decline as cause of death in 1841?

[Annie65115]

I agree, I doubt the 95 year old would have died of TB - I was simply offering it as an anecdote to add to the "decline" sories.

It's only quite recently, ie over the last few years, whereby it's been legally acceptable to put "old age" as a cause of death on certificates again. For a long time, it seemed that everydeath certificate had to specify a pin-pointable disease as the cause of death, and I'm sure that we all know elderly folk for whom the end wasn't like that - they just quietly faded away.

[Redroger]

I recall a news story a few years ago where a pathologist c arried out pm examinations on 2 90 year old men. He had problems with both, in one case it was which of several conditions had actually been fatal, in the other, why the person had died. I would suggest the cause "old age" originates from this type of situation. Common sense being shown here.

[coombs]

I have just recieved the death cert of an ancestor. He must have been in pain as he died of rheumatism, heart disease and dropsy. 

[Annie65115]

Coombs, don't get too caught up in imagining what your ancestors may have gone through! Yes, he may have been in pain - but sadly, that's how life was back in the days when the only decent painkillers were laudanum and/or alcohol.

I suspect that people had a much higher pain threshold in those days simply because they had to put up with so much.

BTW, "dropsy" is a symptom of heart disease - still around today but under a different name - it simply means that he was retaining fluid because of the heart disease (think swollen ankles!) One of the commoner causes of this in the "good old days" was rheumatic fever. How old was your ancestor when he died?

[charlotteCH]

Annie talks about TB of the spine.  That was most interesting and thanks

I've just reread " The Spire" by William Golding and in it the protagonist suffers warmth and pain- presumably infection- in his spine over decades. He finally succumbs to TB and dies.By then his spine is raw and supporating.  A dreadful picture.. The book is set in late 13th C

charlotte

[MarieC]

Most interesting - thanks Annie for the information you provided!  I've an ancestor whose death was supposedly due to dropsy - much clearer now what it was!

According to my elderly aunt, one of my ggrandmothers was told before she left England for Australia that wearing red flannel underwear would protect her against TB.  She religiously wore it through all the heat of Australian summers, all her life!  (ugh!)  It seems as though the family had a fear of TB but I unfortunately haven't discovered which of my ancestors may have had it.  If only I could find my disappearing gggrandfather (this lady's father), maybe I would find it was he who had TB!

Annie, I have another ancestor, a waterman from the East End of London, whose death cert (he died in 1847 aged only 41) gave the cause of death as "disease of the brain".  I know there is no definitive answer to this, but have you any idea what might have been classified as "disease of the brain" in 1847??

MarieC

[Annie65115]

Marie, I wish I did because I've got more than one ancestor who apparently suffered from the same thing at arond the same time. It must have been another of those catch-all phrases.

[Redroger]

Two possibilities spring to mind 1) Some type of brain tumour. 2) Some type of mental illness, but unless there is further evidence of some type impossible to say.

[coombs]

Annie my ancestor was 73 when he died. Yes they did have a higher threshold but it was still probably hard for relatives.