While it is always a point of curiosity for me, as I nurse I've come to recognize that we do not always remember how blessed we are to live in the 2010's rather than the 1880's. Diptheria, Typhoid, Measles, Pertussis, Pneumonia and Tuberculosis were common life threatening diseases. Even tonsilitis, untreatable with antibiotics back then, could potentially be life threatening. Glomerulonephritis, also known as Bright's Disease, was a common aftermath of a strep infection. Today people have a sore throat and find they have Strep - no problem they take antibiotics. Back in the old days they might recover from the Strep but die as a young person from the Glomerulonephritis sequelae. I am a firm advocate of vaccinations - I've read the family histories where multiple children died of diseases that we hardly even encounter these days. My mom had a younger sister born in 1944. The complication of childbirth that occurred would be detected and more rapid intervention would have occurred today. Babies still die in childbirth but not nearly so many as the old days. And mother's still die from DIC (Disseminated intravascular coagulation) but not nearly so often. The following obituary from 1873 describes what I believe was the sequelae of DIC when they didn't know how to do anything to treat it. Death - On Ollille, in Ten Mile precinct, at two o'clock on the morning of March 20, 1873, Ann, wife of Edmund Gage, aged about 35 years. The immediate cause of her death was extreme hemorrhage of the teeth and gums. Mrs. Gage was the daughter of James Cox of Deer Creek and highly esteemed by all who knew her. She leaves 8 children, the youngest but a few days old. Her bereaved husband, relatives and friends have the sympathy of the whole community. The Plaindealer (Roseburg, OR) 21 Mar 1873 Also, the baby mentioned as born in the preceding obituary is one whose death is mentioned in the following: Gone - We are pained to chronicle the death of one of our oldest and most esteemed citizens, Mrs. Gage, sister of Mr. Thomas Livingstone. Mrs. Gage crossed the plains with her husband and family in 1844, and settled in this country in 1850, where she continued to reside until last July when she removed to Umatilla County with her family, and died at that place on the 25th day of April 1878. We also learn that the family of Mr. Ed Gage has been sorely afflicted, having recently lost two bright, intelligent little girls, one four and the other six years of age, while several other members were not expected to live. They were sick with that terrible disease--diptheria. The bereaved families have the sympathies of a host of old friends in this part of the state. The Plaindealer (Roseburg, OR) 18 May 1878 Denise Sproed in Oregon A member of the Association of Professional Genealogists   The web page I made for my parents is at:  http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~merritt/   My genealogy related pages are at: http://freepages.misc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~merritt/ and http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~sproed/ The latter created using John Cardinal's Second Site   User of The Master Genealogist (TMG) http://www.whollygenes.com/

I am a nurse too! Maybe that is why I am so interested in the medical side of things :) :) :) Michele -----Original Message----- From: transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Denise Sproed Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 10:01 PM To: TGF List Subject: [TGF] Why kids died While it is always a point of curiosity for me, as I nurse I've come to recognize that we do not always remember how blessed we are to live in the 2010's rather than the 1880's. Diptheria, Typhoid, Measles, Pertussis, Pneumonia and Tuberculosis were common life threatening diseases. Even tonsilitis, untreatable with antibiotics back then, could potentially be life threatening. Glomerulonephritis, also known as Bright's Disease, was a common aftermath of a strep infection. Today people have a sore throat and find they have Strep - no problem they take antibiotics. Back in the old days they might recover from the Strep but die as a young person from the Glomerulonephritis sequelae. I am a firm advocate of vaccinations - I've read the family histories where multiple children died of diseases that we hardly even encounter these days. My mom had a younger sister born in 1944. The complication of childbirth that occurred would be detected and more rapid intervention would have occurred today. Babies still die in childbirth but not nearly so many as the old days. And mother's still die from DIC (Disseminated intravascular coagulation) but not nearly so often. The following obituary from 1873 describes what I believe was the sequelae of DIC when they didn't know how to do anything to treat it. Death - On Ollille, in Ten Mile precinct, at two o'clock on the morning of March 20, 1873, Ann, wife of Edmund Gage, aged about 35 years. The immediate cause of her death was extreme hemorrhage of the teeth and gums. Mrs. Gage was the daughter of James Cox of Deer Creek and highly esteemed by all who knew her. She leaves 8 children, the youngest but a few days old. Her bereaved husband, relatives and friends have the sympathy of the whole community. The Plaindealer (Roseburg, OR) 21 Mar 1873 Also, the baby mentioned as born in the preceding obituary is one whose death is mentioned in the following: Gone - We are pained to chronicle the death of one of our oldest and most esteemed citizens, Mrs. Gage, sister of Mr. Thomas Livingstone. Mrs. Gage crossed the plains with her husband and family in 1844, and settled in this country in 1850, where she continued to reside until last July when she removed to Umatilla County with her family, and died at that place on the 25th day of April 1878. We also learn that the family of Mr. Ed Gage has been sorely afflicted, having recently lost two bright, intelligent little girls, one four and the other six years of age, while several other members were not expected to live. They were sick with that terrible disease--diptheria. The bereaved families have the sympathies of a host of old friends in this part of the state. The Plaindealer (Roseburg, OR) 18 May 1878 Denise Sproed in Oregon A member of the Association of Professional Genealogists