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Catherine Clark Smith Harrison (1813–1903) 27
her life, she recorded in an almanac statistics related to her work.
This almanac, which later passed to family members, contains such
simple facts as the following:
Jan. 6 J. Castle girl . . .
Feb. 8 Holman girl . . .
Mar. 16 Johnson boy . . .
Total in 1883 9 boys, 18 girls
The record continues through 1888. A big year was 1884, with
three sets of twins. The almanac lists a total of 307 children delivered.
36 On April 20, 1887, Catherine attended at the birth of her
own grandchild, a daughter of Isaac Harrison Jr. The girl was named
Florence Catherine Harrison. Catherine was then more than seventy
years old. 37
Catherine’s usual rate for her services was four or five dollars.
This fee compensated her for delivering the baby and caring for the
mother and child up to ten days. A family story relates that one
father was having financial difficulty and expressed concern that he
would be unable to pay her. Catherine took a few eggs from the
table and told him that would settle the bill. 38
Isaac died in 1894, and Catherine was once again a widow. She
36. Rich, History and People, 145–47.
37. Sources do not agree about Catherine’s age. At some point she began to
report her birth year as 1817, but her birth year of 1813 is confirmed by Scottish
Parish Records, Paisley Parish, 1722–1854, p. 23, Family History Library;
“Catherine Clark Harrison,” Endowment House Temple Records, bk. D, no.
1201, p. 64, Special Collections, Family History Library. Catherine was sealed
to her husband Isaac Harrison on September 21, 1860, and received her endowment
on November 9, 1861, in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. It was
not uncustomary to receive one’s own endowment after being sealed to a spouse.
Family Group Record, Isaac and Catherine Clark Harrison, NewFamilySearch,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, accessed February 2, 2011, http://
new .familysearch.org.
38. Rowley, “Brief Sketch,” 3–4.