Cause of death unknown

[Nell]

Being a bit more organised, I've sorted all the photos and am now checking I have all the details from my many bmd certs on my online tree.

Have only just noticed the death cert of my 3rd gt grandmother Hannah Matthews in 1850 has for cause of death "Not known. No Medical Attendant".
I don't suppose they'd get away with that now!
The informant, who signed with a mark, has an illegible name that looks like Godson was apparently present at the death.

[Nell]

Another oddity - cause of death is recorded (after an inquest) in 1893 of a 13 year old girl as "died from shock to the system caused by perforation of the stomach and accelerated by congestion of the lungs". This was the death cert - the actual inquest said she'd had a stomach perforation caused by gases created from eating onion broth!

[Olde Crone]

Ooh, goodness me, I love onion soup! Yet another of life's unsuspected perils to be avoided.

OC

[Nell]

Glad I've alerted you to the risks, OC! Not a moment too soon!

[Tom Tom]

Yep - rules must have been slightly looser then! Relative died in his 80s in 1850s. Cause of death "Old age and various diseases".
Another, in her 40s in the 1840s has a completely blank cause of death. Spoke to the local registry office and they said that several of their early ones didn't have any causes of death given. Must have been a lax registrar.

[Olde Crone]

Prior to 1875, no cause of death HAD to be given and even if it was offered, needed only to be a guess, it wasn't thought particularly important information when just recording an event.

It was pressure from the various insurance companies and death benefit clubs which in 1874(?)brought about the need to involve a doctor to certify death and hazard a cause because of the large incidence of fraudulent insurance claims and quite a few murders (generally by poisoning).

OC

[Kit]

I have a few certs that say the cause of death was "visitation of God".

Like Tom I've also seen old age or worn out by old age as the cause of death.

My great grandfather was "feloniously murdered" according to the coroner but as far as I can tell no charges were ever laid.

[HarrysMum]

I've ended up in hospital from eating onion, so it's possible. I wanted to die at the time.

I've got one from 1864 which has 'ovarian cancer' as the cause of death. I thought that was a bit early for them to know about that.

And a grisly one... "syncope from having head cut off".

[Kit]

And a grisly one... "syncope from having head cut off".

I had to google syncope.

It means fainting (for the ignorant like me), often caused by a loss of blood pressure. Two different websites say recovery is either spontaneous or over a few days to weeks.

So I'm confused. I'd say head cut off would have been the cause of death. No time to faint there but low blood pressure does make sense. :D

I also wouldn't have thought it was a condition from which you could recover. :eek::eek:

*wonders about Libby and her family

[Nell]

I had to google syncope.

It means fainting (for the ignorant like me), often caused by a loss of blood pressure. Two different websites say recovery is either spontaneous or over a few days to weeks.

So I'm confused. I'd say head cut off would have been the cause of death. No time to faint there but low blood pressure does make sense. :D

I also wouldn't have thought it was a condition from which you could recover. :eek::eek:

*wonders about Libby and her family

Hahaha!

[Terri]

When my grandad died in 1982, even after a PM, no cause of death could be found.

He had bronchitis - he'd had that for donkey's years and that was put on the death certificate, but his doctor told us that it almost certainly didn't kill him. He simply died in his sleep, aged 83, having been apparently fit and well the previous day. A century earlier and no doubt that would have been recorded as "old age".

It was a worry though, and the funeral had to be delayed while the authorities huffed and puffed, but in the end as it was clear that there were no suspicious circumstances, they released his body.

[Olde Crone]

My father died in 2000, of some mysterious infection which was so mysterious that the registrar had to phone the certificating doctor for clarification. We never did get a satisfactory explanation (suppurative adenitis) of the thing which took him in 24 hours from a fighting fit 79 year old out pruning the leylandii to dead.

OC