Bettie Medlin, born about 1853, was the youngest child born to Samuel and Rebecca (Morgan) Medlin. In the summer of 1854, an outbreak of cholera hit the area around Lebanon, Wilson County, Tennessee where the Medlin family was living. Bettie's mother, Rebecca (Beckie), came down with cholera and died in July 1854. After Rebecca's death, some of the Medlin children were sent to live with extended relatives and other children were old enough to be on their own. Bettie's father, Samuel, being unable to care for an infant daughter gave her away to be raised by the Barnett Richardson family. (For more information on Bettie's life and her relationship to the Richardson family, go to a previous post about Bettie.)
Somehow with the death of her mother and being taken in by others to be raised, Bettie's birth was never recorded or remembered . Bettie, herself, stated in a letter included in her husband's Civil War Pension Records that she did NOT KNOW her birth date or how old she actually was. Her birth information is missing from the family bible. Also, she usually did not give a birth year or age to the census taker. BUT, in about 1933, Bettie told her great-granddaughter, Ethel Baldwin, that her BIRTHDAY was on Febuary 14, Valentine's Day. I feel that she personally picked Valentine's Day for her birthday since she did not know her real birthday. So, that is the birth date I think she should have and I have given it to her.
For years, I have listed Bettie's death date as 13 Feb 1939. I got that date from her death certificate, or, so I thought. But recently, Cousin Rod informed me of my error. I had actually written down the date from the second line down, which was the date the doctor had last seen Bettie. Bettie died at 4:00 am on Valentine's Day, 14 Feb 1939. Is it a coincidence or fate or what, that Bettie died on the very date that she had privately picked for her special day and birth date?
For the little girl who never had a real birthday,
who became the fiesty grandma most of the family remembers,
who became the fiesty grandma most of the family remembers,
let's all wish her a
HAPPY BIRTHDAY & HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
on this day Bettie picked for her remembrance.
