The Story of Elwin Rufus Hyde Jr.

While researching genealogy, it is usually much easier to find records about people who lived a long life, especially if they married and had children. The longer you live, the more of a paper trail you generate. This is especially true for people who lived before the industrial revolution. Before that, in a time when infant mortality was unimaginable to us, we are not likely to find much information about the children who died. Sometimes, we find out about these children as a genealogy footnote -
"....and a child who died in infancy." Having lost a child myself, my heart breaks for the mothers whose children were forgotten in time. So, whenever I learn the name of a child who died young, I make an extra effort to enter them into my family tree.

Baby Elwin Rufus Hyde Jr.

I found out about Elwin Jr. when I found his picture. The back said "Elwin Hyde Jr, died at 14 months." However, it was not until I found his older sister's baby book that I found the whole story. It began as a record of his life, and ended all too soon with the memory of his death. The astounding fact is that, as late as the mid 20th century, almost every family had lost a child due to illness. Modern medicine, including vaccination, infant formula, and antibiotics, were miracles. And in the years since, we have forgotten what our ancestors dealt with every day.

Losing a child is the worst heartbreak that a parent can endure. Reading this record brought tears to my eyes. I felt as if I was reaching back 120 years, mourning with my 2nd great-grandmother over the death of her dear boy. This is the story that she wrote.

Elwin Rufus Hyde Jr. was born Feb 17th '92 at 10:30 P.M. weighed ten and one fourth pounds. We had three different nurses, so that by the time the third had gone, he was troubled with indigestion. When baby was two or three weeks old, I was taken very sick so that I was obliged to give up nursing him. We then gave him the bottle, tried nearly everything, but all seemed to do him no good. Gave him mostly cow's milk. When I went home to Dalton [MA] for two weeks, I gave him jersey milk. He began to gain. Change of air and milk seems to give him a change for the better. This was when he was 6 months old. When 7 months old, I put on short clothes, and he weighed between 12 and a half and 13 pounds. He has always seemed to be bright. Are giving him now condensed milk, some arrowroot.

Baby Elwin gained all the time after our return home from Dalton. During the very hot weather in July, he lost all his flesh from 12 and a half pounds down to 10 and a half pounds. At 6 months, he commenced to gain. At 10 months, weighed 16 and one quarter pounds. He had two teeth. Baby is very good. Could not ask him to do better now. At 12 months, he had 6 teeth and weighed 20 pounds and is such a fine boy. So good. Tries to stand on his feet a good deal. Think he will walk soon. At 13 months, he had 7 teeth and weighed 21 and a half pounds and had whooping cough. When 12 months old, coughed pretty hard sometimes. When baby was 14 months old, he was taken sick. April 6, I held him nearly all day. Called the Dr. who came about 6:30 P.M. Said he was pretty sick. Next morning, called him better said. He came very near having pneumonia but had bronchitis, told me to put on camphorated oil to take out inflammation. Friday night, fever came on. Baby tossed all night and most of the day Saturday. He lost flesh during Friday night and Saturday, and Saturday evening, the dear boy was taken from us. He died at about 9 P.M. The funeral was Tuesday April 11th at 10:30 A.M. The dear little one was laid away in a little white casket lined with flowers and a pillow of flowers.