Death seen as natural
If a woman died after the birth of a child (this was a dangerous process because of infections), her younger sister stepped in as new wife, or replacement. The husband (here farmer in the country) absolutely needed a wife to look after the children and farm house (cooking etc.). So he normally got remarried a second, or third time within a few months; later a one year period was recommended. Often these wives were widows themselves. So there was constant giving births and dying on the farms, similar to what happened in the stable with the animals. Death was seen as natural. Only medicine and hygienic measures lowered the infant and childhood mortality rate. However, there were very bad pestulenza waves in the 17th century in our regions. Many villages lost 30 to 40% of the population. (Peter Bertschinger)
Documents related to the Scholl infant:
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| Scholl infant 1731 31 Mar. film 4137289 page 362 |
Stillborn. On the 31st of March [1731] a little son of Mattheus Scholl, the tailor, from Eva his wife, was stillborn.
Comment: Note that this record is unnumbered and is between record no. 319 and record no. 320.