Today, November 2, is celebrated as All Souls Day or Day of the Dead in various parts of the world, commemorating those who have passed. So at the risk of seeming morbid, it seems like an appropriate time to take a look at what led to the demise of my ancestors.
I’ve created a cause-of-death family tree for those of my direct ancestors for whom I have death information, noting year of death, age and, where known, official cause of death. Cause of death is useful in highlighting medical conditions or diseases that might be hereditary and can also provide some insight into living conditions at the time as well as the extent of available medical knowledge and treatment.
Death records don’t exist in all cases. Pre-20th century, my ancestors all died in Great Britain, where civil registration of death only began in 1837 in England and Wales and 1855 in Scotland. And access to records for more recent deaths is often restricted for privacy reasons, depending on the jurisdiction in which the person died. I’ve sometimes been able to glean date of death and age from burial records or gravestones but in many cases there is no record at all.
My paternal ancestors
My maternal ancestors
Some observations:
- The most frequent cause of death among my direct ancestors was related to heart disease or stroke.
- Dementia affected several, notably both of my parents and both grandfathers.
- Only three succumbed to cancer: both my grandmothers as well as one great-great-grandmother.
- Somewhat surprisingly, none of my female direct ancestors died in childbirth or from childbirth complications, despite most of them having a lot of children.
- None of my direct ancestors died in war.
- Three ancestors died accidentally: one drowned and two were killed by falls (from a ladder and out a window).
- Of the 82 direct ancestors for whom I have death information, 60 or 73% lived to their senior years:
- 35 died in their 70s
- 21 lived into their 80s
- 4 made it to 90 or older (all born in the 18th century!)
- Two deaths in particular tugged at my heartstrings:
- The cause of death for my 4G-grandmother Janet Cossans Lindsay was “worn out constitution.” She was just 58 years old—how difficult her life must have been.
- While my great-grandmother Helen Fraser Mitchell officially died of coronary thrombosis (a blood clot in the heart), her death certificate records a poignant contributory cause: “sorrow.” Her husband of 56 years had passed away just 26 days earlier. I would posit she died of a broken heart.
Glossary
Here are definitions and explanations for many of the medical conditions above, some of which are antiquated terms.
Heart/stroke
- Apoplexy — Hemorrhagic stroke
- Arteriosclerosis — Hardening of the arteries; large arteries hardened and narrowed
- Cardiac failure/cardiac decompensation — Inability of the heart muscle to pump adequate blood to bodily organs
- Cerebral hemorrhage — Stroke
- Cerebral thrombosis — Blood clot in one of the brain’s larger veins
- Coronary thrombosis — Blockage of blood to the heart caused by blood clot in coronary artery
- Mitral disease of heart — Narrowed heart valve that cannot open wide enough to allow sufficient blood flow, or leaking valve resulting in blood flowing backward into the heart’s left atrium
- Morbus cordis — Heart disease
- Myocarditis — Inflammation of the myocardium (heart muscle)
Pulmonary
- Asthma — Airways inflamed, narrowed and blocked by excess mucus
- Bronchitis — Infection of the main airways of the lungs
- Bronchopneumonia — Bacterial pneumonia
- Influenza — Contagious viral infection of nose, throat and lungs
- Phthisis — Tuberculosis, a contagious bacterial infection of the lungs
- Pleural effusion — Buildup of fluid between the layers of tissue that line the lungs and chest cavity
- Pneumonia — Inflammation and fluid in the lungs caused by bacterial, viral or fungal infection
- Pulmonary congestion — Pulmonary edema; abnormal buildup of fluid in the lungs
Neurological
- Alzheimer’s disease — Dementia
- Chronic disease of brain — Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dystonia, ALS, Huntington’s, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, etc.
- Dementia — Group of symptoms affecting thinking, memory, reasoning, personality, mood and behaviour
- Lewy body dementia — Progressive dementia characterized by accumulation of Lewy bodies (alpha-synuclein protein) in the brain; second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s and often associated with Parkinson’s disease
- Senile decay/senility — Dementia
- Softening of brain substance — Softening of the cerebrum, caused by impairment of blood supply and adversely affecting intellectual functions
- Vascular degeneration — Vascular dementia, caused by blocked or reduced blood flow to regions of the brain
Edema
- Anasarca — Swelling of the whole body; extreme generalized edema
- Dropsy — Swelling caused by fluid in body tissues
Cancer
- Adenoma prostate — Benign tumour of the prostate
- Brain tumour — Growth of abnormal cells in the brain
- Carcinoma, head of pancreas — Pancreatic cancer that blocks the liver’s bile duct, causing jaundice
- Gioblastoma multiforme — An aggressive and fast-growing brain tumour
Urinary
- Extravasation of urine and gangrene of scrotum — Collection of urine in other body cavities instead of exiting through the urethra, with resultant bacterial infection in the scrotum
- Nephritis/Bright’s disease — Inflammation of the kidneys
- Pyelonephritis — Bacterial infection causing inflammation of the kidneys
- Renal calculi — Kidney stones
- Renal colic — Acute pain in kidney area caused by obstruction of urine from the kidneys to bladder
- Stricture of urethra — Narrowing of the urethra due to scarring from injury or infection
- Urethral fistulae — Unwanted openings in the groin area where urine may leak out
Infection
- Debility from scrofulous sores — Infection of lymph nodes in the neck, caused by tuberculosis bacteria
- Erysipelas — Bacterial skin infection affecting upper layers of the skin and lymphatic vessels within the skin
- Typhus fever — Bacterial disease spread by infected fleas, lice and mites (not to be confused with typhoid fever)
Other
- Anaemia — Insufficient healthy red blood cells to supply oxygen to body tissues
- Debility — Weakness, infirmity
- Hemiplegia — Paralysis on one side of the body due to brain or spinal cord injury
- Neurasthenia — Weakness of the physical nerves; chronic fatigue syndrome; physical and mental exhaustion, depression, weakness, anxiety
- Rheumatoid arthritis — Autoimmune disease affecting joints and organs, where the immune system attacks healthy cells, causing painful inflammation
- Senile gangrene — Tissue death caused by insufficient blood supply, particularly in the elderly
- Stricture of the esophagus — Narrowing or tightening of the esophagus, resulting in difficulty swallowing
- Syncope — Fainting or passing out
Thats a facinating if not macabre piece of work. It led me to think which one I’d choose for myself but none particularly appeal! Certainly I often remember my mum saying she wanted to die like the rest of her forbears – ‘with her clothes on’. She got her wish right enough so I’ll choose that one.
Regards Neil