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I didn't purposely set out to find this grave. I was researching a young boy called Joseph Humpage who at 11 years old had been brought up in front of Leicester Azzies for stealing money from his step mother Sarah Humpage. Joseph was sentenced to Desford Industrial school for boys for five years. I couldn't find anymore information on Joseph or his father Enoch but his step mother popped up and brought me to Fanny Frith.
In December 1891 Sarah Humpage was brought up in front of the coroner at St. Margaret's Cafe in Leicester.
A Fanny Frith died five days after giving birth to her son Henry. She had been in terrible pain and was only given Godfrey's Cordial. It was concluded her cause of death was Puerperal Peritonitis.
Sarah Humpage had no midwifery qualifications but said she had been practising for 16 years and had read books on the subject. When literacy skills were tested Sarah couldn't even write her own name.
The coroner stated that this case highlighted the need for the registration and qualifications for midwifery,but unfortunately this time he could not stop Sarah Humpage from continuing with her work. Sarah was still practising as a midwife in 1901 as recorded in the census.
William Frith the widow of Fanny remarried and had a further seven children. The son Henry who Fanny had given birth to in 1891 died four months later in March 1892 and was buried with his mother at Welford Road Cemetery, Leicester.
![Welford Road Cemetery - Leicester](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b569d0_6cf1015983f446818e2cf02fea0fc15f~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_582,h_297,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/frith.jpg)