Causes of Death

[PrueM]

I have a few "died by visitation of God" (i.e. "we've got no idea!")

One "suppuration of the scalp caused by three ... wounds" (haven't managed to decipher what kind of wounds they were)

And one died at sea, but only after falling overboard whilst being "the worse for liquor"!

Prue

[oldcrone]

How about 'cancer of the orbit (eye/eye socket)'?

That's how my great-grandfather, John Crone, died in 1906 in Brighton.

Clara 

[karenlee]

Great Grandma's brother was a policeman in the Australian bush ( that means countryside to all the non Aussies - not privet or box hedge type plant ).

He was sent out to a remote farmhouse to arrest a man for cattle duffing ( stealing ) and got caught in a storm.  A tree was struck by lightning and his horse threw him and impaled him on a branch from said struck tree. 

He was found three days later, with his horse dead beside him from similar wounds. 

Needless to say the native animals had not gone hungry. 

It was all reported in gory detail in the Police Gazette of the day, and his poor wife went into premature labour at the news.  Both her and their son survived and she remarried soon after to another policeman.

Karenlee

[Kezlyn]

I've got a death from "old age" as well - under duration of illness it says "one week"!

I have a publican who died of chronic alcoholism.

A man who was crushed by a horse that fell on him.

A woman who fell off the running board of a tram and struck her head on the road outside the hospital that I now work in.

My father was always told his biological grandmother "drank herself to death". I found the notes of the inquest held after she died and found out that she doused herself in metho and set herself on fire.

Kez

[Lloydy]

Here's how one of my GGG Grandfather's died:

Reuben died 1 Aug 1902 at the Cardiff Union Workhouse, retired collier of Newtown.  He died from injuries received on the previous day being accidentally knocked down by a Hansom Cab.

and one of his sons, my GGG Uncle:

Robert suffered paralysis caused by the fracture of his spine accidentally caused by a fall.

and one of Reuben's Grandsons (who suffered from manic depresssion):

On 31 March 1980 Trow had taken some food and developed chest pain radiating to his neck. He went to the toilet but collapsed in the corridor on the way, hit his head on a heater and appeared to be choking. Resuscitation was attempted but was unsuccessful, and he died at 12.25pm.

The post mortem report described him as about 173cm tall and revealed that he had a 5cm piece of partially crewed meat in his throat covering the entrance to his larynx. Death was by asphyxiation.

Oh dear

[KathMc]

My gg grandmother died of old age. I don't think they would put that on a cert any more. A ggg grandfather died of a fracture to his skull from a fall at home, the exact way my dad died (it was kind of creepy when I got that cert). A brother of a gg grandfather died of cirrhosis. The most gruesome is a ggg grandfather and his youngest son got hit by a train on Long Island. The son lived a couple days and died in the hospital, but my ggg grandfather died immediately. So sad. My ggg grandmother was left to raise her other 3 boys, and she had just lost her only daughter not too long before.

Kath

[hlbradd]

I've got amongst my families:

One who died in 1910 whilst working in a building in Botany Road, Waterloo, Australia - killed by falling plank - died of scalp injury/fractured skull.

Another one - drowned himself in the Thames at Aberdeen Wharf, Limehouse- 'suicide whilst of unsound mind' - he was 52 and suffering depression.  This was December 1932.

An elderly lady who died after a fall downstairs - this was the day after she'd been to her daughter's funeral at the workhouse....

And interestingly enough I have an 1821 parish record that states:  'killed at Cheshunt' for one of my direct ancestors who lived in Hertfordshire.  He was only 44 and was buried at Layston.  Would love to find out the story behind this.

Helen

[Su]

I have one great great grandfather who died of dislocation of the neck on falling from a cart load of hay. I wonder if this was after the lunch break of cheese and cider?    His daughter's father-in-law died of Injuries from being thrown from a cart being driven along the Turnpike Road. He was a Publican, so I wonder if he was drunk in charge of a horse and cart.

Su

[Matty]

1890 a cause of death of Thomas Nuttall "Probably Syncope"  this meant fainting but he worked at the local gas works and was 42 -- sad.

Next one is in 1867 a Drowning down a draw well.  The newspaper report said that the lady fell head most down the well and shouted "Lord Help me" all the way down.
 

Matty