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Outdoors in chilly Nebraska weather, 33-year-old Simeon B. Kerns was helping his brother-in-law JOHN round up horses at the TAYLOR farm on February 6, 1883. The pre-occupied JOHN seemingly had his hands full, preparing to transport a number of his animals to the local sale barn for auction on that cold Tuesday. While JOHN was actively engaged in corralling the horses, an uneasy Simeon quietly slipped away for a quick check on the status of his bedfast sister inside the house. Experiencing abdominal pains, Nancy instructed her brother not to bother JOHN with her concerns, but to send word to their elder sister, a 45-year-old widow living at Table Rock. A warmly-dressed Mary Fox loaded a black medical bag into her wagon on that wintry day, and urged her team of horses down a narrow Nebraska road toward the three-story stone farmhouse of her younger sister, Mrs. JOHN TAYLOR, only ten days away from her 44th birthday. Nancy's own diagnosis of her condition turned out to be correct, but she had not wanted to trouble her busy husband had it proven to be only false labor. Before the end of the day, Hattie Hay was born to JOHN and Nancy near Table Rock, with her aunt, Dr. Mary, at hand assisting in the delivery and care of the new little baby girl at the TAYLOR farmstead. Nancy wanted to identify the latest family addition in honor of JOHN's deceased mother, whose maiden name was Barbara Hay. Since JOHN liked the name Hattie and preferred it for his new daughter, a sort of compromise resulted. |
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