Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

 It’s Saturday Night again – 

Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!

Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision. 

1)  What is the most unusual cause of death you have discovered for your ancestors?

2) Tell us about the most unusual cause of death you found in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook Status  post.  Please leave a link on this post if you write your own post.

[Thank you to Linda Stufflebean for suggesting this topic!]

If not for a newspaper article, I likely wouldn’t have been able to answer this prompt, as I often overlook the cause of death in my research.

My fourth-great-grandfather, Richard Foster, passed away in 1831 from hydrophobia, better known as rabies. His harrowing battle with the disease was documented in multiple newspapers across Ohio, providing a vivid account of his final days.

From the Huron Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio)

HYDROPHOBIA.
A Mr. Foster, a middle-aged gentleman, who resided in the vicinity of Chillicothe, was met, in returning, probably from his farm, seized, and severely bitten by a mad dog. Mr. Foster applied the actual cautery to the wound, and used other precautionary measures. The wound soon healed, and he felt no other inconvenience for about six weeks. He then felt a pain in the bitten hand, which progressed upwards to the shoulder. Physicians were called, but without effect. He died in extreme agony, yesterday week, in about 36 hours. He was parched with an excessive thirst, but the exhibition of water, or other liquid, produced instant spasms and insensibility. His madness led to no manifestation of a disposition to injure any one. The case was a clear one, of hydrophobia, produced by the bite of a mad dog. A child and several animals are said to have also died from the bite of the same dog.
— Lancaster, (O.) Gaz.
7 July 1831

From The Sandusky Clarion (Sandusky, Ohio)

CHILLICOTHE, June 15.
Death by Hydrophobia.
It becomes our melancholy task to state, that about seven weeks since, Mr. Richard Foster, a citizen of Pike county, was bitten on the wrist, by his own dog in attempting to chain him, after he had discovered signs of canine madness. Immediately after the occurrence of this accident, Mr. Foster resorted to slight precautionary remedies to arrest the effects of the bite—such as applying salt to the wound and being cupped. He experienced no pain, nor was there the slightest indication of any symptom of disease until the fortieth day—Saturday week last—when he felt a twitching pain in his wrist, accompanied by a slight local inflammation about the wound. Being somewhat alarmed, he came to town on that day to consult one of our physicians; and returned home the same afternoon. On the succeeding evening (Sunday) he was taken with a chill which was followed by fever, and an increased pain of the bitten wrist and arm. On Monday morning, whilst he was sitting at breakfast with his family, the first positive symptom of hydrophobia developed itself, in his attempting to drink a cup of coffee. Medical aid was immediately resorted to, but to no purpose—the fatal disease had taken firm hold; and such was its rapid strides that he expired in a little over twenty-four hours from its general development, in the most excruciating agony.

We cannot avoid the opportunity, which this melancholy case presents, of putting the public on their guard against permitting dogs to run at large at this season of the year. The evils to society in the loss of valuable lives, might incalculably be great. And in no place should this precaution be more rigidly observed than in our towns and villages, where dogs seem to constitute a part of almost every household.

Surely the life of one individual is of more value, than all the dogs within the corporation; or, within the county itself, and where the danger is so imminent, no precaution—no preventive should be omitted, or avoided, to guard our citizens from the consequences of a disease, which, of all human maladies, is the most appalling, the most horrible, & the most fatal.
— Scioto Gazette.
6 July 1831, page 2

From the weekly Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio)

From the Chillicothe Advertiser, June 11.
HYDROPHOBIA.—A most distressing case of this malady occurred in this vicinity a few days since. An old and very respectable citizen of Pike county, Richard Foster, Esq., was bitten by his own dog, on the 24th of April. On the day previous the dog had bitten one or two other dogs, and had made an attempt to bite two of the children, but was prevented by Mrs. Foster.

Mr. Foster thought it prudent to tie up his dog; although at the time he appeared perfectly tame and docile—and took the animal gently by the ears, and while the son applied the rope, the dog bit him, one tusk entered on the upper, and the other on the lower side of the wrist.

Mr. F. applied to a neighboring physician, and had the wound cupped about three quarters of an hour after, and took some light medicines, supposing it doubtful whether his dog was mad or not. The wound healed in the usual time, and no symptoms of disease were felt, till forty-one days afterwards. He then felt a tingling numb pain shoot from the place of the wound downwards through the fingers and upwards through the arm, extending to the breast; the pain came and went at intervals of a few moments. On the 4th inst., Mr. F. went to Chillicothe and consulted two eminent physicians, who gave it as their opinion, that the disease had commenced. He returned home and spent the night tolerably well. On the next morning he was bled, which gave him some relief; but as the day advanced the symptoms increased, and he passed the next night badly.

On the morning of the 6th, the tingling pain appeared to extend into the muscles of the breast. He attempted to drink coffee; and in swallowing the third spoonful, the throat revolted, and forced it back through the mouth and nose with violence; for a few seconds this was followed by convulsive motions of the throat. Being perfectly sane, he was bled again, and had blisters applied to his wrists, which afforded considerable relief. At 10 o’clock he took an opium pill, and to wash it down, attempted to swallow tea, which was rejected with shudderings and horrid feelings; after which about every five minutes he gave a heaving sigh, occasioned by the contraction of the muscles engaged in respiration. This continued till the two Chillicothe physicians arrived, about 4 o’clock in the afternoon—when he was again offered coffee, which brought on powerful rejective convulsions—four in quick succession, with great distress.

The cool air, or noise of water, and the trickling of the blood in bleeding, would throw him into convulsions. On the morning of the 7th, he exhibited great prostrations of muscular strength, occasioned principally by the ravages of the disease; yet he was perfectly sane, calm and collected, and commenced arranging his worldly business, but before his will was ready for signing, became very sick; accompanied with horrible rackings at the stomach, in efforts to vomit; during which, there came up about half a pint of dark secreted fluid, the color of strong coffee, but thick and sizy. After which he breathed calmly for a short time, and then expired without a struggle, precisely at 12 o’clock.

All the animals bit by the same dog, run mad a few days prior to the death of Mr. Foster.
5 July 1831, page 2