Page content
Resize textResize textResize text largerEmail pagePrint pageShare this page
View related multimedia and links

Catherine Blaikley

Catherine Blaikley's gravesite

Catherine Blaikley's gravesite at Bruton Parish Church.

  • 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 both 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 Blaikely-Durfey 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:

Multimedia and related links

  • slideshows
  • podcasts
  • interactive icon
  • downloads