This was a class I wanted to take while at Rootstech 2015. I found it somewhat intriguing to realized that not only have the causes of death been given new and modernized names but they can teach us a lot about people, places and history. In our family we have an hereditary disease fairly common to people with Welsh ancestry. It is often misdiagnosed as asthma but is really a deadly disease called D-Alpha Tripdan something or other. My mother and one of our uncles was a carrier but did not have the disease. My brother is also a carrier. We have two cousin that have it and one that recently died from it. The point is there is a treatment that truly helps if you know what you actually have. Looking back over the deaths of our Welsh ancestors I have found several that died of respiratory illnesses and asthma. Most like they had D-Alpha Tripdan. In my Dad's genealogy I find a lot of vascular problems. It is helpful to know these things as we navigate our journey through life.
This article is from our trusty FS Blog. Thank you to Glen N. Green for doing a great summary here. To find the blog posts of several very wonderful writers go to familysearch.org home page and scroll to the very bottom of the pare. Look for the link Blog and click!
"April 8, 2015 By
You may think you have gathered all the details you can about your ancestors, but Janet O’Conor Camarata has work for you to do. In fact, Ms. Camarata can lead you to minutia you never dreamed existed.
Camarata is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and lectures at genealogy societies, libraries, and conferences. One of her specialties is Antiquus Morbus: Diseases and Causes of Death.
Antiquus Morbus refers to a collection of archaic medical terms and their old and modern definitions related to causes of death. As causes of death have changed dramatically over the past few centuries, the search for ancestors may be enhanced with just a few hints. Death certificates are retained by most states in the United States. In Missouri, for example, death certificates are searchable online.
Death certificates will generally provide a cause of death and other contributing factors. They will show the time of death, then doctor’s name, and sometimes leads to stories behind the names.
A mortality schedule is a secondary census providing: place of birth, date of death, profession, and some family details. If an ancestor died during a time of an epidemic, they might be found through old medical records. These records also illustrate the conditions of the community an ancestor lived in.
Camarata says clues about ancestors are often found in family bibles, family letters, military records, pension records, cemetery and burial records. She says one often overlooked resource is funeral home records. Mortuaries keep extensive records of the families of people who died.
As these records are searched, it’s possible to get an idea of why families moved or migrated—or stayed in an area. Disease was often a contributing factor in decisions families made about where they lived or where they had to leave.
Many causes of death have old names. For example, barrel fever is now called alcoholism, dropsy is edema, and qunicy is tonsillitis. An extensive glossary of terms is available for researchers to identify the modern names of causes of death found on death certificates.
When obituaries are added to the information mixture, extensive family connections are often discovered. Who knew death could be such a rich source of information on ancestors?
Additional resources:
- Antiquus Morbus: A glossary of archaic medical terms, diseases and causes of deathhttp://www.antiquusmorbus.com.
- Cyndi’s List, Medical & Medicines, Diseases and Medical Termshttp://www.cyndislist.com/medical/diseases.
- Death Indexes http://www.deathindexes.com.
- Neonatology on the Web, Archaic and Obsolete Termshttp://www.neonatology.org/classics/old.terms.html."
I did not get into this class so I am grateful for this review.
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