I have been watching the post for the last couple of days waiting patiently (although not so patiently you would notice) for a death certificate going back to 1838. My ancestors father had died aged 37 about five months before he was born and I was looking forward with interest to discover how he had died, comparatively young even in those days.
You can imagine my disappointment when the certificate dropped onto the doormat and I read that his cause of death was "Decline". What on earth does the medical term "decline" mean ? This chap did not come from a poor family - his job before he died was "Clerk in the Excise Office".
Does anyone have any thoughts as to what the death certificate might be covering up by using the term "decline" as a description ? Has anyone else come across this ?
You can imagine my disappointment when the certificate dropped onto the doormat and I read that his cause of death was "Decline". What on earth does the medical term "decline" mean ? This chap did not come from a poor family - his job before he died was "Clerk in the Excise Office".
Does anyone have any thoughts as to what the death certificate might be covering up by using the term "decline" as a description ? Has anyone else come across this ?
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