Catherine Blaikley

• Born 1695
• Midwife
• Widowed for 35 years
• Died 1771
• Buried in Bruton Parish Churchyard

Delivered 3,000 children

Catherine Blaikley lived in Williamsburg and was an "eminent Midwife" who delivered "upwards of three Thousand Children," presumably white and black, slave and free. Her husband was merchant William Blaikley, who died in 1736. During her 35-year widowhood, Mrs. Blaikley lived in the house now called the Catherine Blaikley House on Duke of Gloucester Street.

Two of the most interesting documents which exist concerning Catherine Blaikley are the Book of Common Prayer with her name on the inside cover of its Williamsburg binding and the room-by-room inventory of William Blaikley's estate, which she compiled and presented in court after his death. She was buried in Bruton Parish Churchyard near the tower, where her tombstone may be found today.

For further reading:

• The colonial family
• Bruton Parish Churchyard