The Introduction begins with a description of Hallowell, Maine, and its position as a port city on the Kennebec River. In the winter, the river “closes,” leaving the town cut off from the sea for months at a time, sometimes closing as early as November and opening as late as May in especially cold years. The townsfolk of Hallowell in the late 18th century were hardy and accustomed to the difficulty and hardship brought on by the icy conditions and uncertainty of the river’s freezing and melting. Martha Ballard herself rowed across the river in icy conditions one winter to assist Old Lady Cony after she had a stroke.

The Introduction transitions to Martha’s background, the titular midwife who was also quoted as saying, after the river swept away part of the north side of their house, “But we are yet alive & well for which we ought to be thankful” (12). Martha’s diary is the primary source for Ulrich’s historical analysis throughout the text, but the details of her early life come from other pieces of archival evidence. Martha was born Martha Moore in Oxford, Massachusetts, in 1735, married her husband Ephraim Ballard in 1754, and gave birth to nine children between 1756 and 1779.