Tag: Death Certificate

What Was the Cause of Death?

Kris Hocker on 2 Jan 2015

Medical Certificate of DeathI’ve been data mining the Pennsylvania Death Certificates, 1906-1963 on Ancestry.com for records for Hockers (and Hackers). So far, I’ve compiled a collection of 691 death certificates for Hockers (male and female) and their children.

Since genetic disease has been on my mind a lot lately, I thought it would be an interesting exercise to see what these family members died from. Here’s how the results tallied up:

  • Adherent pericardium: 1 death
  • Alcoholism: 2 deaths
  • Amytrophic lateral sclerosis: 1 death
  • Angina Pectoris: 3 deaths
  • Anoxia: 1 death
  • Apoplexy: 72 deaths
  • Appendicitis: 1 death
  • Arterio Thrombosis: 1 death
  • Arteriosclerosis: 31 deaths
  • Asphyxia: 3 deaths
  • Atelectasis: 2 deaths
  • Auricular fibrillation: 1 death
  • Bright’s Disease/Nephritis: 18 deaths
  • Bronchitis: 4 deaths
  • Cancer: 71 deaths
    • Abdomen: 2 deaths
    • Adenocarinoma: 1 death
    • Bladder: 3 deaths
    • Brain: 1 death
    • Breast: 11 deaths
    • Bone: 1 death
    • Cervix: 1 death
    • Colon: 9 deaths
    • Intestines: 2 deaths
    • Kidney: 2 deaths
    • Liver: 8 deaths
    • Mouth/Tongue: 1 death
    • Ovarian: 5 deaths
    • Peritoneus: 1 death
    • Prostate: 4 deaths
    • Rectum: 1 death
    • Skin: 2 deaths
    • Stomach: 10 deaths
    • Throat: 1 death
    • Unknown type: 2 deaths
    • Uterine: 4 deaths
  • Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: 1 death
  • Cardiovascular Disease: 5 deaths
  • Cardio-Renal Disease: 9 deaths
  • Cardio-Repiratory Failure: 1 death
  • Cerebral Arteriosclerosis: 2 deaths
  • Cerebral Embolism: 1 death
  • Cerebral Hemorrhage (not as apoplexy): 3 deaths
  • Cerebral Meningitis: 2 deaths
  • Cerebral Thrombosis: 7 deaths
  • Cerebral Vascular Occlusion: 1 death
  • Chicken Pox: 1 death
  • Cholera Infantum: 3 deaths
  • Cirrhosis: 1 death
  • Congestive Heart Failure: 6 deaths
  • Congenital Debility: 2 deaths
  • Convulsions: 2 deaths
  • Coronary Arteriosclerosis: 3 deaths
  • Coronary Embolism: 4 deaths
  • Coronary Infarction: 1 death
  • Coronary Occlusion: 26 deaths
  • Coronary Thrombosis: 14 deaths
  • Dementia: 3 deaths
  • Diabetes: 5 deaths
  • Diptheria: 1 death
  • Dropsy (Edema): 1 death
  • Dysentery: 3 deaths
  • Electrocution: 1 death (work accident)
  • Encephalitis Lethargica (Sleepy Sickness): 2 deaths
  • Endocarditis: 4 deaths
  • Dilation (Dilatation) of Heart: 13 deaths
  • Epiglotal Spasm: 1 death
  • Fractured Skull: 6 deaths (4 from auto accidents)
  • Gangrene: 2 deaths
  • Gastric Ulcers: 2 deaths
  • Gastritis: 1 death
  • Gastro Enteritis: 4 deaths
  • Gastro-Intestinal Rupture: 2 deaths
  • Gun Shot Wound: 4 deaths
  • Heart Arrhythmia: 1 death
  • Heart Disease: 10 deaths
  • Heart Failure: 14 deaths
  • Heat Exhaustion: 1 death
  • Hemorrhage: 3 deaths — not associated with vehicular accident
  • Hyperemesis Gravidarum: 1 death
  • Hypertension: 1 death
  • Hypostasis: 1 death
  • Illio Collitis: 2 deaths
  • Inanition: 3 deaths
  • Indigestion: 1 death
  • Intestinal Obstruction: 2 deaths
  • Left heart failure: 2 deaths
  • Liver Atrophy: 1 death
  • Lymphosarcoma: 1 death
  • Marasmus: 2 deaths
  • Meningitis: 2 deaths
  • Mesenteric Occlusion: 1 death
  • Mitral Disease (including Mitral Stenosis): 8 deaths
  • Multiplesclerosis: 1 death
  • Myelogeneous Luekemia: 1 death
  • Myocarditis: 37 deaths
  • Myocardial Infarction: 11 deaths
  • Nephritis (Acute): 1 death (see Bright’s Disease for Chronic Nephritis)
  • Old Age: 1 death
  • Paralysis: 3 deaths (Apoplexy?)
  • Paralyis Agitans (Parkinson’s Disease): 1 death
  • Paresis: 1 death (late state Neurosyphilus)
  • Patent Foramen Ovale: 2 deaths
  • Pelvic Abscess: 1 death
  • Peritonitis: 2 deaths
  • Pernicious Anaemia: 2 deaths
  • Phlegmonous Erysipelas (Abscesses): 1 death
  • Pneumonia:
    • Bronchial pneumonia: 12 deaths
    • Catarrhal pneumonia: 1 death
    • Croupous pneumonia: 1 death
    • Hypostatic pneumonia: 7 deaths
    • Lobar pneumonia: 9 deaths
    • Pneumonia: 14 deaths
  • Pneumonia & Influenza: 4 deaths
  • Premature Births: 11 deaths
  • Protracted Labor:  2 deaths
  • Pulmonary Edema: 5 deaths
  • Pulmonary Embolism: 5 deaths
  • Pulmonary Infarction: 1 death
  • Pulmonary Thrombosis: 3 deaths
  • Renal Embolism: 1 death
  • Renal Occlusion: 1 death
  • Rheumatic Heart Disease: 2 deaths
  • Septicemia: 5 deaths
  • Shock: 1 death (fell in ice cold lake)
  • Stillborn: 23 deaths
  • Strangulated Inguinal Hernia: 2 deaths
  • Strangulation: 1 death (accidental, due to Epilepsy)
  • Streptoccocal Meningitis: 1 death
  • Suffocation: 1 death
  • Surgical Complications:
    • Caesarian: 1 death
    • Hysterectomy: 1 death
    • Prostate surgery: 1 death
    • Shock: 1 death
  • Syphilus: 1 death
  • Tertiary Luetic Aortic Aneurysm: 1 death
  • Toxemia-Eclampsia: 1 death
  • Tuberculosis: 25 deaths
  • Typhoid Fever: 5 deaths
  • Unknown: 2 deaths
  • Unknown, pending inquest: 5 deaths
  • Uremia: 18 deaths
  • Valvular Disease: 11 deaths
  • Valvular Insufficiency: 1 death
  • Vehicular Accident (Auto, Motorcycle, etc): 6 deaths
  • Whooping Cough: 1 death

Some of the causes of death were sad and some of the causes were surprising in that I’d never heard of them.

For instance, one of my great great uncles died of Encephalitis Lethargica. Apparently, between 1915 and 1926 there was a worldwide epidemic of the disease which attacks the brain and leaves the person in a statue-like position, speechless and motionless.1 In both instances the Hockers died in the 1930s after having the disease for four and eleven years, respectively.

My heart hurt seeing the number of premature and stillborn babies that were born to Hocker families, including one pair of Siamese twins. Some of these children would have likely survived in neonatal wards today though they had little chance of survival in the early 20th century.

Heart disease, renal disease, cancer and strokes seem to be the top killers amongst this group of Hockers. And heart disease and stroke are still common causes of death today.

52 Ancestors: Anna (Frantz) Hocker (1827-1918)

Kris Hocker on 24 Jun 2014

Anna (Frantz) Hocker, widow of Levi Hocker, died on 3 February 1918 in Pennsylvania.1 Her death certificate began my research into her family.

Anna Frantz Hocker death certificate 1828-1918What did I learn from this death certificate?

  • Anna died at 102 Tuscarora Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
  • Anna was a widow.
  • Anna was born 13 September 1828.
  • Anna was 90 years, 3 months and 20 days old when she died.
  • Anna died 3 February 1918.
  • Anna died from a cerebral hemorrhage of 13 days duration.
  • Anna was born in Pennsylvania.
  • Anna’s father was named Michael Frantz.
  • Michael was born in Pennsylvania.
  • Anna’s mother was named Eliza Walters.
  • Eliza was born in Pennsylvania.
  • Anna was buried in Oberlin Cemetery on 7 February 1918.

Some of the information in this record is likely to be more reliable than the rest. Since this is her death record, information regarding her death was completed at or about the time of her death. If you look at #15 on the certificate, you will see that it was filed on 6 February 1918, 3 days after her death by D.H. Ellinger, the local registrar. This information is more likely to be accurate than secondhand information like her birth date. That’s not to say the secondhand data isn’t correct, just that it must be verified through other records.

Anna died at 102 Tuscarora Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

In this case, Anna died at the same address as that of the record’s informant: H. Hershey Hocker, who turns out to be Anna’s son. According to an article about her 88th birthday celebration, Anna had made her home with her son for several years.2 As early as 1910, Hershey, Anna and Sarah, Hershey’s wife, were all living at 102 Tuscarora.3

The house was still standing as of June 2011 and can be seen on the “street view” at Google Maps.

Anna was a widow.

Her husband Levi Hocker had died 31 October 1876.4

 Anna was born 13 September 1828.

According to her death certificate, Anna was born 13 September 1828. Her gravestone indicates that she was born in 1827. Two newspaper articles were written—one each for her 88th and 89th birthdays in 1915 and 1916, placing birth in 1827.5 Her age in census records is consistent with a late 1827 birthday. The 1900 census states she was born in September 1827.6 So, Hershey was only off by one year on his mother’s date of birth.

Anna was born in Pennsylvania.

Census records consistently state that Anna was born in Pennsylvania.

Anna’s father was named Michael Frantz; Michael was born in Pennsylvania.

According to the History of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania by Luther Reily Kelker, “Anna, [wife of] Levi Hocker, deceased” was the daughter of Michael Frantz and his second wife Elizabeth Walters.7 Michael Frantz was born to Michael Frantz and Feronica Nissley in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania8 on 24 May 1789 [calculated] and died 5 June 1865.9 His death occurred four days before Anna gave birth to her youngest surviving son, Herbert Hershey Hocker.10 While, Hershey may not have known his maternal grandfather, I’m fairly certain he knew of him. Especially because…

Anna’s mother was named Elizabeth Walters.

In 1880, an Elizabeth Frantz, “mother,” was living in Anna Hocker’s household with Anna and some of her children—Francis Michael, Curtin, Maggie and Hershey—as was Maggie Frantz, “sister.”11 Hershey was 14 years old at that time, so he certainly knew—and remembered—his maternal grandmother and Aunt Maggie.

Elizabeth’s gravestone in Churchville cemetery names her as “Elizabeth Walters wife of Michael Frantz.”12

Eliza was born in Pennsylvania.

Per the 1880 census, Elizabeth and her parents were all born in Pennsylvania.

All in all, Hershey only made a minor error in the information he provided for his mother’s death certificate and this information led me to additional information on Anna and her parents.

Summary

Anna Frantz, daughter of Michael and Elizabeth (Walters) Frantz, was born in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania—most likely on her father’s property near Oberlin. She married Levi Hocker on 6 February 1851 and the couple settled in Swatara Township where Levi was a farmer. Levi died in 1876, but Anna survived to the age of 90, dieing 3 February 1918 at her son Hershey’s home in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Anna and Levi had 9 children:

  1. Benjamin Franklin Hocker (1852-1919)
  2. Francis Michael Hocker (1854-1919)
  3. Mary Elizabeth Hocker Farnsler (1855-1939)
  4. Emma L. Hocker Brinser (1857-1942)
  5. George Warren Hocker (1858-1868)
  6. Albert Curtin Hocker (1860-1940)
  7. Margaret A. Hocker Hughes (1863-1957)
  8. Herbert Hershey Hocker (1865-1946)
  9. John Edward Hocker (1869-1873)

Anna and Levi were my 3x great grandparents.

This post is part of an ongoing, blogging challenge entitled 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, created by Amy Crow of No Story Too Small. Participants must write about one ancestor every week. This is my fifteenth 52 Ancestors post and part of week twenty-five.

 

Do You Know Your Family Health History?

Kris Hocker on 14 Aug 2010

We’ve all heard how diseases can now be predicted by blood tests that search our DNA for specific markers, thus proving that a lot of the most common ailments run through our family lines. Tracing your family’s medical history for illnesses that have affected your parents, grandparents and other relatives can tell you something about the possibilities for your future health. Even the Surgeon General has a campaign—the Family History Initiative—to encourage Americans to learn all they can about their family health history.1

So, how can you go about it? The best way to start is simply to ask family members. Some information may be kept private, but folks will usually talk about the most common illnesses—heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and diabetes—or the medications they or family members are taking. Try to get information on family members as far back as you can. Write this information down to share it with your doctor.

Where else can you get health information, especially for relatives your family never knew? Death certificates.

Elmer Greulich Death Certificate Medical Information

Elmer Greulich’s cause of death

We all know death certificates can be helpful in identifying the names of a previous generation—the parents of the deceased. But these documents also provide information on the cause of death and contributing factors. While the cause of death is important, the contributing factors may actually tell you more about the state of your relative’s health.

For instance, the death certificate of my ancestor Elmer Greulich lists his cause of death as a “coronary occlusion.”2 This is a blockage of a coronary artery, which may cause a heart attack. Fairly common. The contributory causes include hypertensive arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, present for 10 years. Not a big surprise given his cause of death.

However, they also include “diabetes mellitus.” This is a major piece of family health information—especially since cardiovascular disease can be caused by diabetes. Knowing that diabetes is present in your family is an important piece of information to share with your doctor. Untreated it can cause all types of nasty damage to your body and lead, ultimately, to death. Given Elmer’s age at death—66—it is more likely that he had type-2 diabetes. Type-1 diabetes left untreated would have probably killed him much younger.

I’ve also learned that some scientists believe that if your mother has type-2 diabetes, you’re more likely to get the disease.3 Elmer’s mother died of gangrene of the foot.4 Diabetes can cause reduced blood flow or lack of circulation, leading to “dry gangrene”. 5 At this point, I’ll probably never know for sure if she had diabetes, but the possibility is there. It’s certainly worth learning the cause of death for her other children, or possibly her siblings.

Obituaries can also provide information regarding a relative’s health. Elmer’s obituary states that he was “partially blind the last four years and in ill health for several years.” So, it is likely that his death was the result of diabetes as changes in vision and blindness can be long-term effects of the disease.6

Where have you found family health history information?