Dallas used to be a small enough town that the undertakers would report the names and causes of death of every single resident to the newspaper. These would be published once weekly. The Dallas Morning News published mortuary reports throughout the late 1890s and early 1900s.
A typical report lists the name, address and cause of death. For March 19, 1899, 23 deaths are listed for Dallas and 5 deaths from Oak Cliff. (Oak Cliff would not be annexed to Dallas until 1904 and their reports often listed relatives and funeral arrangements.) Several of these deaths are listed as ‘cause not given’. Of the causes of death given this particular week, here are the totals: pneumonia, 4; meningitis, 6; smallpox, 2; Bright’s Disease (kidney disease), 2; general debility, 2. Also listed: paralysis, railroad injury, peritonitis, malarial jaundice and la grippe (Spanish Influenza). Of note, the smallpox vaccine had been discovered in 1796 although the one for meningitis would not be available until 1978. Additionally, there was one horrific death listed for this week.
Find out next week who it was and what evidence was discovered.
