I am senior here at the University of Pittsburgh. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh; I graduated from Bethel Park High School. I am a history major, and I particularly enjoy Pittsburgh History (which is why I'm excited about this internship). I also enjoy art history. When I'm finished with my undergraduate work, I plan to get my teaching degree in secondary social studies education and hopefully someday my masters. In my free time I like to watch Penguins and Steelers games.
Working Notes:
1925
I found multipul interesting cases, but one of my favorite so far has been mining accident that happened in Coverdale, Bethel Park. I grew up in the neighborhood that was built behind it after the mines had been closed. The park was renamed Miner's Memorial Park in honor of the miners that have died, and it is now a park with three softball fields, batting cages, a basketball court, and a jungle gym. I spent a lot of time at the park growing up because it's practically in my back yard and my softball team played there. When I was younger I never realized the significants of park, or what had gone on there 75 years previous.
In case file 192509_242 a miner was found dead in Coverdale. It was decided that the cause of death was "crushed by fallen slate". Next time I visit my parents I plan to visit the memorial to see if the miner's name is on the memorial. I think it's really cool that Pittsburgh history happened right in my back yard, and I took it for granted for so many years. 9/13
1927
I am excited to say that I found more deaths that happened in Coverdale. Casefiles 192704_27 and 192704_28 were of a mother and daughter tt were found dead in Coverdale after a fire. The affadavid of the husband/father said that he smelled smoke and broke open a window so his wife could jump out with their infant. The husband went into other parts of the house to save their children. Meanwhile, the wife stayed in the house with the infant (no one seems to know why). Then the husband got the rest of the family out he realized that his wife and small child had burned inside the house. I noticed that affadavid's of the people that live on what is now Library Road said that they lived in the town of Snowden. That must be a name that they gave their neighborhood that is no longer used. I live in Bethel for 22 years and I have never heard anyone use that name. I googled Snowden and was unable to find any information. 9/20
I found my first plane crash last week. It happened in Mifflin Twp. on Bettis Field, which was named after Lt. Cyrus Bettis who won a Pulitzer Air Speed trophy in 1925. Bettis Field was Pittsburgh's first airfield, and Charles Lindbergh visited the field in 1927. I found in case files 192810_103-192810_105 three men that died in a plane crash that happened shortly after take off at Bettis Field. The files include and eye witness testimony from a pilot that was in the air at the time of the accident. Pennsylvania state law did not require a pilot's license until 1929. Accidents such as this one probably caused the new and necessary license requirement. 9/27
1925-1930 Statistics
I have been keeping track of murder statistics between 1925 and 1930. I was interested in finding out who is dying (male or female), what their nationality is, and what was used to kill them (gun, knife, etc.). I found that about 19% of people murdered were female and the other 81% have been males. 72% of people got shot, 19% got stabbed, 4% were beaten, 2% died by illegal abortion, 2% were hit by a car, and 2% were burned. 36% of people murdered were white American citizens, 30% were Italian, 19% were African American, 6% were Slavish, 4% were Greek, and Chinese, Mexican, Austrian, Russian, Unknown, Polish, and Serbian account for 2% each. In analyzing this, I noticed that the vast majority of people that were murdered were men that got shot, most of which were American citizens (African American and Caucasian) or Italian immigrants. 10/5
I have also been keeping track of suicide statistics between 1925 and 1930. I observed how the person was killed themself, their nationality, their sex, and why their family believed they were suicidal. I read 114 suicide case files in total. 41% of suicides were gun related, 25% were done with poison, 24% hung themselves, 8% downed themselves, 7% jumped from a window or bridge, 4% cut themselves, and 1% jumped in front of a train. 49% of all suicides were committed by American born citizens (only 2% were African American), Russian born, German born, and people of unknown birthplaces account for 5% each, Polish, Italian and Autrian born accound for 4% each, and the remaining 24% were from various European countries. 72% of suicides were comitted by men and 28% by women. Men are more likely to use violence, women commonly poison themselves. According to the families of the suicide victums, 32% were physically ill or dying, 25% had no idea why their family member was suicidal, 7% were chronic alcoholics, mental illness, depression, loss of job, bad relationships, and financial problems each account for 5%, 4% recently lost a loved one, 2% were murderers, and pregnancy, forced marriace, and jailed account for 1% each. 10/11
1938-1939
I found a case file (193807_125) in which a patient died at a doctors office. The patient recently found out the he had Tuberculosis, but this was not the cause of his death. His doctor advised him to have a "minor" surgery to alleviate his illness. The man took the doctor's advice and decided to let him perform the prcedure. The doctor gave the mad medicine to put him under, and began to talk to the nurse while he was waiting for the drugs to take effect. While the doctor turned his back on the man, he fell off of the operating table and fractured his skull. The man died later in a hospital due to the fall, not the Tuberculosis. I was suprised to see that the accident was considered to be an "accident" when he died due to neglect. I assume that this was classified as an accident because there was no law that mandated medical malpractice insurance. I tried to research the origins of medical malpractice, but I could not find a definate date. 10/19
1940
Although I have found 1940 to be rather boring I found an unusual death that occured in Coverdale (the neighborhood that I grew up in). A coal cutter that lived in Coverdale and worked in the mine (case file 194011_9) was crushed between a coal cutter and the wall of the mine while cutting a pillar. The coal cutter jumped back for an undetermined reason and took off the man's leg. He died later that day at West Penn Hospital.
My mother did a little research for me and she found out where Snowden was located. Snowden was the name of the town that is presently South Park. South Park is located directly next to Bethel Park (where Coverdale is located). Thanks mom!
1942
Today I read one of the most depressing cases I've seen thus far. A family of 7 (194202_181-194202_187) all died together in their home in Mt. Washington. There was a father, mother, and five children (ages 4, 10, 11, 12, and 13) involved in the incident. The family's water heater was leaking gas due to a blockage in the flue. The children thought that the mother had hurt herself due to falling on the floor and informed the landlord that the had called the doctor. The landlord decided to check on the mother the next day, but no one answered the door. She decided to break open a window to see if the family was there. She found the whole family dead due to asphyxiation, and she called the police. All but one family member was declared dead at the scene, and the youngest child was declared dead at South Side Hospital upon arrival. 11/1
1943
I found an interesting case that involved a cop that shot and killed a man that was trying to flee to avoid arrest, (194310_218). According to the affidavit, two cops parked their cars behind one another in an alley and went to investigate a call they received. As they were returning to their cars later, they saw three men attempting to break into one of their cars. They approached the men to arrest them, but the men fled, all running in different directions. While one cop apprehended one of the men, the other was still chasing one of the others. The man he was chasing stopped running and turned to the cop and said, "Piss on you, go ahead and shoot!" So the cop shot him. The cops rushed the man to the hospital where he died later that day. 11/9
1945
The most interesting case I found this week was a fire related death. A nun was lighting candles in a church and she caught her vial on fire. Someone within the church heard her scream and tired to save her, but she died at the hospital from toxemia due to burns of the face, neck, and hands. It seems sadly ironic and symbolic to die inside a church while preparing the alter for mass (see case file 194512_117). 11/15
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.