Another death certificate - "laryngeal phthisis"

[Elizabeth Herts]

I knew the date of death of my great-grandfather, but I am making sure I have the complete set of certificates.

He died, aged 37, of laryngeal phthisis in 1902.

I have googled this condition out of curiosity (we have had phthisis before) and found the following:

Tresorie - THE TREATMENT OF PHTHISIS [Treatment Of Pthisis]

It's a really interesting article. What a horrible disease. It seems you rapidly become emaciated and starve to death.

[Tom Tom]

Hi Elizabeth

My 5x great grandmother died of phthisis and then her daughter died of it another 18 months later. Looking at the length of time they had it, they contracted it at around the same time but the mother who was twice the age of the daughter obviously wasn't as strong. Very sad.

I think it is probably the main killer in my tree. My grandad had it when he was younger and was sent to switzerland for isolation!

[Little Nell]

Thanks for that article, Elizabeth.

Phthysis was another name for tuberculosis of the lungs and was the major killer before antibiotics.

Some famous writers who died of this include Keats, all the Bronte family and George Orwell.

I think it was probably regarded in the way that we regard cancer nowadays.

[Elizabeth Herts]

I think he must have been ill or at least weak for some time. Look at his wedding photos in 1891:

Herbert Edward White married Ada Quintrell 13 Jan 1891





Herbert didn't work for very long. He was a draper in his father's business (there was a branch in Chertsey) but by 1901 he and Ada had moved to Islington where he died in 1902, and his occupation is "Draper (Retired". He was only 37. In 1901 my grandmother (an only child) is at a small boarding school in Chertsey, aged 8.

I know Ada adored him. Luckily, his parents were reasonably well off, so I'm sure they were looked after.

[Little Nell]

Don't all those people look thin to modern eyes!

[Elizabeth Herts]

Nell, of course they were very heavily corseted (the women, that is! )!

Look at Ada here (the bride):



Her waist is tiny! I would imagine this is after her marriage, as she is wearing a wedding ring.

[Tom Tom]

That waist is even tinier than gg granies! (it was her grandmother and auntie I mentioned earlier)




In fact it actually makes gg granny look a bit porkie!

[Tom Tom]

Do you know what it is your woman is holding?
It looks like a photo.

[Elizabeth Herts]

No wonder Ada only had one baby! Think what it must have done to her internal organs!

(I can remember having an 18" waist when I was young, but I was very small for my age! Unfortunately, the measurement rose with my age!)

[Elizabeth Herts]

Yes, Tom! I was wondering the same. It's the first time I have noticed because the original is much smaller and it is blown up here.