On December 5th, 1883, Bertha Witte, age 20, gave birth to a son. It was Bertha and her husband Armin’s first child. Sadly, the boy was stillborn. His headstone simply reads, “Infant Son of A & B Witte.” If he was given a name, it is lost to history. Stillbirths were all too common in the 1800s. A lack of doctors and midwifes contributed to the high percentage of infant mortality during or shortly after home birth. But as much as the loss of their child grieved the young couple, life on a farm must move on. Bertha and Armin went on to have ten more children who lived into their adulthood. They outlived two daughters Norma and Ella, but the remaining eight led long, productive lives.

There is nothing more to say about Armin and Bertha Witte’s baby boy, gone too soon. Who knows what life he would have lived, had he survived. He is buried next to his mother in the Jaeger Witte Cemetery.