Year: 1917
Mary Holmes Tanner was born around 1895 in Clifton Forge, Virginia, the daughter of Mary Holmes. Census records suggest she had a sister, Martha, who may have been her twin. In time, she married Eddie Tanner, a chauffeur for Jos. P. Woods, and the couple made their home at 502 Park Street NW in Roanoke.
Mary died on May 11, 1917, from puerperal sepsis, a severe infection that could occur following childbirth and was often fatal before the advent of modern medical care. Her death came shortly after the birth and loss of her infant daughter on April 29, 1917. Her story reflects the very real dangers of childbirth in the early twentieth century and the profound losses families sometimes endured in a matter of days.
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