Fearless Females 2014: Interaction with children: Bertha Damerell BALL

There is a family story about my great grandmother, Bertha Damerell BALL.  Apparently, the reason she died (from pneumonia) was because, in her weakened state, she got up to tend to the children (and the inference is that she dropped dead on the spot when she got up - hmmm).

Now, having done some research, although Bertha did indeed die of 'acute lobar pneumonia' and 'heart failure', some of the children were in their twenties by the time she died on 22 June 1909.  It is quite conceivable that she was looking after the youngest children in the family: my grandfather, William Hubert BALL, would have been about 11, and his younger brother, Wilfred Norman BALL, would have been 10.  And the death certificate does not say '10 days' or however long the person was ill for...

But I wonder just how true the family legend is?  After all, as a genealogist, I have found that family tales seem to be the most muddled of all, and some of them could almost start 'Once upon a time...'

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Once again, in honour of National Women’s History Month, Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog presents Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.  I know this is really US-centric - but that's not going to stop me honouring my own Fearless Females...