A granddaughter passes on the legacy of 'Granny Hayden,' a midwife born into slavery
February 18, 20225:11 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
JO CORONA
Mary Othella Burnette (left) and Debora Hamilton Palmer at their remote StoryCorps interview on Feb. 6.
StoryCorps
Mary Stepp Burnette Hayden was born into slavery on a plantation in Black Mountain, N.C.
By the age of 7, Hayden was freed after the Civil War ended in 1865, and went on to be a midwife in the Appalachian town. She learned to deliver and care for babies from her mother, who practiced the trade starting as a teenager. Hayden, who was also an herbalist, employed natural remedies in her practice.
Mary Othella Burnette, 90, called her "Granny Hayden." Just as her grandmother passed on her stories to her, Burnette continued the oral tradition in a StoryCorps conversation this month with her daughter Debora Palmer, who is 70, to remember a family matriarch.
"She probably weighed not more than 110 pounds," Burnette said. "She was about 4 feet, 11 inches tall, and her hair hung well below her waist. She had deep-set eyes, and a fierce look, as if she were looking right through you."
More:
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/18/1081291769/midwife-slavery-storycorps
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