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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: gbuttery on Monday 28 August 06 15:49 BST (UK)
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I had been informed by my mother that her grandfather died when he fell off his horse after it was struck by lightning. So was the story told to her by my grandmother, who in turn, it appears, was also given the story (I don't think she made up the story as she was only young when her father died)
As 'facts' handed down are not always proved to be correct, I sent off for his death certificate. He died in a lynatic asylum, the cause of death given as ' General Paralysis 12 months'. In my naivity I believed that this meant he had not died from the fall but become paralysed and, sadly, been put in an asylum.
I have since been put right in my assumptions, and that 'General Paralysis' was a rife disease suffered by mainly men of 'suspectible morals'. It was a result of syphilis!
It led me to wonder what reasons other people may have on their death certificates.
I have one from 1879, that simply says the cause of death was 'old age' (she was 90!)
I also have one from 1908 - ' accidently killed by being knocked down by a charabanc'. Unforntuately, this turned out not to be the person I thought it was, and no relation.
What other odd causes are to be found out there? ..............
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The wife of my gt-gt-gt-gt-gt-grandfather died of "the King's Evil" in 1788.
Apparently" the King's Evil" was scrofula, a type of skin disease, thus-called because it was said that it could only be cured by the laying-on of royal hands.
Perhaps not unusual or sad, but certainly a new one on me! :)
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I was told that my grandfather's great-grandfather drowned at sea. As he was a sea captain this sounded quite logical, until I discovered an obituary in the local newspaper....seems he did drown, but in a well in the yard at home!
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One of hubby's great great grandads died of "Decay of Nature" Still not sure exactly what that is
Carol
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I have an ancestor who became a porter on a railway station shortly after they began. He died, struck by a train. I have seen the newspaper articles - poor soul walked out behind one train and did not hear the other...
Now they have bridges/underpasses.
meles
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One of hubby's great great grandads died of "Decay of Nature" Still not sure exactly what that is
Having Googled "Decay of nature" and looked at the deaths that it tends to encompass, it would seem to me that it is a synonym for 'old age'. All of the examples that I found were 70+ years old.
Could be wrong of course ... :-\
Roger ;)
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Not on a death certificate but in the actual parish records detailing the burial.
Death by accidental shooting.
This was my 3x great grandmothers first husband. They had been married 12 weeks and she was pregnant with there daughter.
We knew nothing about the marriage until I went to look for the baptism of all her children.
Will have to try to find out who was involved...
Tazzie
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One of hubby's great great grandads died of "Decay of Nature" Still not sure exactly what that is
Having Googled "Decay of nature" and looked at the deaths that it tends to encompass, it would seem to me that it is a synonym for 'old age'. All of the examples that I found were 70+ years old.
Could be wrong of course ... :-\
Roger ;)
A "lovely" way to describe old age isn't it? - Your nature's decaying Mr Davidson!
Carol
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How about
Accidentally fell down stairs while on his way to follow his daily calling and injured his head. Lived 30 hours
I still haven't decided what "daily calling" means!
Wotty.
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I have a few "died by visitation of God" (i.e. "we've got no idea!")
One "suppuration of the scalp caused by three ... wounds" (haven't managed to decipher what kind of wounds they were)
And one died at sea, but only after falling overboard whilst being "the worse for liquor"!
Prue
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How about 'cancer of the orbit (eye/eye socket)'?
That's how my great-grandfather, John Crone, died in 1906 in Brighton.
Clara :)
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Great Grandma's brother was a policeman in the Australian bush ( that means countryside to all the non Aussies - not privet or box hedge type plant ).
He was sent out to a remote farmhouse to arrest a man for cattle duffing ( stealing ) and got caught in a storm. A tree was struck by lightning and his horse threw him and impaled him on a branch from said struck tree.
He was found three days later, with his horse dead beside him from similar wounds.
Needless to say the native animals had not gone hungry.
It was all reported in gory detail in the Police Gazette of the day, and his poor wife went into premature labour at the news. Both her and their son survived and she remarried soon after to another policeman.
Karenlee
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I've got a death from "old age" as well - under duration of illness it says "one week"!
I have a publican who died of chronic alcoholism.
A man who was crushed by a horse that fell on him.
A woman who fell off the running board of a tram and struck her head on the road outside the hospital that I now work in.
My father was always told his biological grandmother "drank herself to death". I found the notes of the inquest held after she died and found out that she doused herself in metho and set herself on fire.
Kez :)
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Here's how one of my GGG Grandfather's died:
Reuben died 1 Aug 1902 at the Cardiff Union Workhouse, retired collier of Newtown. He died from injuries received on the previous day being accidentally knocked down by a Hansom Cab.
and one of his sons, my GGG Uncle:
Robert suffered paralysis caused by the fracture of his spine accidentally caused by a fall.
and one of Reuben's Grandsons (who suffered from manic depresssion):
On 31 March 1980 Trow had taken some food and developed chest pain radiating to his neck. He went to the toilet but collapsed in the corridor on the way, hit his head on a heater and appeared to be choking. Resuscitation was attempted but was unsuccessful, and he died at 12.25pm.
The post mortem report described him as about 173cm tall and revealed that he had a 5cm piece of partially crewed meat in his throat covering the entrance to his larynx. Death was by asphyxiation.
Oh dear :(
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My gg grandmother died of old age. I don't think they would put that on a cert any more. A ggg grandfather died of a fracture to his skull from a fall at home, the exact way my dad died (it was kind of creepy when I got that cert). A brother of a gg grandfather died of cirrhosis. The most gruesome is a ggg grandfather and his youngest son got hit by a train on Long Island. The son lived a couple days and died in the hospital, but my ggg grandfather died immediately. So sad. My ggg grandmother was left to raise her other 3 boys, and she had just lost her only daughter not too long before.
Kath
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I've got amongst my families:
One who died in 1910 whilst working in a building in Botany Road, Waterloo, Australia - killed by falling plank - died of scalp injury/fractured skull.
Another one - drowned himself in the Thames at Aberdeen Wharf, Limehouse- 'suicide whilst of unsound mind' - he was 52 and suffering depression. This was December 1932.
An elderly lady who died after a fall downstairs - this was the day after she'd been to her daughter's funeral at the workhouse....
And interestingly enough I have an 1821 parish record that states: 'killed at Cheshunt' for one of my direct ancestors who lived in Hertfordshire. He was only 44 and was buried at Layston. Would love to find out the story behind this.
Helen
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I have one great great grandfather who died of dislocation of the neck on falling from a cart load of hay. I wonder if this was after the lunch break of cheese and cider? His daughter's father-in-law died of Injuries from being thrown from a cart being driven along the Turnpike Road. He was a Publican, so I wonder if he was drunk in charge of a horse and cart.
Su
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1890 a cause of death of Thomas Nuttall "Probably Syncope" this meant fainting but he worked at the local gas works and was 42 -- sad. :'(
Next one is in 1867 a Drowning down a draw well. The newspaper report said that the lady fell head most down the well and shouted "Lord Help me" all the way down. :'(
:o :o :o
Matty
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My Dad grew up being told that his mother had died after a saucepan fell off a shelf and hit her on her head. Out of curiosity I sent for her death cert. and found that she had died of cancer. How terrible for him to live all his life thinking that was how she died.I suppose cancer was never mentioned in those days- the 1930's
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Most of mine died of Phthisus (which I believe was Consumption) apart from one 5 yr old who died of Cholera and g.g.g.grandfather died of Senile Decay.
Suppose it's not surprising as they lived in Liverpool in the middle 1800's and consumption was rampant.
Jean
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How about this one:
Hysteria. Congenital Neurotic Gastric Regurgitation and Marasmus 147 days.
Asthenia a few hours
He was a 32 year old school master who had been married about 5 months at the time.
The woman's second husband lasted about 4 years. (Haven't got the certificate, so don't know what caused his death). Husband number 3 seems to have outlived her.
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I have a gt.gt.grandfather who died from 'suffocation by being choked by pudding (impaction of food)' Another from typhus fever. Several ancestors died from TB and one gt.grandfather who died of 'a disease the nature of which was not ascertained'.
I also had a gt.gt.grandmother who died from diabetes and one who died from a kidney infection and uraemia. It is quite sad when you think that today they would be unlikely to die from these given the treatment available now.
Cheers
Magrat
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I've just got the usual mix of typhus, typhoid fever and TB/Consumption. Also, bronchitis seems to be rather common.
The only odd ones I have are my great great great great grandfather dying of 'cancer of the bones of the face, ill for 18 months' in 1890s Scotland, and my great great grandfather dying of 'senile decay after fracturing thigh after being struck by a truck in the sidings of Barnsley Main Colliery'.
Quite how senile decay and the fracturing of a thigh are connected I'll never know.
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... struck by a truck in the sidings ...
OUCH!! That's GOT to hurt! ;D
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The only odd ones I have are my great great great great grandfather dying of 'cancer of the bones of the face, ill for 18 months' in 1890s Scotland
Wow, my gggg grandparents were all born in the 1700s, and some of my ggg grandparents were also. I feel old. My great-grandparents were around in the 1890s.
Kath
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One of hubby's great great grandads died of "Decay of Nature" Still not sure exactly what that is
Carol
came across a death cert, stating he died " of general decay "( turned out not to be one of my rellies) found out " general decay " means .......... wait for it............ old age, he was 73. maybe decay of nature means the same.
steve
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In one of the letters from third cousin twice removed, Frederick, his cousins Isabella and John who were married to each other for only 2 months. Isabella apparently dropped down dead at the train station as she waved him off to go the Boer War. I haven't sent off for the death cert yet but would be interested in this, also to read any newspaper articles.
Another death, which I find very distressing, is of a chap, whom I now don't think is my gg grandfather, but from his death cert he died of 'exhaustive diarrhea' whilst in the workhouse. How sad a demise in unfriendly surroundings.
Sallysmum
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I think the saddest death, was the death of my g grandfather's brother, aged 9, twelve months after they arrived in Australia. My gg grandfather seems to have done a disappearing act, and my gg grandmother emigrated to Aus with her four children.
Lots and lots of kidney disease and cancer. Sometimes I think it is better not to know the causes of death of one's ancestors ;D
Skipworth in Aus
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BTW, your 'daily calling' would, I am afraid, be going to the toilet.
I have many references, which range from the enigmatic, 'suddenly' and 'after a long illness courageously borne' to quite a bit of yellow fever.
One couple were burned to death in a train accident at Abergele.
One died in 1775 by 'suicide - cutting his throat in an act of delirium' (there were runours about his wife's conduct). Another died in 1770 when a tree fell on him.
One 17th century ancestor was mudered at Bourtie Mill. One poor wonam died from an overdose of paraldehyde erroneously administered.
And one died from wounds sustained whilst tiger shooting!
Many obviously died in childbirth - hard times.
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I have two babies who died from 'teething'! Actually at the time in the early 1800's doctors prescribed powders for teething. These contained Mercury, and it is quite likely that they died from mercury poisoning.
And on the subject of poisoning one child in another family died through 'accidentally ingesting poisonous preparations'. Her father was an apothacary and ran a chemists shop! Very suspect I think! Where was his duty of care?
Pennine
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I have since been put right in my assumptions, and that 'General Paralysis' was a rife disease suffered by mainly men of 'suspectible morals'. It was a result of syphilis!
I've got a death from 'paralysis' and assumed (naively?) that he'd suffered a stroke. Given what I know of his son's morals, I may have to re-think that now - he had to inherit that sort of behaviour from somewhere ::)
My gg grandmother died from 'Cerebral haemorrhage, partial paralysis, injury to face following fall in roadway'. Poor love.
Silvilocks