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What are some of the things your ancestors died of? (I am fascinated reading the death certificates and causes of death, etc.)
We lost quite a few ancestors from TB., My family has fought in every war America has ever seen, so we had quite a few fatalities there - although most survived, several of my ancestors were murdered, one was poisoned, Automobile accidents took the lives of several,one
a 19 year old girl committed suicide, a couple were killed in a Grist Mill explosion, some died from heart problems, a few had strokes, quite a few died from complications from Nephritis (which I had never really heard from before this to be honest.) One died from "old age" the actual cause listed on the death certificate), back in the 1800's we lost some to cholera and two to typhoid fever.
I actually had two ancestors, whom the Doctor listed the cause of death as
"indigestion"!!!! I had one ancestor who was beheaded at the Tower of London!! Yikes!
Husband and wife (3x great grandparents) died less than a year from one another, leaving six minor children. It was probably cholera or something equally communicable, common at the time (early 1840s).
A cousin born thirty-some-odd years before I was, I would guess that she was visiting her dad working at the railyard with her mom and sibs; they lost track of her - apparently she got in the way of moving cars and was crushed and decapitated - she was not yet three.
Another cousin had been put back on the straight and narrow road out by an aunt because his mom (aunt's sister) was a head case. Well, his mom decided she wanted to be a mom again and really messed with him, and he started sliding back into trouble. He ended up putting a shotgun to his head and pulling the trigger. Aunt was devastated. Mom waltzed off to lead her sad little life; the rest of her five kids had issues with her, too.
On a cold February day outside of Pratt, KS, my grandfather hit a patch of black ice outside of Pratt, KS, slid sideways and got t-boned by an oncoming car. He got trapped underneath one of those old steel dashboards - I think it was a early 1940s Chevy. Grandma had some injuries, as did an uncle; my mom and the other brother walked away unhurt. He died of internal bleeding - they didn't have the knowledge in 1949 at a rural hospital they do now - and he died two days later of shock and blood loss, ending my mother's childhood two weeks after her 12th birthday.
Other than that, it was the usual old age/pulmonary issues/childbirth/miscellaneous contagions for the most part, plus a couple of drownings.
^Sometimes, it's amazing what you can learn from the death records, especially added in with bits and pieces from other records.
I lost several Mothers and babies to childbirth too (I am RH Negative, and ofcourse now they can fix this, but back then.....I wonder how many really died of this?)
Kicked in the head by a mule & other farm accidents
Kidney disease
Heart disease
Stroke
Cancer
Suicide (shot himself in the chest with his rifle)
War
Typhoid & other infections common to the period
Septic shock following childbirth
Hemorrhage following childbirth
Complications of Muscular Dystrophy
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I have the newspaper article describing how my great grandparents were struck by a hit and run driver, while walking home from a trolley stop. My greatgrandfather was killed and my ggrandmother was severely injured. Its a heartbreaking story. They had raised 13 children and were retired.
My grandfather had a son who would have been my uncle. The seven year old died of kidney disease back in England. One reason why we are HERE. It is said to have broken my grandfather's heart.
Grandfather's brothers died of TB and a seizure
Grandfather's mother died of bronchitis
His father died by being run over by a tram.
Mother's (American) side--grandfather died while inspecting a RR building which fell over and crushed him.
Someone on that side ran a sawmill and was "cut asunder." His wife said, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away."
Going way back, someone was scalped by the Indians because "He so sour."
On my father's side they seemed to die of senility and heart problems in their 90s according to death certificates.
On my mother's side they just couldn't go on any longer and chose to die...lay down and die sort of thing. and usually it was on a personally significant day to them. My grandmother went to bed when her son was killed in a construction accident on her birthday. She died of pneumonia two weeks later. My grandfather died of a heart attack on what would have been their 66th wedding anniversary. according to death certificates.
My grandmother's mother died after childbirth and most of the rest died of heart problems.
The mind is powerful. They mostly died of a broken heart and loneliness.
My mother said way back people died of "heart failure", whatever led to their
death might not have been discovered so when their heart stopped they died
of heart failure.
You can't always go by what people say your ancestors died from. Quite often, it'll be something different if you actually find a death certificate or other records. One grandmother died from injuries caused by a very powerful tornado that hit the family home. One grandfather died of Congestive Heart Failure and Arteriosclerotic Heart Disease. The other grandfather died of Pulmonary Edema and Malignancy with Multiple Metastasis.The other grandmother died of Cerebral Hemorrhage and Cerebral Arteriosclerosis. One ggg-grandfather on my father's side was killed in the Battle of Tallushatchie in 1813 in Alabama, fighting against a group of rebellious Creek Indians, killed by an arrow.
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