In Loving Memory of Wolfe County's Midwife, Mrs. Ellen Higgins Lewis
Mrs. Lewis, best known to all as Aunt (Aint) Ellen, was born April 8, 1869, in Wolfe or Magoffin County, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Randall and Mariah Higgins.
Soon after she and Jim Lewis wed they bought land in Helechawa, Wolfe County, where they lived for the remainder of their lives.
Aunt Ellen was known as the "best" midwife for miles around. She practiced her trade for more than 50 years... delivering babies for all of Wolfe County and most of it's surrounding counties. According to her family, she had no formal training... it was a "gift". However, she was a licensed midwife. This made little difference to most people when a younger midwife, with formal training, came to the area. It's been told the younger woman soon moved on when she learned she was no competition for Aunt Ellen in the eyes of the community.
(above photo contributed by: Raymond Hager)
Ellen Higgins Lewis was also a beloved mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Her great granddaughter, Angel St.Clair, uses words like, "loving", "kind", "spiritual", "pillar of the community", and "natural born leader" to describe her. As time permits, Angel will be contributing stories of her "gramma" to this site, and would like to hear from others who have like stories.
Photos and information provided by Angel St.Clair, thanks.
If you have an ancestor who was delivered by Aunt Ellen please send us their name and birth date so we can list them here. Also, if you have any stories about Aunt Ellen that you'd like to share on this website please email them to us at [email protected]