What was our ancestor’s cause of death?

This is the start of yet another new series of posts which covers the cause of death in earlier times. The list of causes of death in church books is long and there are many terms and names of diseases which need explaining today. Beside the historic diseases, there are individual accidents, epidemics or other tragedies.

Senility

Today, I start the series with a cause of death which “fortunately” can be found quite often in my family tree, death of old age, senility. In church books, the term “Marasmus senilis” is also used which stands for the decay of body and intellect through age.

As of what age was someone “old”? What was the expected life span in previous centuries?

Source: Statistik Austria

This table shows the life span for men (in grey) and women (in red) at the age of 60 years in the course of time and thus does not take the high death rate of newborns and children into account. While expectancy for men and women in 1868 was little above 70 years, it is approximately 10-15 years more today. As you can read on Wien.at, in 1856, only 0.7% were elder than 75 years.

I cannot give you a serious statistical analysis of my family tree research, thus I will just give you some special examples of ancestors who reached a high age and died of senility:

I did already report of my Great Grand-Aunt, Josefa Korinek, the eldest woman in Vienna who died in 1939, aged 102 years.
Johann Schmelz died in 1832 at the age of 84 years due to senility (“Altersschwäche”)
(Transcript/Translation: Died of senility and was buried on 7th of March in the morning at 10 am)

Source: Erzdiözese Wien, Pfarre Großebersdorf, Sterbebuch 1827-1848, Signatur 03-05, folio 38
Josepha Eimer (nee Fellner) died in 1875 and reached an age of 86 years. She also died of senility according to the church book:
(Transcript/Translation: Senility, “Beschau” basically meaning certification of death on 24th of June 1875)

Source: Erzdiözese Wien, Pfarre Grafenwörth, Sterbebuch 1863-1886, Signatur 03-09, folio 116

I already introduced you to Leopoldine Hetzendorfer (born Hofbauer) in another post. She died after an exciting life aged 88 in the year 1943. Her daughter Walburga even was 91 years when she died.
Veit Putschögel was born in 1707 and reached an then almost incredible age of 90 years.
Mathias Schindl was 88 when he died in the year 1829 due to senility.
(Transcript/Translation: Name of the deceased: Mathias Schindl, “Ausnehmer”meaning basically a person living at the farm of their children/ religion: catholic, Sex: male, age: 88 years/Illness, Cause of death: of senility)

Source: Diözese St.Pölten, Pfarre Brand/Gmünd, Sterbebuch 1818-1871, Signatur 03-02, folio 243, Copyright Diözesanarchiv St.Pölten
Magdalena Petz (born Weinmayr) died in 1888 aged 86.
(Transcript/Translation: Petz Magdalena, born, Weinmayer, born in Paasdorf, widow, here, age 86 years, senility according to certification of death no. 7)

Source: Erzdiözese Wien, Pfarre Höbersbrunn, Sterbebuch 1866-1898, Signatur 03-02, folio 48
Katharina Schmölz was 95 when she died in 1950.