It Never Ends

For nor particular reason, I paused and re-read my paternal Great-Grandfather's Death Certificate.

Just a little light reading to brighten up the day.

Bear in mind that this chap died some 33 years before I was born. Hell, he died about 8 years before my Father was even born. I was seldom around any of the few people who knew him when he was alive. And when I was, I was so young that nothing about him was said in my presence. To be honest, nothing was said to me about anything beyond being sent outside to play while the grown-ups talked.

He wife, my Great-Grandmother, did survive until I was about 5 years old. But she was a cranky old woman by all accounts and I have zero memories of her. That should tell you how much time I spent with HER.

One of his sons, my paternal Grandfather and the man for whom I was named, died a few months before I was born. And his wife died when I was about 4 years old. My only actual memory of her is her laying corpse in her casket. Long story there for another time.

So I really only had a few scant stories about him. There is a photo of him with his wife and (almost) all his children taken somewhere in the 1910s. 

Reading the Death Certificate answers some questions and poses others.

The main question it answers (once I deciphered the handwriting and used my Google-Fu) is, "How did he die?" Cause of death is listed as Uremic Coma & Cystitis. Contributory conditions were Paralysis due to Cerebral Hemorrhage. Basically he died of renal failure and stroke. I would dare to posit that the stroke was the real killer. It just caused the kidney failure which, ultimately, was the 'fatal' condition.

I also note that he died at 2:00 AM. That had to be a long, ugly night. He was ill for 3 weeks and 4 days. Definitely a long slough for the family.

Nothing shocking about his occupation at the time: Mill Worker. At that time, in the South, working at a mill was just about the only job to be had! In his younger days he had worked the family farm (though he either sold or lost it - and if he sold it then he blew the money) and, for a time, for a dairy.

What caught my attention were the family details provided. Death certificates in Georgia then (and now) have spots to record the deceased's birthplace, and the names and birthplaces of the parents. And lastly, who is providing the data.

No shock to see that he was born in Oglethorpe Count, Ga. But the other entries took me aback a bit.

I need to start with who is giving the answers: Malcom Griffith. My grandfather. Not the deceased's wife. Granted (James) Malcom was the eldest surviving child, so I suppose he felt it his job to take care of the details and take the burden off his mother. The two youngest, daughters 16 and 14 years old, certainly were not up to the task. All the older daughters were married and on their own by the time he died.

More surprising was that the only mostly complete answer given about the parents is the father's name: James M Griffith. I find this interesting because of the middle initial - M. It would be understandable if someone reading this thought it to be Malcom, the same as the person giving the details. But it is Macon, not Malcom. James Malcom had to know this as James Macon did not die until James Malcom was in his teens AND the two essentially lived on the same farm at the time (or at least for several years prior to James Macon passing). 

The Mother's name is simply given as Smith. I know that her name was Nancy Jane Smith. But she was the second of James Macon's three wives and passed away 20 years before James Malcom was born! Not like there is a family history of ancestors kicking off early and subsequent generations knowing little or nothing about them. No, there could never be anything like that!

The birthplace for both parents is simply DK. Don't Know. James Malcom had no idea where his paternal grandparents were born. The sad thing is that they were both from Oglethorpe County. Probably on or near the same farm where James Malcom and his father, Henry Carlton were born. And since that farm came from the Smith line, Nancy Jane was almost certainly born there, too. 

Just to ice the proverbial cake, that farm is where the family cemetery sits. James Malcom had two infant siblings and multiple ancestors on both the Griffith and Smith lines buried there!

And he never knew.