Story 15: The Midwife in the Records (Essay)
My great-grandmother, Caroline Vergie Smith Dobbins, a North Carolina Midwife
Author
Name: Mallard W. Benton
Place of Residence: Woodstock, Cherokee, Georgia
Primary Sources: birth certificate, newspaper article, North Carolina Genealogical Society
Subject
Title: Caroline Vergie Smith Dobbins, Hamlet, NC Midwife
Subtitle: Caroline Vergie Smith Dobbins, 1855 - 1924
Name of Subject at Birth: Caroline Smith
Birth Date: 1855
Birthplace: Wadesboro, North Carolina
Name of Subject at Death: Caroline Dobbins
Death Date: 1924
Place of Death: Hamlet, NC
Spouse(s): James Madison Dobbins
Other Key Locations: Wadesboro and Hamlet, NC
Most admirable qualities: Hard Work, Service, Occupational/Professional Accomplishment
[This image is a representation of nurses like Caroline V. Smith Dobbins.]
Story
My father was born in Hamlet, North Carolina, in 1912. In recent years I have spent many hours researching both sides of his family, searching for the people behind the names on our family tree.
One discovery led me in an unexpected direction.
My great-grandmother, Caroline Vergie Smith Dobbins, was the second of Anderson and Eliza Jane Smith's fourteen children. She married James M. Dobbins in 1866, and together they raised a remarkable family. Caroline gave birth to sixteen children, eleven of whom survived into adulthood. The family lived in Richmond County, North Carolina, near the growing railroad town of Hamlet.
While examining the 1910 federal census, I noticed something that immediately caught my attention. Under occupation, Caroline was listed as a "trained" nurse. The designation surprised me. In the 1880 census she had been listed as a housekeeper. In 1900 no occupation had been recorded.
By 1920, now a widow and with her name misspelled by the census taker, Caroline again appeared with the occupation of nurse. Her adult daughter Hattie was also listed in nursing work.
The entry raised questions I could not answer. How had a woman born before the Civil War become a trained nurse? Where had she learned her skills? What role did she play in her community?
A clue appeared when I located the birth certificate of one of my father's siblings, Maurice Benton, born in 1914.
Caroline Dobbins was the name listed on the certificate.
Since Maurice's mother was Hannah Jane Dobbins Benton, Caroline's daughter (and my grandmother), the record revealed that Caroline had delivered at least one of her own grandsons.
Figure 1. Birth certificate of Maurice Benton.
North Carolina began issuing birth certificates in 1913. Curious, I began searching additional records. One certificate led to another. Eventually I located forty-nine birth certificates bearing Caroline's name, her mark, or both.
I suspect there were many more.
Each birth certificate represents more than a name in a government archive. Each marks a moment when a family welcomed a child into the world and trusted Caroline Dobbins to help make that possible. The records suggest that her work extended far beyond her own large family. She attended births for farmers, railroad workers, laborers, merchants, ministers, Black families and white families alike. The certificates offer a glimpse of a woman whose influence reached throughout the Hamlet community.
Yet the documents also leave many questions unanswered. Where did Caroline acquire the skills that led census takers to describe her as a trained nurse? Was she taught by another midwife? Did she receive some formal instruction? Did she view her work as a calling, a source of income, or simply a responsibility to her neighbors? The records are largely silent. What remains visible is the trail she left behind—dozens of signatures and marks on birth certificates, evidence that she stood beside mothers and newborns during some of the most important moments of their lives.
Some births she attended likely occurred before statewide registration began. Others may not yet have been digitized or archived. Still, the certificates that survive reveal a woman who served far more families than her own.
Several of the births occurred within the same neighborhoods where the Dobbins family appeared in census records. The fathers worked as farmers, railroad employees, laborers, ministers, carpenters, merchants, and cooks. Most of the mothers were listed as housewives or domestics. Some certificates recorded stillbirths. Others identified children born outside marriage. Five of the certificates were for white families.
Together the records suggest that Caroline's work crossed family, social, and even racial boundaries.
Each certificate represents more than a genealogical fact. It records a moment when a family welcomed a child into the world and trusted Caroline Dobbins to help make that possible. The surviving records suggest that she attended dozens of births and perhaps many more that were never officially documented.
To understand her work better, I began reading about African American midwives in the South. Historian Jenny M. Luke notes that the neglect of Black health care during the Jim Crow era left many communities dependent on midwives. Long before hospitals became widely available, these women provided essential care to mothers and infants.
Caroline may have been born into slavery or shortly before emancipation. She spent her life in Richmond County and almost certainly witnessed generations of women caring for one another during pregnancy and childbirth. As the mother of sixteen children herself, she possessed experience that few could match.
According to researcher Sarah Mobley, North Carolina licensed approximately 9,000 midwives after the state established licensing requirements in 1917. I do not know whether Caroline was among them. I would very much like to find out.
Hamlet Hospital opened in 1915 under the leadership of Dr. William Daniel James and his wife, registered nurse Lillian Duer James, who also established the Hamlet School of Nursing. The school was segregated, and I wonder whether opportunities for formal training were available to women like Caroline. Was she entirely self-taught? Did she learn from another midwife? Did she receive some form of instruction that has simply gone unrecorded?
The questions remain unanswered, but the records reveal something important. Caroline was not simply a name in a family tree. She was a woman whose work touched the lives of dozens of families throughout the Hamlet community.
Genealogical research often begins with dates and relationships. We search for births, marriages, and deaths. Occasionally, however, the records reveal something more. In Caroline Vergie Smith Dobbins, I found not only a great-grandmother but also a woman whose work touched dozens of families in Richmond County. She was a caregiver, a midwife, and one of the quiet builders of her community. Her life reminds me that behind every name in a family tree is a story waiting to be discovered.
Caroline Vergie Smith Dobbins died in 1924.
Figure 2. Obituary notice from the Rockingham Post-Dispatch, May 29, 1924.
Threads to Follow
How does one person become important to a community without becoming famous?
Caroline Dobbins appears in few historical records, yet she helped bring dozens of children into the world. What other people perform essential work but leave little trace in history?
How much can we learn about a person's life from official records?
Census records and birth certificates reveal facts, but they leave many questions unanswered. What can historians and genealogists infer from such records, and what remains unknowable?
Who provided health care when doctors and hospitals were unavailable?
Before modern hospitals became common, midwives played a critical role in many communities. How did people receive medical care in rural America a century ago?
What opportunities were available to African American women in the post-Civil War South?
Caroline was identified as a trained nurse and midwife during a period of segregation and limited educational opportunities. How did Black women acquire skills, earn respect, and serve their communities despite these barriers?
What stories are hidden in your own family tree?
The discovery of Caroline's work began with a simple census entry. What surprising stories might be uncovered through old documents, photographs, newspapers, or conversations with relatives?
More Threads to Follow (for richer discussion)
How many lives can one person influence?
Caroline Dobbins delivered at least forty-nine babies whose births were recorded on official certificates. Many more may have been born with her assistance before birth registration began or in records that have not survived. How many descendants might those children have today? How can the actions of one person continue to shape a community long after that person is gone?
What makes someone historically important?
Many history books focus on political leaders, business owners, and famous figures. Caroline Dobbins was none of these. Should people who quietly serve their communities be considered just as important to history? Why or why not?
What roles did women play in their communities that often went unrecognized?
How did midwives, teachers, caregivers, and church workers contribute to community life in the early twentieth century? Why are their contributions often overlooked?
What can family history teach us about American history?
Researching one person's life led to questions about race, health care, education, work, and community in the Jim Crow South. How can a family story help us better understand larger historical events?
An Invitation
While researching his family history, Mallard Benton discovered that his great-grandmother, Caroline Dobbins, served as a midwife who helped bring dozens of children into the world. What began as a search for names and dates became a deeper understanding of his family, his community, and himself.
You have stories like this to tell.
Every family has stories. Every place has stories. The people who came before us shaped our lives in ways we often do not recognize until we begin to look.
Star Hitchers invites you to explore those stories and share them with others. Tell us about a person who influenced your family. Tell us about a place that matters to you. Tell us about a discovery that changed the way you understand your past.
As America celebrates its 250th birthday, Star Hitchers is building a library of original stories about Americans and the places where they lived. These stories will help students learn about their country through the experiences of ordinary people whose lives helped shape it.
Visit StarHitchers.com for guidance, resources, and instructions for developing and submitting your story. We would be honored to include it in the collection.