Sarah Johnson (baptised Quorn Baptist Church, 14th March 1791 and buried at Woodgate Baptist churchyard), died aged 28 on Aug 4th 1819 of Ascites (Dropsy). Before her death she had been treated by having liquid drained from her body 28 times.
We know this because the treatments, together with the exact volumes of liquid (in gallons, quarts and pints totalling over 300 gallons in six years) are all itemized on her elaborate slate gravestone together with the names of her surgeons and reference to her two deceased children. To have survived once after such invasive surgery in pre-antibiotic days must have been notable, but to have survived such repeated treatments seems remarkable.
Towards the end of her short life Sarah Johnson appears to have lived with her husband Moses in Rempstone. Records show that payments were made to them by the Overseer of the Poor for amongst other things rent, fuel and her medical treatment including brandy for shock. So where did the money come from to pay for the gravestone?
