I had an ancestor that died of “arsenic poisoning”. He was a bit of a scoundrel and everyone in my extended family that heard the story suspected foul play of someone he cheated on in a poker deal or something, until I researched it and realized in that time period in Louisiana, arsenic was a pretty common medicinal treatment but was also known to cause death in incorrect dosage, so… I doubt theres much mystery to his death, as he was in a hospital (small 4-person bed one). He was also 72 so they could have been treating him for anything really.
Yeah if he was in the hospital they knew what he was getting. The Invention of Murder by Judith Flanders is an interesting book on other topics but includes a discussion on the popularity of blaming unknown causes of death on poisoning, particularly arsenic, in Victorian England if that's something that interests you.
Meningitis is a form of extrapulmonary TB so you're probably on to something there. (called tubercular meningitis or tuberculous meningitis if you're looking for more information). If they wrote consumption for him, he likely had the pulmonary form and symptoms, and then she had meningitis symptoms so they wrote meningitis, but you're right in that it's highly likely it was all caused by TB and today they would have been tested, cultured, and TB written for both of them.
Viral meningitis is caused by a virus infecting/inflaming the meninges, the lining of the central nervous system. Not every virus is capable of crossing the barrier, but varicella (chicken pox) can. The viral form is actually more common than the bacterial form like TB.
Thank you!! I also heard TB could be latent. Is it possible he had it from his years in the army 10 years earlier? He was a cornet player in Canada, Mediterranean and Gilbralter.
Truly latent TB isn't contagious - but it's kept in check by the immune system so if he became immune compromised it could have activated and then he'd be infectious and sick. And some studies have shown approximately one-third of people with TB infection can survive 10 years even without treatment. So it's possible, but the family could also have been exposed locally. TB was pretty rampant in the 1800s.
Thank you for this excellent explanation. Many of the diseases of the past are now considered the symptoms of a disease. For instance dropsy is, as you say, is nowadays called oedema; fluid in the tissues from a number of causes. Or Aphasia which is the difficulty in speaking or understanding, we know is a result of a stroke. We are so fortunate to live in a world with modern medicine.
My great-grandmother had 2 baby boys die at age 10 days, one in 1861 and the other in 1864, of phlebitis, in Manhattan. What could phlebitis mean? Someone suggested to me it could have been infection of the umbilical cord. And she had a 2-year-old die of brain congesti. What is that one?
Phlebitis was first described in the late 1700s as inflammation of the veins, but at the time it was essentially bright swaths of swelling and inflammation on the extremities. It could have been a blood clot, allergic reaction, skin infection, or even a viral disease that gave the look of phlebitis. Brain congestion isn't a term used today but became to be known as a stroke. However, they didn't know about that mechanism so when they used that term it was an alternative to apoplexy - a seizure - likely with fever. Could have been meningitis or sepsis to the brain.
This is great. I saw a bible from 1881 that said the 8 year old died from meningitis. I was surprised they could diagnose that in the 19th century.
That's an interesting one - similar to tuberculosis. They diagnosed it by the symptoms and named it before they ever knew it was an infectious disease. https://www.meningitis.org/blogs/the-history-of-meningitis
I had an ancestor that died of “arsenic poisoning”. He was a bit of a scoundrel and everyone in my extended family that heard the story suspected foul play of someone he cheated on in a poker deal or something, until I researched it and realized in that time period in Louisiana, arsenic was a pretty common medicinal treatment but was also known to cause death in incorrect dosage, so… I doubt theres much mystery to his death, as he was in a hospital (small 4-person bed one). He was also 72 so they could have been treating him for anything really.
Yeah if he was in the hospital they knew what he was getting. The Invention of Murder by Judith Flanders is an interesting book on other topics but includes a discussion on the popularity of blaming unknown causes of death on poisoning, particularly arsenic, in Victorian England if that's something that interests you.
Thank you! I’ll check it out!
Since her father died of consumption (TB) I am thinking she developed meningitis from TB.
Meningitis is a form of extrapulmonary TB so you're probably on to something there. (called tubercular meningitis or tuberculous meningitis if you're looking for more information). If they wrote consumption for him, he likely had the pulmonary form and symptoms, and then she had meningitis symptoms so they wrote meningitis, but you're right in that it's highly likely it was all caused by TB and today they would have been tested, cultured, and TB written for both of them.
My father said I had meningitis as a child due to complications arising from chicken pox.
Viral meningitis is caused by a virus infecting/inflaming the meninges, the lining of the central nervous system. Not every virus is capable of crossing the barrier, but varicella (chicken pox) can. The viral form is actually more common than the bacterial form like TB.
Thank you!! I also heard TB could be latent. Is it possible he had it from his years in the army 10 years earlier? He was a cornet player in Canada, Mediterranean and Gilbralter.
Truly latent TB isn't contagious - but it's kept in check by the immune system so if he became immune compromised it could have activated and then he'd be infectious and sick. And some studies have shown approximately one-third of people with TB infection can survive 10 years even without treatment. So it's possible, but the family could also have been exposed locally. TB was pretty rampant in the 1800s.
So it could be latent and he was a house painter. It could have triggered it and then when full blown — his little girl might have caught it?
TB is highly contagious, definitely for those with underdeveloped immune systems. Him being sick with it could easily have passed it to his family.
You truly have been so gracious answering all my questions. I truly appreciate it!!
No problem! Good luck in your family history research!
Thank you for this excellent explanation. Many of the diseases of the past are now considered the symptoms of a disease. For instance dropsy is, as you say, is nowadays called oedema; fluid in the tissues from a number of causes. Or Aphasia which is the difficulty in speaking or understanding, we know is a result of a stroke. We are so fortunate to live in a world with modern medicine.
My great-grandmother had 2 baby boys die at age 10 days, one in 1861 and the other in 1864, of phlebitis, in Manhattan. What could phlebitis mean? Someone suggested to me it could have been infection of the umbilical cord. And she had a 2-year-old die of brain congesti. What is that one?
Phlebitis was first described in the late 1700s as inflammation of the veins, but at the time it was essentially bright swaths of swelling and inflammation on the extremities. It could have been a blood clot, allergic reaction, skin infection, or even a viral disease that gave the look of phlebitis. Brain congestion isn't a term used today but became to be known as a stroke. However, they didn't know about that mechanism so when they used that term it was an alternative to apoplexy - a seizure - likely with fever. Could have been meningitis or sepsis to the brain.
Thank you!