flossie Deerfield (b 1918). Lillian lived in Rush, KY.
The photo was of Lillian Deerfield and her husband Arnold “Doc” Sexton all dressed up and standing proud for the camera. I was struck by just how young Lillian Deefield looked. Jo Ann added that Lillian later died giving birth.
Here is that image. Click on the image for a larger view.
That evening, with that image still in my brain, I did a bit of research. Lillian died giving birth when she was only 16. This leads me to believe that this image may have possibly been a photo taken on her wedding day. And Lillian was very young, likely only 15 in the image.
Jo Ann explained that she had heard from older family members that initially the delivery was attended to by a local midwife, but the midwife realized that the pregnancy was more than she could handle and Lillian was taken to a hospital in Ashland. Jo Ann also indicated the family thought this delay was likely a serious mistake.
Lillian died on 29 July 1934 at Stephenson Hospital in Ashland, KY. She died of “eclampsia” which is a hypertension disorder (high blood pressure) that causes seizures, organ damage, and coma. Eclampsia is more common in young women and with the first pregnancy, like Lillian.
The baby was born on the 28 of July and died the next day, the same day that Lillian died.
Below are the death certificates of Lillian and her child. Click on the images for a larger view.
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