Alsy — enslaved woman
- Creator(s):
- Fairfax, J. H.
- Title:
- Manuscript medical certificate
- Publication/Origin:
- Westmoreland County, Virginia: 21 February 1831
- Description:
- In this fragment of a certificate, Dr. J. H. Fairfax notes that he has examined an enslaved woman named “Alsy, belonging to the estate of R[. . . ?] in the employment of Mr. Charles Mothershead and find her to be labouring under a ‘procidentia uteri, or falling down of the womb,’” a prolapsed uterus. This condition sometimes occurs after childbirth and can be caused by severe beatings. Fairfax determined that Alsy “may be made usefull by the application of an instrument properly adjusted, to keep the part from coming down.”
- Citation:
- Fairfax, J. H., Manuscript medical certificate, Westmoreland County, Virginia: 21 February 1831, Lisa Unger Baskin Collection, Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. Accessed April 19, 2024, https://exhibits.library.duke.edu/exhibits/show/baskin/item/4113