When you read a cause of death on an
early death record (in Michigan, any time prior to August 29, 1897)
you might want to take it with a grain of salt. [1] Like early birth
records (
Why Early MI Birth Records are Unreliable)
early Michigan death records aren't necessarily trustworthy because
the source of the information is. . . well, unknown. Local
supervisors/assessors were supposed to collect the information once
per year. For this reason alone it is wise to be skeptical of the
information. Here are some more:
- With the passage of time, memories fade so information
provided up to a year after the event could be wrong.
- The source of the assessor's information is unknown. It
could have come from a family member, a neighbor or even the
assessor's own recollection. [2]
- The assessor's information could have sustained an error when
the county clerk transcribed it for the state returns.
In addition to these concerns, we may not want to completely trust
the listed cause of death on death returns and even early death
certificates because:
- Medical terminology, being generally unfamiliar to the
layman, could be misunderstood by the family and an incorrect cause
of death passed along to the assessor. “Such, for example, as
'fits,' 'chronic,' 'rash,' 'sore inside,' 'yaller ganders' (by which
is meant jaundice!), etc., etc., are very common.” [3]
- Even if the information provided to the assessor was
accurately conveyed, there was no guarantee that the person who
originally “determined” the cause of death had any knowledge of
medicine or physiology.
After the introduction of the death certificate system, not only
should all deaths in Michigan have been recorded, but we should also
know who provided the cause of death. According to state regulations
“The physician who attended the deceased person during his last
illness shall fill out the medical certificate of cause of death. . .
In case of death without the attendance of a physician, or if it
shall appear probable that the deceased person came to his death by
unlawful or suspicious means, the registrar shall refer the
certificate to the health officer or coroner for immediate
investigation . . .
Provided, That when the health officer is
not a physician, and only in such case, the registrar is authorized
to insert the facts relating to the cause of death from statements of
relatives or other competent testimony.” [4]
The new system also, for the most part, eliminated the
county-level transcription process because the original physicians'
certificates of death were supposed to be sent to the state. [5]
However, some cities including Detroit and Grand Rapids did not wish
to comply and thus provided “exact transcripts.” [5] “The
undesirability of transcripts of any kind, however, is shown by the
fact that the returns from these cities, the largest in the State and
which should be the most satisfactory, are not so in point of fact.
Errors of copying are made and not noted by a careful comparison;
essential items of the statement of cause of death are omitted when
the copyist cannot make out the physician's statement; and as a whole
no certified statement, however neatly executed, is as valuable as
the original would have been.” [5] I'm not sure how long it took
for all localities in Michigan to provide the original death
certificates to the state.
So, the good news is that once death certificates were required we
have an idea of where the information on cause of death originated
because now we have a name. We can only hope that whoever provided
the information actually received adequate medical training.
However, prior to August 1897 in Michigan and in other localities
where we have no idea where cause of death information came from, we
can make no assumptions about the source.
A few years ago I read “The Poisoner's Handbook” by Deborah
Blum. She described the situation in New York City when there was no
requirement that the coroner be a physician or have any medical
training whatsoever. As a result, between 1898 and 1915, this
elected position was filled by individuals whose occupations included
saloonkeeper, milkman, plumber and carpenter, among others. [6] If an auctioneer, for example, has the final say on a cause of
death, how can we place any confidence in that assessment? I don't
know how prevalent this situation was throughout the country or if it
was largely confined to big cities. Either way, it may be best to
consider the information on cause of death with some skepticism
unless you know who provided it. One more thing to consider is that
even if the cause of death was determined by someone with medical
training we don't know the quality of that training. If physicians
in the 1800s believed that teething caused diarrhea, convulsions and
even death (
Rethinking Teething Deaths) how much can one trust the
accuracy of that cause of death.
- Secretary of State of Michigan. Thirty-Second Annual
Report of the Secretary of State on the Registration of Births And
Deaths Marriages And Divorces in Michigan For The Year 1898.
(Lansing, Michigan: Robert Smith Printing Co, 1900), v.
- Secretary of State of Michigan. Thirty-Second Annual
Report . . . 1898., clix.
- Secretary of State of Michigan. Twenty-Eighth Annual
Report Relating To The Registry And Return Of Births, Marriages And
Deaths in Michigan For The Year 1894. (Lansing, Michigan:
Robert Smith Printing Co, 1897), xi.
- Secretary of State of Michigan. Twenty-Ninth Annual
Report Relating To The Registry And Return Of Births, Marriages And
Deaths in Michigan For The Year 1895. (Lansing, Michigan:
Robert Smith Printing Co, 1897), xviii.
- Secretary of State of Michigan. Thirty-Second Annual
Report . . . 1898., lxxii.
- Deborah Blum, The Poisoner's Handbook. Murder And The Birth
Of Forensic Medicine In Jazz Age New York, (New York, The Penguin
Press, 2010), 20.
