Tracing families of 18th Century child patients
Northampton General HospitalA university is inviting families to help uncover the stories of children treated in hospital centuries ago.
The University of Northampton (UoN) is leading a project to connect present-day families with children treated at Northampton Infirmary - now Northampton General Hospital - between 1744 and 1801.
Records from the hospital archive show about 4,000 children aged 13 and under were treated during this period.
Fred O'Dell, a volunteer at Northampton General Hospital's archive, said: "We know this information must be out there, but we have to work in partnership with historians, genealogists and the wider archival community."
Prof Andrew WilliamsThe project is a collaboration between the Northampton General Hospital archive, the UoN and the University of Toronto Mississauga in Canada.
Researchers say they want to challenge the long-held assumption that children received little hospital treatment before specialist institutions were set up - such as Great Ormond Street in London in 1852.
But a team led by Prof Williams believe they have already demonstrated that children were in fact commonly admitted to early voluntary hospitals.
"We need this help to uncover these former child patients' life stories, after they were discharged from the infirmary," said Prof Williams, who is visiting professor of child health and medical history at UoN.
"It would be great to start to connect their histories to their modern-day descendants."
The team were inspired to start the project after being contacted by a genealogist researching the family of 12-year-old Sarah Harris.
The girl, from Kettering, was believed to be the first child in England to have an amputation through the hip joint when she underwent the surgery at Northampton in 1779.
People can learn more about the project at the heritage fair taking place at Wicksteed Park in Kettering on Sunday.
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