My aunt has a g-great uncle that the death cert. said he died of stranglation, after much research it was found out that he was hung as a horse thief. Turns out that the person who typed the death certs.was a friend of the family. So even then to save the family some grace, things can be not as they seem. Jerry Edwards Vincennes, IN. Edwards/Bennett/Carrier/Mote/Patty/Haitt/eitt/yatt ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elaine D Tomkins" <edtom@fuse.net> To: <WVHAMPSH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2004 11:44 AM Subject: Re: [WVHAMPSH-L] question ???- suicides > I agree with Genie on this. My father had a cousin who went to great > lengths to end his life with a shotgun blast to the head on a Cumberland > street in the 1920's. It's all in my genealogy, since it was in the > newspaper (in great detail). For a recent suicide, I would simply list > cause of death as suicide (unless it would cause an immediate family > member emotional pain), with no further details, OR give cause of death > as gunshot (or whatever), omitting the fact that it was self-inflicted. > Such things are usually published in the newspapers anyway. I would > file the details in my research notes for future use by whoever carries > on the work of the family genealogy. My father had some "colorful" > relatives in Hampshire Co in the early 20th Century--a little too > colorful for my taste--one woman was suspected of poisoning her husband > (she quickly left the county never to be heard from again when they > exhumed the body) and another cousin went on a murderous rampage. My > paternal relatives are all "normal" now (I think) and somewhat boring by > comparison--Thank God! > > Genie wrote: > > >Such sensitivity should apply perhaps to recently > >deceased cases with still-living immediate > >family, but I see no reason at all to omit such > >facts about our ancestors from family trees or > >genealogies.... > > > > >

An applicant for life insurance was too embarrassded to state his father had been hanged as a horse thief so he wrote, "He died at a public function when the platform gave way." MIke Foreman ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jerry Edwards" <ziggy.retired@charter.net> To: <WVHAMPSH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 7:14 AM Subject: Re: [WVHAMPSH-L] question ???- suicides > My aunt has a g-great uncle that the death cert. said he died of > stranglation, after much research it was found out that he was hung as a > horse thief. Turns out that the person who typed the death certs.was a > friend of the family. So even then to save the family some grace, things can > be not as they seem. > > Jerry Edwards > Vincennes, IN. > Edwards/Bennett/Carrier/Mote/Patty/Haitt/eitt/yatt > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Elaine D Tomkins" <edtom@fuse.net> > To: <WVHAMPSH-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2004 11:44 AM > Subject: Re: [WVHAMPSH-L] question ???- suicides > > > > I agree with Genie on this. My father had a cousin who went to great > > lengths to end his life with a shotgun blast to the head on a Cumberland > > street in the 1920's. It's all in my genealogy, since it was in the > > newspaper (in great detail). For a recent suicide, I would simply list > > cause of death as suicide (unless it would cause an immediate family > > member emotional pain), with no further details, OR give cause of death > > as gunshot (or whatever), omitting the fact that it was self-inflicted. > > Such things are usually published in the newspapers anyway. I would > > file the details in my research notes for future use by whoever carries > > on the work of the family genealogy. My father had some "colorful" > > relatives in Hampshire Co in the early 20th Century--a little too > > colorful for my taste--one woman was suspected of poisoning her husband > > (she quickly left the county never to be heard from again when they > > exhumed the body) and another cousin went on a murderous rampage. My > > paternal relatives are all "normal" now (I think) and somewhat boring by > > comparison--Thank God! > > > > Genie wrote: > > > > >Such sensitivity should apply perhaps to recently > > >deceased cases with still-living immediate > > >family, but I see no reason at all to omit such > > >facts about our ancestors from family trees or > > >genealogies.... > > > > > > > > > > > >

I love this story. Michael Foreman wrote: >An applicant for life insurance was too embarrassded to state his father had >been hanged as a horse thief so he wrote, "He died at a public function when >the platform gave way." > >