Lizzie Martin Sturkie about 1910
Lizzie MARTIN, born 12 June 1902, was the 10th child of Adolphus Burdine MARTIN and Elizabeth Patience LEE MARTIN. She was one of my maternal grandfather’s sisters. Lizzie was a beautiful girl and woman which you can see for yourself by looking at the photographs of her.
Lizzie Martin Sturkie about 1915
Lizzie’s father, Adolphus, died in 1917 when Lizzie was almost 15 years old. I know she went to school, but I don’t know if she finished her education. I do know that in 1920, she was living with her husband, J. Grady STURKIE.
Grady was a mill operator; Lizzie was likely a homemaker. Lizzie and Grady lived at 104 1st Street in the Olympia area of Columbia according to the city directory for that year. Looking at googlemaps, I can say that is now an older residential/commercial area with paved streets but no curbs or sidewalks.
On November 13, 1921, Lizzie went into labor with her first child. Five days later on November 18th, still not having delivered the baby, Lizzie underwent a C-section at Baptist Hospital in Columbia. Tragically, she died later that day. It appears the baby didn’t survive either. There are no other details about her sad passing.
Lizzie Martin Sturkie and Grady Sturkie, before they were married
C-sections had been around for a while but were not often done prior to 1900. As surgeons’ confidence grew and techniques improved, though, the procedure was done more regularly after 1900. Still, in the early 1920’s, C-sections were often delayed so long that the mother was close to a state of collapse which contributed to maternal death afterwards. Perhaps that’s what happened to Lizzie.
Lizzie was buried at the Enon Church cemetery on Ft. Jackson on November 20, 1921 where her parents and other family members were also buried. Grady went on to marry again within a short time, and he had three children with this second wife.
Copyright © 2015 Nancy H. Vest All Rights Reserved
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