Genealogy Chat

Yes, Mrs Beeton did die of Syphillis. Very sad story, didn't know she had it for years and it caused the death of each of her babies. Her husband gave it to her too. There was a programme on the TV about her some time ago, 'The Secret Life of Mrs Beeton'. Katie

Tania and Laura My post re Florence Nightingale was more disbelief that she died of it, not disgust! As I said in my previous post, many innocent victims died of this terrible disease which does not ONLY carry off the promiscuous. I just feel curious that she could be bedridden (later stages of GPI) and yet still have a functioning brain - it is the mark of syphilis that the sufferer goes insane and that would certainly preclude her later work being of any use whatsoever. My personal opinion - and it is only that because I do not have any medical knowledge - would be that she was afflicted by some other spirochetal illness such as malaria, which causes extreme exhaustion in the sufferer but does not affect the mental faculties. The trade mark of syphilis is that it DOES alter the mental faculties, and permanently. OC OC

Didn't Mrs. Beeton die of a STD? not sure if it was syphillis though. Sue

Thing is, catching an STD doesn't necessarily mean that person has done anything wrong! There's such a stigma (don't know if that's the right word!) attached with them, but so many people suffered from these diseases but led decent lifestyles! Whether Florence died of it or not, she was a great woman and did a lot of good. It doesn't really matter and I guess nobody's really going to know! Laura Threads like this are certainly very interesting though, I haven't got any death certificates yet (apart from copies of closer relatives) - have been concentrating on birth and marriage ones as am pretty skint - but may have to change that as it's all so interesting!

Hi all the story of flo dying of syphillis was one of the first things taught at nursing school. I realise there has been a lot of argument over the idea especially from people who want to 'maintain her reputation' She had a chronic long term illness that ended up taking all her faculties. wether or not it was syphillis I guess without performing an autopsy personally and being there to read it who would know. The reality is that syphillis was a dreadful illness that claimed many lives before the advent of antibiotics and that was through all classes and creeds,it simply did not distinguish. Many woman were given it by there husbands and in times of war it would have been a nightmare to stop spreading Florence was an amazing woman whos contribution to the knowledge of hygiene and infection will be in our history books forever,but that didnt make her a saint. She was in the crimea in what must have been desperate circumstances,if she had a sexual relationship with someone it would have been perfectly understandable and I think probably pretty likely knowing human nature. Who knows, Regards Tania

Joanne Are you absolutely positive the word is 'syphilis' and not 'insipidus'? As I said before, it is extremely unusual to see the word syphilis on a death cert. OC

Hmmmmmm.

Ozi I don't know about Florence Nightingale, but syphilis takes about 40 years to kill you, from primary infection to death. If she contracted it by, lets say, poor hygiene when nursing a patient (don't sit on the toilet seat!) in later life, then yes, she could die at 90. Apart from the obvious way of contracting it, she must have had an open wound on her hands - either way seems a bit unlikely really. You do not get syphilis from dirty toilet seats etc! OC

Wow! Loads of info on this thread - very interesting'! Just googled Florence Nightingale's death, this is what came up on spartacus.schoolnet (co*uk) quote In later life Florence Nightingale suffered from poor health and in 1895 went blind. Soon afterwards, the loss of other faculties meant she had to receive full-time nursing. Although a complete invalid she lived another fifteen years before her death in London on 13th August, 1910. end quote and from wikipedia quote By 1896, Florence Nightingale was bedridden. She may have had what is now known as chronic fatigue syndrome and her birthday is now celebrated as the International CFS Awareness Day. During her bedridden years, she also made pioneering work in the field of hospital planning, and her work propagated quickly across England and the world. She died on August 13, 1910. The offer of burial in Westminster Abbey was declined by her relatives, and she is buried in the graveyard at St. Margaret Church in East Wellow, Hampshire[1][2] end quote Hope this is of help :) Laura

Tania - where did you learn that Florence Nightingale died of syphilis? I find it hard to understand she would survive to the age of 90. Ozi.

Although I already knew of the true meaning of this term.. I am really impressed by the depth of knowledge, and perseverance shown on this thread......... Bob

just nudging so its included in my threads for reference. Nicky

Nudged to help. Gwyn

As someone's said earlier in this thread, women were often infected by their husbands, maybe returning from abroad - or somewhere 'illicit' in this country. Because the symptoms were internal, rather than external as with men, the illness took hold without women becoming aware of it, and babies were infected by their passage through the birth canal with eye infections etc., as well as having the the 'bugs' in their system. When I worked in a psychiatric hospital, in the late '60's and early '70's there were a fair few patients with this illness, and as students we were told to take note because syphillis was dying out thankfully, due to better knowledge, care and cures. Sadly, it's now increasing again, with the particular risks it poses to women. Sad to see history repeating itself - at least our ancestors could justifiable claim ignorance. Bx

The other problem was that for a long time they treated syphillis with mercury which also made you mad,so it was a case of what was worse the disease or the cure. Of course remember many famous people died of syphillis including our own Florence Nightingale Regards Tania

Just read your thread and I wanted to say thank you. I found a relative, just a week or two ago, who had been in an asylum and then passed away the next year. Looking at her death cert., I couldnt quite make out what it said, but could read the words Paralysis and insane. After reading your thread, I looked again, and relised it said General paralysis of the insane, so she died of the same thing. I never would have known this otherwise, and had assumed she had died of Alzimers or something similar. I also took another look at her husbands death cert., which stated cause of death as hemiaplegia, which is some form of vertical paralysis, thought to be linked to strokes, although, im now thinking that he too could have died from the same illness as his wife, and was misdiognosed.

For anyone else interested, I have located the records for the 'Bexley Asylum': London Metropolitan Archives - Autum 2006 www.lma.gov.uk The records of Bexley Hospital were recently deposited in London Metropolitan Archive and have not yet been catalogued. They include: Medical Superintendent's reports 1907-1916 Staff registers 1897-1914 Patients' admission and discharge registers 1898 -1980 Patients' case books 1899 -1950s Death registers 1907 - 1982 Burial registers 1900 - 1917 As the records are at present uncatalogued, they can be made available for consultation by prior appointment only, made at least a week in advance. So .... a trip to London soon then!! thanx to everyone for your help! dizzy

My great grandfather also died from this. Have just this week received his medical records and thought you'd find the following 'amusing': '26.8.21 Same mental condition. When questioned he gazes in front of him and answers incorrectly, but not irrelevantly and then spits (he has a wonderful range in spitting) 21.9.21 He became sleepless and persisted in singing and step dancing' May I say that, now, when I find myself singing around the house, I have to stop myself (just in case I'm tempted to spit) lol Lewella

Dizzy Again, to spare the feelings of relatives. I can't remember the exact date - sometime in the early 1900s - the Registrar General issued instructions that certificates were no longer to include the names of Institutions such as Workhouses or Asylums, merely the postal address. There was such a stigma to being born/dying in the Workhouse, or dying in a mental Institution, and it was widely felt that possession of such a birth certificate would be a drawback throughout life. OC

Thanx for that Kim, I had found the 'The City of London Asylum at Stone ' last night and assumed that it would be the only Mental Institution in Dartford. So it seems 1 Bexley Lane was the Bexley Asylum. I wonder why they didn't put that on the Death cert? Now I have to see if I can find records from there! dizzy