Jane Soley Hamilton (née Soley, 1805 – October 2, 1897) of

Brookfield, Nova Scotia Brookfield (2021 population: 439) is a Canadian rural community located in southern Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Brookfield is a growing community in the heart of Nova Scotia, just forty minutes from the provincial capital of Halif ...

was a noted pioneer

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

and has been cited by many sources as an important figure in midwifery, nursing and medical practice in Canada. Jane Soley was born in 1805, the daughter of William and Mary Soley of Lower Truro. She married Robert Hamilton of Brookfield in 1825 and over the next 16 years gave birth to seven children, two of whom

died in infancy Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...

. In July 1851, when her youngest was nearly 10 years old, Jane was called upon to assist at the birth of a relative. This started Jane on the career of midwifery that was to span 42 years and bring 776 children into the world. She officiated at most of the births in

Hilden Hilden is a town in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is situated in the District of Mettmann, west of Solingen and east of Düsseldorf on the right side of the Rhine. It is a middle sized industrial town with a forest and numer ...

, Brookfield, Brentwood,

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

and Middle Stewiacke. Her work covered the years 1851 to 1893 during which time she kept careful record in a small tattered

almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and othe ...

of all of these births, dates, parents' names, and whether or not it was a difficult delivery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Jane Soley 1805 births 1897 deaths 19th-century Canadian women Canadian midwives People from Colchester County