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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Topic started by: zenobia37 on Monday 21 May 18 13:19 BST (UK)

Title: General question re death information
Post by: zenobia37 on Monday 21 May 18 13:19 BST (UK)

Hi everyone,
I'm looking for any general ideas on where I might find more medical details about an ancestor's cause of death. I have the 1873 death certificate for my 3x g grandfather Ezra Exley which describes his cause of death as 'coma and paralysis'. There is no mention of an inquest or an accident on either the death certificate or in the local newspaper, which suggests perhaps an underlying medical cause. Nor is there any reference to him in the limited coroners notebooks which survive. I am stuck as to where to look next to understand what happened to him, so if anyone has any suggestions about other sources I would appreciate hearing them.
Thanks

Title: Re: General question re death information
Post by: groom on Monday 21 May 18 13:37 BST (UK)

I'm afraid that is all that you are likely to find - information on the death certificate. It is very unlikely that any medical records still exist about his death in particular.

The best you can do is Google to see if there are any medical conditions that result in coma and paralysis, but even then you can't be sure that is what happened to him.

Title: Re: General question re death information
Post by: zenobia37 on Monday 21 May 18 15:16 BST (UK)

Thank you for replying. That's what I thought too but it is sometimes worth asking.

Title: Re: General question re death information
Post by: AntonyMMM on Monday 21 May 18 15:33 BST (UK)

If there was an inquest then the coroner would be the informant shown on the certificate.

The cause "coma and paralysis" could be many things - possibly a stroke ?

Title: Re: General question re death information
Post by: Billyblue on Monday 21 May 18 23:16 BST (UK)

Quote from: AntonyMMM on Monday 21 May 18 15:33 BST (UK)

If there was an inquest then the coroner would be the informant shown on the certificate.

The cause "coma and paralysis" could be many things - possibly a stroke ?

Stroke was the first thing I thought of, too.
Anything suggesting need for a PM or an inquest would surely have been noted on the certificate.

Dawn M

Title: Re: General question re death information
Post by: CarolA3 on Tuesday 22 May 18 05:43 BST (UK)

Where did he die?  If he was a hospital in-patient, a postmortem probably wouldn't be needed.  Some hospital records are available.

Carol

Title: Re: General question re death information
Post by: groom on Tuesday 22 May 18 08:39 BST (UK)

If he died 1873, it would be more in an infirmary or workhouse hospital. You could try workhouse records, although they usually just give “ died” rather than a cause.

Title: Re: General question re death information
Post by: zenobia37 on Thursday 24 May 18 18:10 BST (UK)

Thanks all. The informant listed on the certificate was a family member and he appears to have died at home, or at least there is nothing to suggest he was at the local hospital. A stroke therefore does sound like the most likely option. Another mystery that will remain!