Cause of Death in BIO's?

Question

I'm fairly new to WikiTree, and I haven't noticed any "cause of death" in profiles, so far. Is it considered bad form to include cause of death in a profile?

Comments

If I know it for sure, and not some third-hand speculation, I will mostly include it.  My one gr-grand has his cause of death as -- after a fall from a cart caused him to suffer a "rupture of the heart".  My grand has "had an accident at work, which resulted in kidney failure (and complications) and, not long afterwards, death", and his wife as "died from chronic nephritis".

I think it's the sort of thing that's mostly up to the individual profile manager, or whoever is writing the biography.

Answer 1

As I have started down my genealogy journey, I've noticed so many people reduced to BMD info. I've chosen not to focus on that myself, simply because it's really the least important thing about them, and am trying to focus on their life, their deeds and their struggles during their life. That's a personal choice, but I think an important one. If they sacrificed their life in the service of their country, to save others, or in some significant event, then I will likely include that information. But if they just succumbed to old age or disease I plan to try to emphasize the other facts.

Answer 2

I always include it, if the record shows it. For people who died at younger ages, it helps explain their lives. I also find the common causes of death in earlier times to be interesting when compared to the things that kill us today. We no longer die from consumption, almost never from complications of childbirth, and rarely from accidents, and 100+ years ago there were a lot fewer deaths from heart disease and cancer, and almost none from obesity related diseases. And I just finished work on a family where four children died from spotted fever within three days.

Comments

Thanks, David, for the star!

Answer 3

Cause of death can be very interesting in a historical sense. Canadian or perhaps more accurately Ontario death records from about the 1860s to currently the 1930s include the cause of death sometimes in significant detail.

Especially in small communities it is common to find multiple people dying from the same cause within a short period of time. It adds another dimension to the story of the families in the area. Perhaps it made the people closer to know that several other families were in the same situation.

Cause of death is often not included on statistical death records, it is only on the actual death certificate and depending on the location sometimes is only available if you can get a copy of the death certificate.

Answer 4

You should check out the categories for cause of death. You will a lot of examples of how this has been handled.  I for one only put the cause of death in if I have proof and if I can categorize it. Examples are auto accidents, train accidents, death by certain diseases like tuberculosis or typhoid. Here is a link to the accidental deaths category list. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Accidental_Deaths

Answer 5

If you know or can speculate on the cause of death, I'd include it in the bio, with the details that you know. Also try and include a source for the cause of death in that section.