"Tracing Our Roots" Newsletter Archive (A monthly genealogy newsletter written by the late Brenda Kellow, dec'd, for the Plano Star Courier newspaper. We've included all the ones we could recover.)
CORONER'S RECORD ADD INFORMATION REGARDING DEATH OF ANCESTORS
By Brenda Kellow, B.A., CG
Barbara Coakley, professional genealogist and writer, is my guest writer today while I am recovering from thumb surgery. Barbara is on the board of directors of Genealogy Friends and regularly lectures on genealogy locally and regionally, with expertise in midwest and northeast research.
When an ancestor dies a suspicious, unnatural, accidental, or unusual death, there is normally a coroner s investigation. The records can include information about the death of the individual and testimony from witnesses or relatives. Details from the records can point to other sources and provide proof of relationships, residences, and occupations.
Delia Brey was born in Donnstetten, Wurttemberg and came to the United States with her family in 1851. The family settled in St. Louis, Missouri. Delia is listed on the 1860 and 1870 Census in St. Louis; however, there was no record of her after that on the Census records. Consulting the City Directories added information. She was listed from 1866 to 1877 as a School Teacher. The next stop was the St. Louis Public School Archives. Delia taught at various schools from 1863 to 1877 and there the records ended. These facts lead me to believe that one of three things happened, Delia married, died or moved. There was no record of a marriage so the next logical step was to check death records.
Here death was listed in the St. Louis death register. Delia died 8 May 1877 of an overdose of chloroform at the age of 34. Her obituary provided her place of burial but no other information about her death except that it was sudden. Since the circumstances of Delia s death were unusual there should have been a coroner s investigation. The index for the Coroner s Records for St. Louis is available on the Secretary of State Website, www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/coroners/. The records have been microfilmed and are available at the St. Louis County Library. There was a file for Delia. The file was short, only one page, however, it provided interesting information about Delia s life and death. The deceased was found dead on the 8th day of May 1877 in the 3rd story of the above mentioned place, in her bed at or about 6 o clock pm. It was elicited that the deceased came to her death between the hours of 3 and 6 o clock pm from the effects of an overdose of chloroform, which the deceased had been using to allay the pains of a facial neuralgia from which she was suffering at the time.
Since I was not familiar with facial neuralgia or how chloroform was used to treat it, I went to the Internet and did a search on Google. One of the results was the National Library of Medicine. Their website www.nlm.nih.gov/ provides a facility to send an email query, which I did. A librarian from the History of Medicine division answered promptly. Facial Neuralgia is pain that follows the path of nerves in the face and is extremely painful. Chloroform was a common treatment for the pain in the 19th century. A few drops were placed on a handkerchief and inhaled by the patient, but dosage was very erratic. A safe dose one day could be a killer the next. Chloroform suppresses heart action this effect cannot be regulated.
The probate records for St. Louis have been digitized and are available on the Missouri Secretary of State web site at www.sos.mo.gov/archives/stlprobate/. The inventory of Delia s estate added more information about her home and possessions. There was no information in any of the documents indicating how long Delia suffered from the pain, possibly the disease could be the reason that she never married. If she suffered for very long, I wonder how she was able to teach school. The Coroner s Records added details that were not provided by any other records found from Delia s life. To determine if Coroner s Records are extant for locations you are searching, check the Family History Library Catalog at www.familysearch.org using a place search. Also check state archives, county court houses, genealogical societies, historical societies, and local libraries.
Brenda Kellow, dec'd, Certified Genealogist and Certified Genealogical Instructor, had a Bachelor s Degree in history and taught genealogy courses at the local Community College and computer genealogy at the University.
