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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => London and Middlesex => Topic started by: carol8353 on Wednesday 29 September 10 17:04 BST (UK)
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A friend has an ancestor who died aged 32 of Typhoid in Dec 1838 in Somers Town( 7 Spann's (?) Buildings, St Pancras Road) St Pancras.
His wife died aged 28 in July 1840(leaving 3 very young children :() I have just found her burial at St Pancras Parish Chapel.
But cannot find his.It doesn't help that his name is John Brown/e ;D
Did they do something different when burying typhoid sufferers?
Carol
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If he's died of typhoid perhaps there was an outbreak in the area and may be buried in a mass grave? Maybe there's one particular area they used to bury them?
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I don't know if this will help or hinder but gives the background to Victorian Health issues in particular Typhoid.
http://www.victorianweb.org/science/health/health10.html
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Thanks for that Fifer it makes interesting(if a little gruesome/sad) reading.
My friend suggested that they just 'burnt' typhoid victims :o
And that's why we haven't been able to find his grave.
Hopefully someone out there will have more knowledge on this matter.
Carol
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I don't think they cremated typhoid victims - cremation didn't come about in London until 1885. Victims of plague, cholera, typhoid, flu were all buried.
If he was a victim of an epidemic, you could expect him to have been buried in a mass grave, but if his was a relatively isolated case, he should have been buried normally, but perhaps the record of his burial just doesn't survive :-\
Cheers
Prue
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I researched a father of 40 and his son aged 7 who lived in Brewer St. Soho, who died of cholera and they were buried in Kensal Green cemetery.
Eileen
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Typhoid was quite common in Victorian times - Prince Albert died of it in the 1860s, and my great x 2 grandmother Eliza died of it in 1875. Her death cert said she'd had it for 3 weeks which is interesting as it meant she had it when she went to register her husband Emmets Matthews death!
As far as I'm aware typhoid victims were buried - just as cholera, TB and other infectious diseases victims were. Understanding of the causes of these illnesses was poor - it was believed for a while that cholera was caused by bad smells. Only after the link with water was found did they start worrying about drainage, sewerage and clean water supplies.