Strange causes of death

[Viktoria]

 andrewwalston is correct when they state that St. Anthony`s Fire is ergotism but that term was also used for Erysipelas, a streptococcal skin disease. The source was often from the sufferer`s own nasal passage.It was usually on the face and neck but could be on other parts too.
 I imagine it would be a shock to the system and  such a large area of infection could cause the toxins to affect  the heart muscle. Horrible.
                                               Viktoria.

[LizzieW]

One of my ancestors died of Scrofula and Diseased Knee, he was 21. Reading about it on the internet, it sounds a horrible painful disease.  It was also known as The King's Evil in the past as it was believed that a touch from the king could cure the disease. 

Lizzie

[pinefamily]

King George III was a bit "touched" himself, I believe.   

[Viktoria]

 King George III had Porphyria, a blood disease.One symptom was purple urine hence the name.

 It manifests itself in very varied ways among which are :- Abnormally pale skin.
                                                                                   Tiredness and extreme anaemia.
                                                                                    Inability to tolerate bright sunlight.
                                                                                   Hair receding into a deep widow`s peak.
                                                                                    Receding gums making the teeth seem longer .
Remind you of anything ?   Given that sufferers were often very anaemic and had to eat raw meat and liver and even blood from  animals it is not a  far step from the horror movies depictions of vampires.  There was a high incidence in Romania, genetic by intermarriage I expect . George III did not seem to have those symptoms but was cerainly ill at times and his urine was purple   according to a T.V documentry  on the subject , as I said the symptoms vary greatly .He had prolonged periods of seeming insanity but it could have been anything when you think how poor medical diagnosis was at the time.
 Princess Margaret was a sufferer, again according to the documentry.  Viktoria.                                                               
                                                                                                   seem .                             .                                                                                           

[Cybermouse]

My grandfather's youngest sister died at the age of 17 in an asylum. Cause of death............"exhaustion from mania". Further research showed she had in fact had a child and being unmarried there was reason not to give a true cause. I'm guessing it was complications from childbirth. These cases were often covered up.

[Colin Cruddace]

Quoting from the original post -

Actually, I did find the following for one of my great grandfathers who died in 1800   "..... the late Mr. John Allenby [of Tadcaster], who was killed by a fall from his horse while on his way to York market"

At least that was unambiguous! 

Sorry to be the Devil's Advocate but this is not the cause of death, it is really the reason for it so it is very ambiguous. There are many possible causes of death that can result from his fall but I doubt if you will ever find out. I've enjoyed the thread though, so thanks for posting it.

Colin

[Graham47]

Very true Colin and a bit like being hit by a bus, but I was just quoting a report from a local Gazette. I suppose in the early days of newspapers they were not so precise given that so many others causes of death were at best just guesses anyway. Could have been more like the King of Jerusalem - fell from horse while hunting in 1143. His wooden saddle fell after him, striking him on the head, causing fatal injuries. Ouch!

[shughes]

I have quite a lot of death certificates in my tree, off the top of my head there is "shock due to falling into scalding tank of water", "crushed to death by truck" and "dress caught on fire and burned to death" (at the ripe age of 95 though!) theres also a brave few deaths from madness!

[Graham47]

Burns were common I think, especially it seems with children and from nightdresses catching fire from standing to close to those open fires I expect. I have a record of an ancestor of ours, a little girl known as "the burnt child" so I guess she must have survived such a experience. All very sad.