Census versus medical daybooks: A comparison of two sources on mortality in nineteenth-century Ontario

Continuity and Change

Volumn 12, Issue 2, 1997, Pages 199-219

  Duffin, Jacalyn ^a  

^a QUEEN S UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CAUSES OF DEATH; DEMOGRAPHIC HISTORY; DOCUMENTARY SOURCE; MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY; METHODOLOGY; NINETEENTH CENTURY; REGISTRATION SYSTEM;

CANADA, ONTARIO;

EID: 0031394443     PISSN: 02684160     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0268416097002919     Document Type: Review

References (54)

1. See, for example, David P. Gagan, 'Enumerators' instructions for the Census of Canada 1852 and 186', Histoire sociale/Social History VII (1974), 353-65; M. C. Urquhart and K. A. H. Buckley, Historical statistics of Canada (Toronto and Cambridge, 1965).
2. See, for example, David P. Gagan, 'Enumerators' instructions for the Census of Canada 1852 and 186', Histoire sociale/Social History VII (1974), 353-65; M. C. Urquhart and K. A. H. Buckley, Historical statistics of Canada (Toronto and Cambridge, 1965).
3. Gagan, 'Enumerators' instructions'; David L. Brown, Bruce S. Elliot, and Lorna R. McLean, 'Historical research using computer files from the 1871 Census of Ontario', Archivaria 33 (winter 1991-1992), 161-72.
4. Gagan, 'Enumerators' instructions'; David L. Brown, Bruce S. Elliot, and Lorna R. McLean, 'Historical research using computer files from the 1871 Census of Ontario', Archivaria 33 (winter 1991-1992), 161-72.
5. For example, the numbers of deaths recorded in the manuscript Censuses of 1851 and 1861 for the combined townships of Vaughan and Markham, surrounding Langstaff's Ontario practice, were 135 and 97, respectively; however, the corresponding totals in the published summaries were 115 and 89.
6. John Last, 1871 Canada Census enumerator for Markham, Division 1, Schedule 2, microfilm no. C9969.
7. The new classification of the Ontario Provincial Board of Health, published no earlier than 1883, with an undated letter from the secretary Dr P. H. Bryce enjoining doctors and clerks to respect it, was sent to Richmond Hill village clerk, Matthew Teefy, and can be found with his papers; see Archives of Ontario, Teefy Papers, MU 2955, envelope 'Provincial Board of Health'. In this document, the category of 'zymotic' diseases, or those caused by fermentation or bacteria, contained a sub-group of 'miasmatic diseases' that incorporated the bacterial and viral infections cholera, diphtheria, erysipelas, scarlet fever, typhoid, and the infantile infections measles, mumps, chicken pox, and smallpox. Tubercular conditions were not classified as zymotic; they were considered to be 'constitutional' diseases.
8. Robert Hudson, Disease and its control: the shaping of modern thought (Westport, Conn., 1983); Charles E. Rosenberg and Janet Golden eds., Framing disease: studies in cultural history (New Brunswick, N.J., 1992); Harold Merskey, 'Variable meanings for the definition of disease', Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 11 (1986), 215-32.
9. Robert Hudson, Disease and its control: the shaping of modern thought (Westport, Conn., 1983); Charles E. Rosenberg and Janet Golden eds., Framing disease: studies in cultural history (New Brunswick, N.J., 1992); Harold Merskey, 'Variable meanings for the definition of disease', Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 11 (1986), 215-32.
10. Robert Hudson, Disease and its control: the shaping of modern thought (Westport, Conn., 1983); Charles E. Rosenberg and Janet Golden eds., Framing disease: studies in cultural history (New Brunswick, N.J., 1992); Harold Merskey, 'Variable meanings for the definition of disease', Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 11 (1986), 215-32.
11. Risa Barkin and Ian Gentles, 'Death in Victorian Toronto, 1850-1899', Urban History Review/Revue d'histoire urbaine XIX (1990), 14-29; Robert Bourbeau and Jacques Legaré, Evolution de la mortalité au Canada et au Québec, 1831-1931: essai de mesure par génération (Montréal, 1982).
12. Risa Barkin and Ian Gentles, 'Death in Victorian Toronto, 1850-1899', Urban History Review/Revue d'histoire urbaine XIX (1990), 14-29; Robert Bourbeau and Jacques Legaré, Evolution de la mortalité au Canada et au Québec, 1831-1931: essai de mesure par génération (Montréal, 1982).
13. The Langstaff daybooks and accounts, once divided into two parts, have recently been donated to the Archives of Ontario by Langstaffs grandson, Dr James Rolph Langstaff of Richmond Hill and by the archives of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Ottawa.
14. Jacalyn Duffin, Langstaff: a nineteenth-century medical life (Toronto, 1993).
15. The concept of 'pathocenosis' was introduced by Mirko D. Grmek to describe the tableau of clinical pathology in s specific place and time, Les Maladies à l'aube de la civilisation occidentale (Paris, 1983), 14-17.
16. In addition to the advent of antibacterial therapy, a decline in streptococcal virulence may have favoured the fall in incidence and mortality from childbed fever; see Irvine Loudon, 'Puerperal fever, the streptococcus, and the sulphonamides, 1911-1945', British Medical Journal 285 (1987), 485-9.
17. The boundaries of Langstaffs Census district were increasingly restricted, especially between 1851 and 1861. Some of the changes in his attendance on the dying may be more apparent than real. To compensate for this difficulty my search for child deaths was extended to nearby districts in both Vaughan and Markham townships.
18. Neil Sutherland, Children and English-Canadian society: framing the twentieth-century consensus (Toronto, 1976), 6-7; See also Edward Shorter, 'Maternal sentiment and death in childbirth: a new agenda for psycho-history', in Paula Branca ed., The medicine show: patients, physicians, and the perplexities of the health revolution in modern society (New York, 1977), 67-88.
19. Neil Sutherland, Children and English-Canadian society: framing the twentieth-century consensus (Toronto, 1976), 6-7; See also Edward Shorter, 'Maternal sentiment and death in childbirth: a new agenda for psycho-history', in Paula Branca ed., The medicine show: patients, physicians, and the perplexities of the health revolution in modern society (New York, 1977), 67-88.
20. Dan Horner, seven-month-old male child; Jacob Horner, male infant, Canada Census 1861 (Markham District 3, Schedule of Deaths, microfilm C 1088). In the preceding year, Langstaff attended births in two households, both named Horner (Langstaff daybook, 28 May 1860 and 8 February 1860), but he did not attend sick infants in those families in the following months.
21. The proportionate rise in paediatric deaths may be an artefact of Langstaff's record-keeping: he was more diligent about noting births than deaths and the number of deliveries he attended declined in his final years.
22. See Naomi Williams, 'Death in its season: class, environment, and the mortality of infants in nineteenth-century Sheffield', Social History of Medicine 5 (1992), 85-94.
23. See Sheila Ryan Johansson, 'Sex and death in Victorian England', in Martha Vicinus ed., A widening sphere: changing roles of Victorian women (Bloomington and London, 1977), 163-81, especially p. 168; Margaret DeLacy, 'Puerperal fever in eighteenth-century Britain', Bulletin of the History of Medicine 63 (1989), 521-56; Judith Walzer Leavitt, Brought to bed: child-bearing in America, 1750-1950 (New York and Oxford, 1986), 6-7, 36-63; Wendy Mitchinson, The nature of their bodies: women and their doctors in Victorian Canada (Toronto, 1991), 222, 227-8.
24. See Sheila Ryan Johansson, 'Sex and death in Victorian England', in Martha Vicinus ed., A widening sphere: changing roles of Victorian women (Bloomington and London, 1977), 163-81, especially p. 168; Margaret DeLacy, 'Puerperal fever in eighteenth-century Britain', Bulletin of the History of Medicine 63 (1989), 521-56; Judith Walzer Leavitt, Brought to bed: child-bearing in America, 1750-1950 (New York and Oxford, 1986), 6-7, 36-63; Wendy Mitchinson, The nature of their bodies: women and their doctors in Victorian Canada (Toronto, 1991), 222, 227-8.
25. See Sheila Ryan Johansson, 'Sex and death in Victorian England', in Martha Vicinus ed., A widening sphere: changing roles of Victorian women (Bloomington and London, 1977), 163-81, especially p. 168; Margaret DeLacy, 'Puerperal fever in eighteenth-century Britain', Bulletin of the History of Medicine 63 (1989), 521-56; Judith Walzer Leavitt, Brought to bed: child-bearing in America, 1750-1950 (New York and Oxford, 1986), 6-7, 36-63; Wendy Mitchinson, The nature of their bodies: women and their doctors in Victorian Canada (Toronto, 1991), 222, 227-8.
26. See Sheila Ryan Johansson, 'Sex and death in Victorian England', in Martha Vicinus ed., A widening sphere: changing roles of Victorian women (Bloomington and London, 1977), 163-81, especially p. 168; Margaret DeLacy, 'Puerperal fever in eighteenth-century Britain', Bulletin of the History of Medicine 63 (1989), 521-56; Judith Walzer Leavitt, Brought to bed: child-bearing in America, 1750-1950 (New York and Oxford, 1986), 6-7, 36-63; Wendy Mitchinson, The nature of their bodies: women and their doctors in Victorian Canada (Toronto, 1991), 222, 227-8.
27. Leavitt, Brought to bed, 56-7, 147, 182-8; Mitchinson, Nature of their bodies, 222-9, 247.
28. Leavitt, Brought to bed, 56-7, 147, 182-8; Mitchinson, Nature of their bodies, 222-9, 247.
29. Jo Oppenheimer, 'Childbirth in Ontario: the transition from home to hospital in the early twentieth century', Ontario History 75 (1983), 37.
30. See for example, Langstaff daybook, 1 April 1872, Mrs Sam Horner delivery; 31 Jan. 1884, Mrs McBride delivery.
31. DeLacy, 'Puerperal fever'; Loudon, 'Puerperal fever'.
32. Langstaff daybook, 15 Feb. to 9 March 1872, Miss Susannah Doner; 27 March to 3 April, Mrs Raeman; 24-6 March 1872, Mrs Beynon; and 12 April to 8 May 1872, Mrs Dalton.
33. Langstaff daybook, 3-17 June 1879, Mrs George Shell: 'baby has erysipelas'.
34. C. Melville Watson, 'An account of an obstetrical practice in Upper Canada', Canadian Medical Association Journal 40 (1939), 181-8; Paul Berman, 'The practice of obstetrics in rural America, 1800-1860', Journal of the History of Medicine & Allied Sciences 50 (1995), 175-93.
35. C. Melville Watson, 'An account of an obstetrical practice in Upper Canada', Canadian Medical Association Journal 40 (1939), 181-8; Paul Berman, 'The practice of obstetrics in rural America, 1800-1860', Journal of the History of Medicine & Allied Sciences 50 (1995), 175-93.
36. For more on the definition, incidence, and impact of hospital treatment on puerperal fever, see DeLacy, 'Puerperal fever'.
37. See The statistical yearbook of Canada for 1889 (Ottawa, 1890), 96-7. See also Charles M. Godfrey, Medicine for Ontario: a history (Belleville, 1979), 254.
38. See The statistical yearbook of Canada for 1889 (Ottawa, 1890), 96-7. See also Charles M. Godfrey, Medicine for Ontario: a history (Belleville, 1979), 254.
39. See, for example, Georgina D. Feldberg, Disease and class: tuberculosis and the shaping of modern North American society (New Brunswick, N.J., 1995), 13, 22-3; Barkin and Gentles, 'Death in Victorian Toronto'; Allan Mitchell, 'An inexact science: the statistics of tuberculosis in late nineteenth-century France', and 'Tuberculosis statistics and the McKeown thesis: a rebuttal to David Barnes', Social History of Medicine 3 (1990), 387-403 and 5 (1992), 291-6, respectively; David S. Barnes, 'The rise or fall of tuberculosis in Belle-Epoque France: a reply to Allan Mitchell', Social History of Medicine 5 (1992), 279-90.
40. See, for example, Georgina D. Feldberg, Disease and class: tuberculosis and the shaping of modern North American society (New Brunswick, N.J., 1995), 13, 22-3; Barkin and Gentles, 'Death in Victorian Toronto'; Allan Mitchell, 'An inexact science: the statistics of tuberculosis in late nineteenth-century France', and 'Tuberculosis statistics and the McKeown thesis: a rebuttal to David Barnes', Social History of Medicine 3 (1990), 387-403 and 5 (1992), 291-6, respectively; David S. Barnes, 'The rise or fall of tuberculosis in Belle-Epoque France: a reply to Allan Mitchell', Social History of Medicine 5 (1992), 279-90.
41. See, for example, Georgina D. Feldberg, Disease and class: tuberculosis and the shaping of modern North American society (New Brunswick, N.J., 1995), 13, 22-3; Barkin and Gentles, 'Death in Victorian Toronto'; Allan Mitchell, 'An inexact science: the statistics of tuberculosis in late nineteenth-century France', and 'Tuberculosis statistics and the McKeown thesis: a rebuttal to David Barnes', Social History of Medicine 3 (1990), 387-403 and 5 (1992), 291-6, respectively; David S. Barnes, 'The rise or fall of tuberculosis in Belle-Epoque France: a reply to Allan Mitchell', Social History of Medicine 5 (1992), 279-90.
42. See, for example, Georgina D. Feldberg, Disease and class: tuberculosis and the shaping of modern North American society (New Brunswick, N.J., 1995), 13, 22-3; Barkin and Gentles, 'Death in Victorian Toronto'; Allan Mitchell, 'An inexact science: the statistics of tuberculosis in late nineteenth-century France', and 'Tuberculosis statistics and the McKeown thesis: a rebuttal to David Barnes', Social History of Medicine 3 (1990), 387-403 and 5 (1992), 291-6, respectively; David S. Barnes, 'The rise or fall of tuberculosis in Belle-Epoque France: a reply to Allan Mitchell', Social History of Medicine 5 (1992), 279-90.
43. See, for example, Georgina D. Feldberg, Disease and class: tuberculosis and the shaping of modern North American society (New Brunswick, N.J., 1995), 13, 22-3; Barkin and Gentles, 'Death in Victorian Toronto'; Allan Mitchell, 'An inexact science: the statistics of tuberculosis in late nineteenth-century France', and 'Tuberculosis statistics and the McKeown thesis: a rebuttal to David Barnes', Social History of Medicine 3 (1990), 387-403 and 5 (1992), 291-6, respectively; David S. Barnes, 'The rise or fall of tuberculosis in Belle-Epoque France: a reply to Allan Mitchell', Social History of Medicine 5 (1992), 279-90.
44. Langstaff daybook, 26 March 1864, Langten; 14 July 1874, James Duncan; 23 July 1883, Mrs Armstrong; 29 May 1886, John Baker daughter.
45. Langstaff daybook, 20 Jan. 1867, George Walls.
46. See Burkin and Gentles, 'Death in Victorian Toronto'; G. Clair Brink, Across the years: tuberculosis in Ontario (n.p., 1969); Mitchinson, Nature of their bodies, 55-6, 225; Feldberg, Disease and class, 32-3; George Jasper Wherret, The miracle of the empty beds: a history of tuberculosis in Canada (Toronto, 1977); J. Iwan Williams, Eileen Healey, and Christina Gow, 'The death throes of tradition: change in a tuberculosis sanitorium', Social Science in Medicine 5 (1971), 545-59.
47. See Burkin and Gentles, 'Death in Victorian Toronto'; G. Clair Brink, Across the years: tuberculosis in Ontario (n.p., 1969); Mitchinson, Nature of their bodies, 55-6, 225; Feldberg, Disease and class, 32-3; George Jasper Wherret, The miracle of the empty beds: a history of tuberculosis in Canada (Toronto, 1977); J. Iwan Williams, Eileen Healey, and Christina Gow, 'The death throes of tradition: change in a tuberculosis sanitorium', Social Science in Medicine 5 (1971), 545-59.
48. See Burkin and Gentles, 'Death in Victorian Toronto'; G. Clair Brink, Across the years: tuberculosis in Ontario (n.p., 1969); Mitchinson, Nature of their bodies, 55-6, 225; Feldberg, Disease and class, 32-3; George Jasper Wherret, The miracle of the empty beds: a history of tuberculosis in Canada (Toronto, 1977); J. Iwan Williams, Eileen Healey, and Christina Gow, 'The death throes of tradition: change in a tuberculosis sanitorium', Social Science in Medicine 5 (1971), 545-59.
49. See Burkin and Gentles, 'Death in Victorian Toronto'; G. Clair Brink, Across the years: tuberculosis in Ontario (n.p., 1969); Mitchinson, Nature of their bodies, 55-6, 225; Feldberg, Disease and class, 32-3; George Jasper Wherret, The miracle of the empty beds: a history of tuberculosis in Canada (Toronto, 1977); J. Iwan Williams, Eileen Healey, and Christina Gow, 'The death throes of tradition: change in a tuberculosis sanitorium', Social Science in Medicine 5 (1971), 545-59.
50. See Burkin and Gentles, 'Death in Victorian Toronto'; G. Clair Brink, Across the years: tuberculosis in Ontario (n.p., 1969); Mitchinson, Nature of their bodies, 55-6, 225; Feldberg, Disease and class, 32-3; George Jasper Wherret, The miracle of the empty beds: a history of tuberculosis in Canada (Toronto, 1977); J. Iwan Williams, Eileen Healey, and Christina Gow, 'The death throes of tradition: change in a tuberculosis sanitorium', Social Science in Medicine 5 (1971), 545-59.
51. See Burkin and Gentles, 'Death in Victorian Toronto'; G. Clair Brink, Across the years: tuberculosis in Ontario (n.p., 1969); Mitchinson, Nature of their bodies, 55-6, 225; Feldberg, Disease and class, 32-3; George Jasper Wherret, The miracle of the empty beds: a history of tuberculosis in Canada (Toronto, 1977); J. Iwan Williams, Eileen Healey, and Christina Gow, 'The death throes of tradition: change in a tuberculosis sanitorium', Social Science in Medicine 5 (1971), 545-59.
52. See Johansson, 'Sex and death in Victorian England'; Edward Shorter, A history of women's bodies (New York, 1982), 231-3, 233n, 363 n19.
53. See Johansson, 'Sex and death in Victorian England'; Edward Shorter, A history of women's bodies (New York, 1982), 231-3, 233n, 363 n19.
54. Secretary of the Board of Registration and Statistics, The Census of the Canadas for 1851-2 (Quebec, 1855) 2, 38.