Causes of death....are they correct?

[100%Gog]

How accurate were the causes of death recorded on death certificates during the 1800's? Is it possible that certain types of fatal diseases or causes may have been omitted from death certificates in order to reduce the concerns of the family or the community?

I have just received a copy of my 2x great-grandmother's death certificate, she died at the young age of 22 years in 1861. For someone so young I was expecting a tragic accident, a death during child birth or a contagious disease etc. I was surprised to see that she died of a "Disease of the Heart - Certified". Whilst it is possible she could have had a congenital heart defect I am still surprised that with this she still managed to hold down an arduous job as a Farm Maid and also have a child.

On the other side of my family, my 3x great-grandmother died in the 1840's at the age of 40 with "Cramps" and was buried the same day she died. Her husband had died (same age) a couple of years before of "Liver Complaint" and he too was buried the same day as he died. Does this suggest that because of their burial on the same day that they died, there was more to their death than was admitted?

Was there a misdiagnosis, a cover up or am I just being paranoid and that my ancestors were just unfortunate with their untimely deaths?

100%Gog

[ITBookworm]

I'm afraid I don't know enough about the causes of death to comment on that part but I can give at least one totally innocuous reason for rapid burial in "times gone by" Basically they didn't have any refrigeration so storing a body for any significant length of time was not going to be very pleasant!

Same day burial might be considered very "rushed" today but I don't imagine it will have been that unusual then.

[stanmapstone]

A death certificate was issued by the Civil Registrar, not a doctor. Until 1874 entering the cause of death was not a legal requirement but  from 1874 a doctor's certificate was necessary before a death certificate could be issued. Between 1858 and 1874 the entry should indicate whether the cause had been 'certified' or 'not certified' by a medical practitioner, but even afterwards a few registrars  were prosecuted for allowing death entries to be signed by unqualified persons.

Stan

[100%Gog]

I'm afraid I don't know enough about the causes of death to comment on that part but I can give at least one totally innocuous reason for rapid burial in "times gone by" Basically they didn't have any refrigeration so storing a body for any significant length of time was not going to be very pleasant!

Same day burial might be considered very "rushed" today but I don't imagine it will have been that unusual then.

.

I have to be honest I never thought of that. I knew that bodies were buried quickly if they had died of something contagious but I guess refrigeration was also an issue back in the mid 1800's.

I checked the actual death dates of my three ancestors and the two who died and buried the same day both died in mid summer (June and July) as opposed to the one with the heart condition who died in spring (April) and was buried two days later.

Thanks
100%Gog

[100%Gog]

A death certificate was issued by the Civil Registrar, not a doctor. Until 1874 entering the cause of death was not a legal requirement but  from 1874 a doctor's certificate was necessary before a death certificate could be issued. Between 1858 and 1874 the entry should indicate whether the cause had been 'certified' or 'not certified' by a medical practitioner, but even afterwards a few registrars  were prosecuted for allowing death entries to be signed by unqualified persons.

Thanks for the reply Stan, most useful. I had a quick look through some of the death certificates I have and notice that certificates dated in the 1860's do in fact show "certified" or "not certified" and that later ones are certified with a doctor's name. As my 2x grt-grandmother's death certificate stated "Disease of the Heart - Certified" it would suggest that that is what she had and nothing more sinister.

It also explains why my earlier ancestor deaths in the 1840's were so limited in their description of cause of death e.g. "cramps" and "liver condition". It was simply the informant was not a medical person.

Thanks again Stan, much appreciated!

[weste]

I did some Roman Catholic burial records for freereg and quite a few entries had cause on, some cholera, some fever, some bt and there were quite a few young deaths like you've mentioned saying disease of the heart. Some buried the same day, some within a few days. This was 138-1858 I think.

[100%Gog]

I did some Roman Catholic burial records for freereg and quite a few entries had cause on, some cholera, some fever, some bt and there were quite a few young deaths like you've mentioned saying disease of the heart. Some buried the same day, some within a few days. This was 138-1858 I think.

This was my initial suspicion about my 2x grt-grandmother's death. I felt that there was possibly something more to it than heart troubles especially with her age of 22. What has compounded my suspicion is that at the time of her death she was lodging with her older sister who had a young family. A couple of days after my 2x grt-grandmother's death occurred, her sister's eldest daughter also died aged 7 years. Is this a coincidence? I think I need to find the young girls death certificate to see what caused her death. At present I only have a burial record for her.

[Colin Cruddace]

I have nothing to back it up as being factual, but I suspect that Christian burials were to be within 3 days (on the 3rd day he arose and ascended into heaven) which is more compelling than refrigeration, especially when everyone reaked anyway 

Rushed burials could be because there was another one or two at the same time, so they could be buried together and would be much cheaper.

Just a thought to add to your suspicions 

Colin

[weste]

Some of the heart problems could be as a complication of a complication rather than an original cause. Thinking about the quickness of burials, could also because they wee living all cramped together.
When my uncle died either the crem or the undertaker caused a problem by not returning a form following the cremation. she basically got a letter about what had she done with the remains and was n't a particularly polite letter. Quoting public health etc. Me and one of my brother went up to the registry office and had a few words. I made it quite clear gave them all the details and suggested they spoke to the undertaker or the crem or the solicitor that was dealing with uncles affairs. We were contacted basically as mom registered the death. I explained that i more than understood why she was asking. I did not  have to raise my voice much to let people know about it as the reception is a very small cramped area with people registering births and deaths all waiting together.