Written by Monekia Gause, one of Eliza Jane Gause's great granddaughters who is also a Brunswick African American Heritage Society member,

Eliza Jane Gause was a prominent community leader in southeastern Brunswick County, NC where she served as a midwife for 45 years during the late 1800s and early 1900s, delivering black and white babies.
Some believe she delivered more babies in the area than the resident doctor, Dr. Jimmy Stone.

Eliza Jane Gause brought a desperately needed service to the community during a time when the area didn’t have many doctors. Before World War II, there was a huge demand for midwives in Brunswick County due to the scarcity of doctors in the area. Historians estimate that there were 100 midwives practicing in Brunswick County during the pre-WWII era. Some other midwives included Grace Gause, Eliza Brooks, Grace Hardy, Fanny Moore, Mary Freeman, Mary Frink, and Sylvia Brant.

Gause was born in the early 1870s to Friday and Missouri Bell who lived in the Calabash and Thomasboro areas. Known to love children from an early age, likely as a result of being one of the oldest siblings of 12 growing up, Gause became a midwife at age 24. She married Sam Gause on December 23, 1890, and the two moved into a large two-story home in Thomasboro, NC where they farmed and had 13 children.

That home housed many children and grandchildren in the years to come. The 1930 Census listed 17 people living in the home, including 5 grandchildren. This is not surprising given Gause’s love for children. The couple purchased a large amount of land in the Thomasboro area, including over 100 acres from the A.P. Thomas Estate as well as part of the Raven Plantation near the No. 5 Schoolhouse Road in Thomasboro.

Gause was known to travel by horse-drawn buggy through narrow roads, forests and swamps all times of day and night, even in inclement weather, to deliver babies.

In April 1934, when Gause purchased a 1930 Chevrolet Coach from Rainey Chevrolet Company for $227.02, she noted that “her children” - the numerous babies she delivered – would no longer have to wait for her to safely arrive. Many claim that Gause remembered the names of all “her children” and even named some of them herself.
Eliza Jane Gause departed this life on July 19, 1941, after nearly half a century of delivering children.
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Written by Sandy Brooks, one of Eliza Jane Gause's great granddaughters. one of Eliza Jane Gause's great granddaughters who is also a Brunswick African American Heritage Society member.

Eliza Jane Gause who was a notable midwife who served the people of Brunswick County, North Carolina in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Born in 1858, she began her career as a midwife in the 1880s and quickly gained a reputation for her skill and compassion. Over the course of her career, Eliza delivered hundreds of babies, often traveling long distances on foot or horseback to reach her patients.

She was known for her gentle touch and her ability to calm anxious mothers, and she was respected by both her patients and fellow medical professionals. Eliza faced many challenges as a midwife, including the racism and discrimination that was common in the South during her lifetime.

Despite these obstacles, she continued to provide care to all who needed it, regardless of their race or social status. Eliza Jane Gause passed away in 1934, but her legacy lives on. She is remembered as a skilled and compassionate midwife who dedicated her life to helping others, and she serves as an inspiration to midwives and healthcare professionals today.

Source: The Brunswick African American Heritage Society