Evelyn Kelsic & her premature baby
Evelyn Kelsic and her premature baby both died in childbirth on December 13, 1931 at the Delaware Hospital in Wilmington. They were buried together at the NCCH Cemetery under marker number 2183. Their story is especially sad.
Evelyn was African American, and was only 17 when she died delivering her first baby. Evelyn was born around 1914, and was the daughter of John Morris and Anna Griffin Morris of Middletown. It wasn’t possible to find out more about her natal family, as John Morris was a very common name at the time. Even though she was only 17, she was already married, to an African American man named Winfield Kelsic, whose family was from New Jersey.
Her Certificate of Death lists eclampsia (during childbirth) as the cause of death, and prematurity as the cause of death of her baby. Eclampsia, a severe form of high blood pressure in pregnancy, is known to be more common among African American women than those of other “races,” among women older than 35 or younger than 20, and among women during their first pregnancy. According to the “Preeclampsia Foundation”:
“Preeclampsia is one of the most common and severe disorders that occurs during pregnancy and the postpartum period, affecting at least 5-8% of all pregnancies. The preeclampsia rate is 60 percent higher in black women than in white women,1 and black women are more likely to develop severe preeclampsia. Black women may also have higher rates of chronic diseases that are known to be risk factors for preeclampsia. The rapidly progressive condition that can lead to multiple adverse outcomes, including seizure, stroke, heart disease, infant growth restriction, preterm birth, and maternal and infant death. Characterized by high blood pressure, elevated protein levels and other factors, early recognition of preeclampsia symptoms can save lives.” https://www.preeclampsia.org/public/frontend/assets/img/gallery/D0900705.pdf (2020)
Almost 100 years later, the etiology of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are still not well understood.
Not only were Evelyn and her baby’s lives cut short that day, it seems that her young husband never fully recovered from the tragedy. Winfield Morell Kelsic was born to Hannah Kelsic on October 3, 1910. His mother was not married, and she would have been only 15-18 years old when Winfield was born (there is some confusion about her age, as it varies all over the place from one census to the next, 19/25/37/45, and other records that suggest she was born in 1895). The 1920 census, the only census in which Winfield appears, his is listed as being 7 years old, which would place his birth in 1913. At that time, Winfield was living with his mother, uncle, and grandparents in Salem, New Jersey.
After the death of his young wife and child, Winfield never remarried or had any other children. There is no trace of him between 1931 and 1938, when he was accused of the hammer murder of Elizabeth Harmon, also African American, on February 15, 1938 in Clayville, New Jersey. After the incident, Winfield fled to Raleigh, North Carolina and lived under the assumed name of David Latyn/Layton. Using that name, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served honorably for 3 years. After his discharge, the FBI compared fingerprints from the murder scene with those of soldiers, and identified Winfield as the murderer. He was arrested in North Carolina in February, 1946 and returned to New Jersey to face charges.
Winfield pled guilty to manslaughter in the death of Miss Harmon, and was sentenced to 3-7 years in prison. However, after serving less than a year in prison, in December of 1947, the New Jersey Court of Pardons released their “Christmas List” or pardons and paroles, including setting free Winfield Kelsic. The newspaper accounts do not provide any explanation, but perhaps his exemplary military service counted in his favor.
We hear nothing of him again until he was arrested for drunken driving, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer in July of 1952. He was first fined for the drunken driving charge, and later for the other charges. At the time, he is described as 38 years of age, and working as a paperhanger.
Again, we find no trace of Winfield Kelsic until his death on October 11, 1999. According to information on his memorial on www.findagrave.com he was buried in the Salem County War Veterans Memorial Park and Cemetery, in Woodstown, Salem County, New Jersey. According to FAG, he was a painter, and at his death in 1999 he was predeceased by his mother Hannah Kelsic Jackson and his “sister” (step-sister) Rosa K. Nokes Jones.
To see Evelyn's COD and read the articles about Winfield, click HERE.
More resources
An article exploring the link between “race” and rates of pre-eclampsia in the US:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/us-born-black-women-at-higher-risk-of-preeclampsia-than-foreign-born-counterparts-race-alone-does-not-explain-disparity#:~:text=The%20overall%20prevalence%20of%20preeclampsia,and%20white%20women%20(7.1%25) This article is a news article describing research published in JAMA in 2021.
“The overall prevalence of preeclampsia among all women was 9.5%. Black women had the highest age-adjusted prevalence of preeclampsia (12.4%) compared with Hispanic (8.2%) and white women (7.1%).” Black women born in the US had higher rates than black immigrants.
Fascinating article on the history of the medical understanding of preeclampsia-eclampsia:
A Historical Overview of Preeclampsia-Eclampsia
Mandy J. Bell, BSN, RN, Doctoral student and National Institute of Nursing Research Predoctoral Fellow
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951301/
J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2010 Sep; 39(5): 510–518.
doi: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2010.01172.x
PMCID: PMC2951301
NIHMSID: NIHMS219432
PMID: 20919997
Evelyn was African American, and was only 17 when she died delivering her first baby. Evelyn was born around 1914, and was the daughter of John Morris and Anna Griffin Morris of Middletown. It wasn’t possible to find out more about her natal family, as John Morris was a very common name at the time. Even though she was only 17, she was already married, to an African American man named Winfield Kelsic, whose family was from New Jersey.
Her Certificate of Death lists eclampsia (during childbirth) as the cause of death, and prematurity as the cause of death of her baby. Eclampsia, a severe form of high blood pressure in pregnancy, is known to be more common among African American women than those of other “races,” among women older than 35 or younger than 20, and among women during their first pregnancy. According to the “Preeclampsia Foundation”:
“Preeclampsia is one of the most common and severe disorders that occurs during pregnancy and the postpartum period, affecting at least 5-8% of all pregnancies. The preeclampsia rate is 60 percent higher in black women than in white women,1 and black women are more likely to develop severe preeclampsia. Black women may also have higher rates of chronic diseases that are known to be risk factors for preeclampsia. The rapidly progressive condition that can lead to multiple adverse outcomes, including seizure, stroke, heart disease, infant growth restriction, preterm birth, and maternal and infant death. Characterized by high blood pressure, elevated protein levels and other factors, early recognition of preeclampsia symptoms can save lives.” https://www.preeclampsia.org/public/frontend/assets/img/gallery/D0900705.pdf (2020)
Almost 100 years later, the etiology of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are still not well understood.
Not only were Evelyn and her baby’s lives cut short that day, it seems that her young husband never fully recovered from the tragedy. Winfield Morell Kelsic was born to Hannah Kelsic on October 3, 1910. His mother was not married, and she would have been only 15-18 years old when Winfield was born (there is some confusion about her age, as it varies all over the place from one census to the next, 19/25/37/45, and other records that suggest she was born in 1895). The 1920 census, the only census in which Winfield appears, his is listed as being 7 years old, which would place his birth in 1913. At that time, Winfield was living with his mother, uncle, and grandparents in Salem, New Jersey.
After the death of his young wife and child, Winfield never remarried or had any other children. There is no trace of him between 1931 and 1938, when he was accused of the hammer murder of Elizabeth Harmon, also African American, on February 15, 1938 in Clayville, New Jersey. After the incident, Winfield fled to Raleigh, North Carolina and lived under the assumed name of David Latyn/Layton. Using that name, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served honorably for 3 years. After his discharge, the FBI compared fingerprints from the murder scene with those of soldiers, and identified Winfield as the murderer. He was arrested in North Carolina in February, 1946 and returned to New Jersey to face charges.
Winfield pled guilty to manslaughter in the death of Miss Harmon, and was sentenced to 3-7 years in prison. However, after serving less than a year in prison, in December of 1947, the New Jersey Court of Pardons released their “Christmas List” or pardons and paroles, including setting free Winfield Kelsic. The newspaper accounts do not provide any explanation, but perhaps his exemplary military service counted in his favor.
We hear nothing of him again until he was arrested for drunken driving, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer in July of 1952. He was first fined for the drunken driving charge, and later for the other charges. At the time, he is described as 38 years of age, and working as a paperhanger.
Again, we find no trace of Winfield Kelsic until his death on October 11, 1999. According to information on his memorial on www.findagrave.com he was buried in the Salem County War Veterans Memorial Park and Cemetery, in Woodstown, Salem County, New Jersey. According to FAG, he was a painter, and at his death in 1999 he was predeceased by his mother Hannah Kelsic Jackson and his “sister” (step-sister) Rosa K. Nokes Jones.
To see Evelyn's COD and read the articles about Winfield, click HERE.
More resources
An article exploring the link between “race” and rates of pre-eclampsia in the US:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/us-born-black-women-at-higher-risk-of-preeclampsia-than-foreign-born-counterparts-race-alone-does-not-explain-disparity#:~:text=The%20overall%20prevalence%20of%20preeclampsia,and%20white%20women%20(7.1%25) This article is a news article describing research published in JAMA in 2021.
“The overall prevalence of preeclampsia among all women was 9.5%. Black women had the highest age-adjusted prevalence of preeclampsia (12.4%) compared with Hispanic (8.2%) and white women (7.1%).” Black women born in the US had higher rates than black immigrants.
Fascinating article on the history of the medical understanding of preeclampsia-eclampsia:
A Historical Overview of Preeclampsia-Eclampsia
Mandy J. Bell, BSN, RN, Doctoral student and National Institute of Nursing Research Predoctoral Fellow
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951301/
J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2010 Sep; 39(5): 510–518.
doi: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2010.01172.x
PMCID: PMC2951301
NIHMSID: NIHMS219432
PMID: 20919997