No cause of death given

[arthurk]

I've found Decline as a cause of death in parish registers too - for example a 24 year old woman in 1803, and an 18 year old male in 1809.

[Maiden Stone]

Second definition of decline in "The Pocket Oxford Dictionary".
" noun. Gradual decrease or deterioration or decay or loss of vigour; (arch) wasting disease especially consumption (e.g. went into a decline)"
A Victorian person would have understood what was meant by dying from decline. I've also seen "decay" as cause of death for an old person.

[Maiden Stone]

"Top Ten Ways to Die in Victorian Britain" has "Unknown" as Number 1. "Consumption" is in top ten. Statistics compiled from Leeds Cemeteries burials registers.

[iolaus]

Decline doesn't mean didn't tell, decline is an old fashioned reason for death, just a kind of wasted away


I've had old age on one before (in fairness he was 99)

[RJ_Paton]

I've had old age on one before (in fairness he was 99)

 

I've also seen "Visitation by God" given as a cause of death

[GenesA]

"Top Ten Ways to Die in Victorian Britain" has "Unknown" as Number 1. "Consumption" is in top ten. Statistics compiled from Leeds Cemeteries burials registers.

The little boy’s mother who I mentioned at the start of my post died from “Consumption”. I suppose he (the child) could very well have died from this also.

[stanmapstone]

I've also seen "Visitation by God" given as a cause of death

Visitation of God is listed in the 1909 Manual of the International Causes of Death 2nd Revision As: Cause of death not specified or ill defined. It had been said that death from Visitation of God might imply a punishment from God of someone who was sinful, but it could also mean someone who was blessed by God because they were spared from enduring a distressing illness, or they were rewarded for their virtuous life by admission to heaven. It was very common in the nineteenth century.

Stan

[Maiden Stone]

I've also seen "Visitation by God" given as a cause of death

Visitation of God is listed in the 1909 Manual of the International Causes of Death 2nd Revision As: Cause of death not specified or ill defined.  ……
 It was very common in the nineteenth century.

It didn't make the Top Ten causes of death in Leeds in the 19th century. I'm casting no aspersions on the godliness or otherwise of the inhabitants of Leeds.

[Wiggy]

There's a line through the section used for reason for death as though the section is not to be used and decline used as the reason for it's none use.

Isn't that line just the transcriber saying they have got up to this far in their work??

Agree that Decline was a way of describing deterioration.