Our Unique Stories

infant son of birdie neddum

1914-1914

Life Story

A Life Remembered Through the Record

Birth and Family

On April 1, 1914, an unnamed infant son was born to Charles (“Chas.”) Pace and Birdie Neddum (Needham) in the Lawrence community of Newton County, Mississippi.

Charles Pace was a native of neighboring Scott County, while Birdie Neddum had been born and raised in Newton County. Their son arrived during an era when childbirth remained one of life’s most dangerous moments, particularly in rural communities where access to physicians and modern obstetrical care was limited.

Sadly, the child was stillborn, with his official Mississippi death certificate recording both his birth and death on the same day.

Although he never had the opportunity to take a breath or receive a given name, his existence was preserved through the careful recording of his birth and death, ensuring that he remains a recognized member of his family’s history.

A Community Responds

Following the family’s loss, members of the Lawrence community assisted in documenting and caring for the infant.

Martha Hill, a resident of Lawrence, served as the informant, providing the information needed for the state’s vital registration. L. C. Price, the local registrar, officially filed the certificate on April 4, 1914, preserving the historical record of the child’s brief existence.

The burial arrangements were entrusted to Henry Hill, who prepared the infant for his final resting place.

Final Resting Place

Following his stillbirth, the infant was buried in Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi.

Although his life lasted only a single day, the official records ensure that he is remembered as a son of Charles Pace and Birdie Neddum, preserving his place within the history of their family and the Lawrence community.

Legacy

The unnamed infant son of Charles Pace and Birdie Neddum never had the opportunity to experience childhood, yet his story speaks to a larger chapter in the history of rural Mississippi families.

Stillbirths and infant deaths were tragically common during the early twentieth century, when many complications of pregnancy and childbirth could not yet be prevented or effectively treated. Behind every certificate was a grieving family whose loss often went unrecorded beyond a single official document.

More than a century later, that document allows this child to be remembered—not as an anonymous statistic, but as a son whose brief existence remains an enduring part of his family’s story.

Resting Place

Union Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery

Photos/Albums

Infant Son Pace
Infant Son of Birdie Neddum Pacem 1914-1914

Sources

  1. Mississippi Stillbirth Certificate of the unnamed son of Charles Pace and Birdie Neddum (1914); documenting his birth and stillbirth on April 1, 1914, in Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi.
  2. Mississippi Stillbirth Certificate; identifying the child’s parents as Charles (“Chas.”) Pace, a native of Scott County, Mississippi, and Birdie Neddum, a native of Newton County, Mississippi.
  3. The certificate records that the family was residing in the Lawrence community of Newton County at the time of the child’s birth.
  4. Mississippi Stillbirth Certificate; recording the child’s condition as stillborn, meaning he was born without signs of life. During the early twentieth century, stillbirths were commonly recorded on death certificates rather than birth certificates in Mississippi.
  5. During the early 1900s, rural Mississippi families faced high rates of stillbirth and infant mortality due to limited prenatal care, the absence of antibiotics, inadequate medical facilities, and restricted access to trained physicians and hospitals.
  6. Mississippi Stillbirth Certificate; identifying Martha Hill of Lawrence as the informant, whose responsibility was to provide the information necessary for the state’s vital registration.
  7. Mississippi Stillbirth Certificate; documenting that L. C. Price, the local registrar, officially filed the certificate on April 4, 1914.
  8. Mississippi Stillbirth Certificate; identifying Henry Hill as the undertaker responsible for preparing the infant for burial.
  9. Mississippi Stillbirth Certificate; documenting the infant’s burial in Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi. Although the certificate does not specify a cemetery, many African American families residing in the Lawrence community during this period were buried at Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery. In the absence of direct documentary evidence, however, the exact burial location of this child cannot be stated with certainty.
  10. The preservation of this stillbirth certificate ensures that the unnamed infant son of Charles Pace and Birdie Neddum remains part of the historical record. Although he never received a given name and lived only until birth, the official record documents his existence and preserves his place within the history of his family.
  11. Family records, Mississippi vital records, Newton County historical records, and genealogical research collectively document the brief life and death of the unnamed infant son of Charles Pace and Birdie Neddum.

Sources Consulted

Mississippi Stillbirth Certificate of the unnamed son of Charles Pace and Birdie Neddum (1914); Newton County Vital Records; Newton County Genealogical Research Collections; Lawrence Community Historical Records; Pace and Neddum Family Records and Oral Histories

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