Brief Bio:

 

I have as of August 2007 graduated from University of Pittsburgh's School of Information Sciences with a MLIS degree specializing in Archives and Records Management.  I possess a B.A. (History), with a minor (classical antiquity) and a J.D.  I have previous volunteer experience at the Westchester County Archives in Elmsford, New York, and a background in both law and history.  I find this project an interesting overlap of both law and history and hope it will shed some light on Pennsylvania's infamous Coal and Iron Police.

 

 

 

 

 

Working Notes:

 

Coroner Files 1900's:

 

A very large number of the 1900s-era cases are accidents.  There are a large number of "industrial" accidents, mostly involving steel mill workers, but with a few other unexpected occurances such as a baker who fell down an elevator shaft.  Coal mining accidents tend to involve falling slate, blasting mishaps or injuries with coal cars.  There are an extremely large number of people who have been hit by trains, possibly making up the majority of the early inquest reports if combined with persons hit by streetcars.  Being hit by a train was sufficiently common that there was a special form to be filled out following such occurances, including listing the engine number and train crew.

 

There are a number of suicides and drownings, including some apparent oddities, and a number of murder cases, including one where a woman threw her infant off the 22nd street bridge while probably sufferring from what would be considered post-partum depression today.  Many of the suicides have been listed as having been committed "while temporarily insane" most likely to allow a proper Catholic funeral that might otherwise be denied.  Carbolic acid, hanging and shooting are common forms of suicide. 

 

Basic forms include:

 

Press Report

Affidavits

Proof of Identity

Jury Verdict.

 

Other forms that can appear include:

 

Transcripts

Autopsy Results

Maps, sketches, blueprints

Telegrams

"Train" incident forms

Death Certificates

Notice to Families for Witnesses

Morgue View Blanks

 

By the 1920s the number of deaths due to people being hit by trains has declined sharply, and the number of automobile deaths has risen.  Auto-related deaths may be the leading accidental cause of death by the 1920s.  There has been an increase in the number of photographs present in the files.  For awhile all Westinghouse-related deaths had accident reconstruction photographs; Westinghouse deaths have declined (as of 1926) but electrocution by linemen working on power lines has risen and are almost always accompanied by photographs showing the pole for the electric line.  Photos of Carnegie Steel and Edgar Thompson steel mills have also been present following deaths.  These photos usually just show the scene of the accident.

 

Additional forms are still being used when accidents involving trains occur, as in 192608_98 where an "auto truck" was hit by a Pennsylvania Railroad train at a crossing in Bertha, PA.  That incident seems to have occurred in Washington County but one of the injured people was brought to a hospital in Pittsburgh and died there, which is why it is in the Allegheny records.  There is note to refer the case to the Washington County Coroner; similar references have appeared, presumably for incidents in other counties (ie, Westmoreland) where the decedent died in Allegheny.

 

The only plane crash that I believe has appeared in the files so far is 192508_34 where a marine corps aviation flight flying over Pittsburgh en route to Quantico, VA suffered an engine failure, where there was an oil leak.  One of the aviators suffered severe burns due to a gasoline explosion and subsequently died in the hospital; the cause of death in the inquest report is "burns of entire body following explosion of gasoline truck due to aeroplane falling to ground."

 

There have been several incidents where houses exploded due to natural gas leaks.  One such incident occurred at 2022 Monongahel [sic] Ave in Swissvale, PA on June 14, 1925.  Eight people died, and their deaths are covered in reports 192506_148-155.

 

An interesting bit of historical evidence is revealed by 192512_212, one of two deaths at the Union Switch and Signal factory.  The men died of carbon monoxide poisoning while repairing a natural gas line; there was a letter from the gas company indicating that when there was low gas pressure the company frequently added carbon monoxide to the mains without any notice to customers and that they saw no reason to notify customers when they did this.

 

Coroner Files 1930's:

 

There are a number of interesting cases where some effort is necessary to read between the lines in order to try and perceive the "big picture."  For example, take case 193012_271.  A woman died from bychloride of mercury poisoning (from a box labelled "Dr. Pierce's Golden Metal [or possibly medal] Capsules") taken as an abortifacient.  She was given the tablet by a man (who will be listed merely as Mr. "B" here); she was married and lived with her husband.  A neighbor testified that Mr. B visited daily and sometimes stayed for a week.  The husband's affidavit indicated he considered Mr. B a friend, that he did not know what was going on between the two because he was at work during the day, and yet recorded a conversation between the two indicating that Mr B admitted to the husband he gave wife the tablet for an abortion and offering to give husband some money.  I can only interpret this to mean that wife was acting as the mistress of Mr B with husband's knowledge and acquiesance. 

 

In another case five boys suffocated in an abandoned coal mine (case 193101_220).  The PA Department of Mines wrote a letter stating they had no jurisdiction over abandoned mines, and the federal Bureau of Mines indicated there was probably an underground coal fire, but the only recommendation was that the entrances to the mine be either blocked or dynamited.

 

A skeleton of an unknown man was found in the woods (193101_252); there was some evidence that he had hung himself, but there was no missing persons report or identification in any way, so the cause of death was declared "undetermined" and that seems to have been the end of the matter.

 

Case 193108_111 is very unusual in that a 34 year old man died after jumping from a second story window "in [his] sleep".

 

Case 193010_104 involves a man who committed suicide at work.  He had apparently been working for the firm for 30 years, since he was 14, and had been repeatedly favored for promotion by the company treasurer until the man was assistant treasurer.  But after that he supposedly "could not handle prosperity" and took to drink, and was demoted to clerk.  He also seems to have then killed a woman while drunk-driving and developed financial difficulties, and eventually shot himself to death in front of the company treasurer who had been his patron.

 

Another case shows how the official cause of death might not be strictly accurate.  In case 193108_88 a 22 year old unmarried female died of bychloride of mercury poisoning; the evidence suggests she was in "good spirits" and had said she'd be back, and when she was found ill she admitted taking the tablet but would not say why.  Comparison with case 193012_271 above suggests bichloride of mercury could be used to cause an abortion, and this suggests to me the woman in this case probably was attempting a self-induced abortion instead of trying to kill herself, although there is no added evidence to that effect.

 

Mercury (II) chloride (also called mercuric chloride, corrosive sublimate or bichloride of mercury) is a poisonous white soluble crystalline salt of mercury. It was formerly used in insecticides, batteries, as an antiseptic or disinfectant, a preservative, in metallurgy and as a photographic fixitive. In addition it is soluble in water, which would make it a very accessible toxin in this period.

 

By the late 1930s "coronary occlusion" and "cerebral hemmorhage" have become fairly common forms of death.  Probably this is an indicator of better diagnosis for what in the earlier files was called heart disease or apoplexy.

 

 

Coroner Files 1940's:

 

By the 1940s there seem to be fewer industrial accidents than there had been previously, and those that do occur are investigated in detail, apparently with the intent of preventing future occurances, rather than simply accepting them as a cost of business.  Murders seem to be down compared to the 1920s and 1930s, but suicides may be up slightly -- it is hard to say because the last box I looked at was December and there is always a peak in suicides in December.  Cardiovascular diseases are a definite leading cause of death, as are automobile accidents.  The last couple years have also seen a few deaths labelled along the lines of "Undetermined (Christian Science)", where the deceased was a practicing Christian Scientist and therefore there is usually no autopsy, nor have they seen a doctor. 

 

Coroner Files 1960's:

 

Observations about the 1960s and 1970s –era coroner's case files.  Physically they are for the most part in quite good condition and are not more than a bit dusty.  Most of the "interesting" files dealing with homicides, drug abuse and auto accidents are missing, although a few car accidents and drug-related deaths remain.  I am uncertain what the requirement is for those cases that went into the "drug file."  In many but not all of the missing homicide, auto and drug files some details can be determined based on the empty folder; the decedent's name is available, and occasionally gender.  Some references to referrals or specific tests that were run are also listed.

 

The remaining files are a mixture of accidental death and suicides.  The information available varies depending on the manner of death but can include birth as well as death information, photos, the medical examiner's autopsy report, and letters from decedent's insurance companies, employers or relatives.  The coroner's inquest forms also state the type of cases upon which inquests must be held, including fetal deaths, and therefore some fetal deaths are present.

 

Some apparently extraneous information is also available more by accident than design; for example, when the Coroner Hunt was running for county commissioner, the back of some of his fliers were apparently used to type up the medical examiner's findings for one case.  Another case contains a copy of a memo referring to a state police examination of statewide auto accidents and the cases which the police ought to be called in to examine which, presumably, might otherwise be left to local authorities.

 

The number of work related accidents is limited, particularly compared to the 1900s-era files.