Betsy Hewitt was the daughter of Samuel and Dolly Hewitt, who were the first tenants of 3 Coronation Street in 1902. The Hewitt clan was among the worst hit by the Weatherfield TB epidemic; Betsy lost her mother and brother to it before succumbing to it herself as a four-year-old in 1906. In her final days, Samuel nearly smothered her to end her suffering but stopped when her elder sister Flo, sleeping in the same room, woke up and screamed. Betsy died two days later.