Discovering my family tree- May 23, 2020

23 May Discovering my family tree- May 23, 2020

There is a lot of debate about the causes of death nowadays.

Take a look at the above death certificate from 1967. The immediate cause of death was a ruptured ulcer and the resulting infection. However, the person already had pancreatic cancer, and they fractured their Ilium (hip) when they fell out of bed. They died 12 days after falling out of bed.
Without getting into politics, some doctors are saying that hospital administrators are pressuring them to declare COVID-19 as the cause of death, due to reimbursement policies. My understanding is that COVID-19 is not usually the immediate cause of death, but more likely, it is pneumonia or respiratory failure. So, if you were in charge of the world in 1967, and today, what would you collect, as the causes of death, the immediate cause, or the subsequent cause?
A funeral director explained that because doctors are hesitant to declare a cause of death, it has become an increasingly longer process to obtain a death certificate because sometimes lawyers sue doctors over their determinations. We’ve certainly made the death certificate process complicated!

In our final Mother’s Day month of celebrating moms, I thought it was important to recognize the women’s medical professionals we see on the front lines today. I thought it was interesting to learn about early Female Medical Colleges.

New England Female Medical College (NEFMC), formerly Boston Female Medical College, was founded in 1848 by Samuel Gregory and was the first school to train women in the field of medicine. It merged with Boston University to become the Boston University School of Medicine in 1874.

The second college was proposed by Dr. Bartholomew Fussell in 1846, the idea for a college that would train female doctors. It was a tribute to his departed sister, who Bartholomew believed could have been a doctor if women had been given the opportunity at that time. Her daughter, Graceanna Lewis, was to become one of the first woman scientists in the United States. At a meeting at his house called The Pines, in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, Fussell invited five doctors to carry out his idea. The doctors invited were: Edwin Fussell (Bartholomew’s nephew) M.D., Franklin Taylor, M.D., Ellwood Harvey, M.D., Sylvester Birdsall, M.D., and Dr. Ezra Michener. Graceanna Lewis also attended. Dr. Fussell would support the college but had little to do with it after it started in 1850 in Philadelphia.

Along with Edwin Fussell, Ellwood Harvey (who attended the 1846 meeting, but did not start teaching at the college until 1852) helped keep the school alive. Dr. Harvey instructed a full course load and even took on a second load when another professor backed out.

Dr. Harvey was later sued for libel by a former instructor at the college Dr. Longshore. Longshore started a rival women’s medical college at the Penn Medical University.

The Feminist Movement during the early to mid 19th century generated support for the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania. The Society of Friends in Philadelphia, a large group of Quakers, were supportive of the women’s rights movements and the development of the Female MCP.

We’re so lucky to live in a time where men and women do not have to be separated to earn their medical degrees and thankful to the ones who paved the way so long ago.

Enjoy Memorial Day, but don’t forget why we celebrate!

Today, I am honoring William Dill Nevius, who, at the age of 21, was killed on April 6, 1862, at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, during the Battle of Shiloh while serving in Co. E. 9th Regiment, IL Infantry, Union Army. He was one of 3500 soldiers (Confederate and Union) who perished in that battle.

Do you want to learn about your family’s heroes? Reach out to or call me at 214-914-3598.