her exact age or her exact date of birth, because she had been born at a time when only rich (white folks) had their births officially recognized by the government. She had also been born at home, her birth was attended by a midwife, because once again, only rich (white folks) went to a doctor or heaven forbid, to a fancy hospital to have babies. Anyway, being a poor black family in the American south during the Jim Crow era, a girl child was not an important event to anyone beyond the immediate and/or extended family. Had literacy been prevalent in the family, her date of birth may have been recorded in the family's large Holy Bible along with all the marriages and deaths, but her whole life, she never knew nor did she ever find anything indicating the date. At some point in her life, she needed a birth date, any birth date, so in addition to asking older family members, she herself was partially responsible for coming up with one. It appears that someone helped her narrow down month she was born, January 1922. For some reason known only to her, she selected January 12, 1922 as her date of birth, and used that on any document where it was requested.
I'm reminded of her because it's once again January. Thanks for reading.
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