Genealogy Chat

It was usual to write under the cause of death, how long the person had suffered from the cause. I have things like 'four days' and 'six months'. also have ones which are 'certified' and others 'uncertified' - which seems to leave a lot open to question!! Anne

I always felt sorry for poor old St Alphage - beaten to death with beef bones. You don't suppose he made pies, do you? Brenda

Certified just meant that a doctor had been aware of the condition. nell

For the first time since the thread started its now disappearing into page 2. Just nudging it up in case more people need a good laugh. There have been some great contributions. Wish I had more death certs LOL> Pat x

I HAVE SENT OFF FOR 3 OF MY RELLIES DEATH CERTIFICATES, I WILL LET YOU ALL KNOW , IF ANY DIED OF TEETH OR PIES. CANT WAIT TO FIND OUT , I BET THERE NOT AS FUNNY AS WHAT HAS BEEN ON HERE THOUGH.

I'm very new to this site and this is the first time I had looked at the message boards. I am in Canada researching my England roots. Just reading this thread reminded me about British humour!! Thanks one and all...I thought my GGGrandfather being struck on the head by a falling piece of wood was bad enough, but your rellies sure havetaken the biscuit.....enough of the pies though and Sweeney Todd as my family name in Lovett!!!!

This boards quiet this morning, have we a sudden increase in death's by laughter?, J.C.

Roflmao lol - like that John lol

Glancing thru Google, I saw this in a Pheonix newspaper: Donald Ellison, a homeless and mentally ill vietnam veteran who succombed to heat prostration on the street.

Helen/Nell, Thats funny, the doctor knew????? well judging by the diahorrea post he may have known but couldn't spell it. I believe there are a lot of nurses on Genes Boards, how about this one when doing exams not only did they test your knowledge but your spelling you would be dropped marks if something wasnt spelt right, my Nursing Tutor told me this one. A Student Nurse wrote amongst the items needed for a bed bath was a BOWEL ??? Ah well our rellies wouldnt have known what diahorrea meant anyway, I wonder what the slang term was in those days??? Pat x

Christina I am now dying LOL> to know. I'm on my third pint of Guinness waiting in anticipation........ Someone I bet knows.... Can of worms???? do you think they were responsible for this condition??? could be......... tapeworms are known for causing all sorts of nightmare sittings on the loo.............. Pat x

These were from an American cemetery site for 1898 La grippe Acute indigestion Asthenia Exhaustion, uremia Teething convulsions Regurgitation Calculus Dislocation of shoulder Catarrah of stomach Killed by lightning

I believe it was the FLUX ! I too haven't laughed so much for ages!!! Linda

"Overlain" means smothered (somebody/thing was lying over you). Sometimes the death cert doesn't tell the full story. My husband's gt grandfather died in his late 80s, of a heart attack according to the death cert. Family legend has it that he was too mean to pay a man to chop down a tree in his garden, tried to do it himself and the exertion brought on the heart attack. nell

i have recently done an history course and we had to investigate a population crisis frm the 1600's among the various causes where the following-- visit from god apoplexy partaking of too much rich food exitement these were just a few and were in the burial records tracey x

Jan - I think 'calculus' is a term for gallstones, but it brought back memories of Maths at school! I didn't die but I sure did suffer with it!! Cattarh of the stomach sounds revolting........ Tracey - rich food was blamed a lot! I think it was Henry I who was supposed to have died of 'a surfeit of lampreys'.

Christina & Marion LOL> This is incredibly funny & Ridiculous, I keep having this vision of the Python Team using this for one of their most outlandish sketches I should name the cast as members of these posts, but cannot match them all up to the Monty Python Team,LOL'; Pat x

This sounds apochryphal, but..... You have heard about the zookeeper who checked to see if the enema he'd given to the elephant was working....! Brenda

Hi, I dont usually post, but I have had a laugh reading all these causes of death (cruel or what). I havent had any particularly interesting ones - "died when a quanitity of marl fell upon him in a pit" and "gored by a bull" (not the same bloke!) but I always remember my mother telling me about a gravestone in the London docklands where we came from apparently a couple of hundred years old with the ditty "Wherever you be, let your wind go free, because the stopping of a fart was the death of me". Several people have confirmed this stone exists!

Thanks for all your contributions - they made a boring day on reception so much livlier! I had to pretend I was typing when the boss came out to find out what the guffaws were! Anyway, this thread has now been round our office twice and I had to print a copy off for my lovely "ageing aunt" who is helping me with the family history. Thanks again! PS how do I change my ID?