RLM 20 May 08

Coroner’s Sample Project:  1895-1973

The processing of 50 files from specific years spanning the above time frame provided us with interesting themes, patterns and conditions that became instructive of the time. The earliest years took much longer to process, as nothing was typewritten, the script and language were at times difficult to decipher, and the files demanded more care, as their condition was fragile. Through the years we had to become accustomed to the changing legal forms and information included in the coroner’s reports, as the files came to include more and more information from various sources. The advancements in medical practice and knowledge are evidenced, as the causes of death became better understood as internal conditions rather than the results of actions.

We were increasingly intrigued to find how many of the deaths are reflective of the historical pressures of the time, most poignantly the Depression years. The number of suicides seemed to triple; some files contain the original suicide notes, which along with the affidavits and evidence, exemplify how desperate and traumatic those years were for many in Allegheny County. Both the relief and failings of the WPA can be ascertained from some of these cases.

The issue of race was interesting to trace. Up until the late 1930s the amount of African-American deaths was slim to none. I do not recall when the large migration of African-Americans to Pittsburgh occurred, but I imagine this history directly correlates with the coroner’s files. The reports, all the way up till 1973, are inconsistent and at times offensive when it comes to documenting color. The use of “yellow” to denote Asian was common practice. The original documentation of race poses questions in terms of a future database: to remain historically accurate or be politically correct.  

It was interesting to see how certain industrial accidents resulted in recommendations by the Coroner’s Jury to reform practices, conditions, and regulations. This sort of call for reform was also largely evident in cases of natural gas explosions and gas stove fires. I am curious as to whether these recommendations were pursued beyond the Coroner’s Jury Verdict. The amount of stillborn and infant deaths was quite common in the earlier years, yet seemed to dwindle into the 40s and 50s.

I was personally interested in the deaths related to abortion attempts. As the practice was entirely illegal, young women went to unbelievable and horrific lengths to abort pregnancies, either with the aid of a doctor or on their own. Cases in which a doctor was known to be involved often resulted in him being charged with murder; in one case, the boy responsible for the young girl’s condition was charged with accessory to murder when she died post-abortion. I had not realized the scope of these early abortion laws.

Two of the years we looked at (1970 and 1973) were missing three types of files: auto accidents, drug incidents, and homicides. I was told that they had been pulled for previous investigation and not yet returned.

RLM 08 Jun 08

Reflections: Summer 2008 Internship

My time spent at the Archive Center was fascinating from a student’s perspective and enlightening from a historian’s perspective. Although new to the field, I have always regarded the study of history as a vital enterprise to be treated with reverence. This was my first experience working directly with primary sources. The vast information contained within these individual coroner case files is astounding; they are pure, intimate reflections of their own historical period. Each case distinctly enlivens broad historical concepts, offering up rich, multi-faceted glimpses into the past. As a historian, such sources are golden. From jury, press, and autopsy reports, hospital records, and affidavits, to doctor’s and suicide notes, telegrams, photographs, post cards, newspaper clippings, and medicinal evidence, the historian has much material to pore over. As an intern with a given agenda, I could not devote as much time to each case as I would have liked; however, I consider this experience as a tasting of what historians do and how primary sources can be used to bolster broader historical themes.

My fellow intern and I began with a sample project, a processing of 50 case files from every five years spanning the years 1895 till 1973. As a few brittle pages containing old-fashioned script gave way to detailed, typewritten accounts, this assignment gave us a broad understanding of the socio-historical evolution of Allegheny County. Advancements in medicine, industrial conditions, and public transportation; the impact of global historical pressures; as well as the general safety around the home and ever-burgeoning city, can be observed through these cases. In regards to the practice of medicine, the noted cause of death reveals how doctors gained a better understanding of internal conditions. The status and hardships of women, from occupation to childbirth and abortion, can also be traced. The documentation of race and different nationalities underwent changes, as different waves of immigration, both national and international, enter the historical record.

These case files are instructive reflections of their time. This fact is dramatically apparent during the Depression years. Anxieties over business affairs, unemployment, as well as the failures of government relief agencies, such as the WPA, were largely noted as potential reasons for the suicides. In such cases as these I found it difficult to remain objective. This project demanded I undergo a quick numbing process from the start, as the subject matter is inherently morbid and depressing. Yet certain cases shattered my ability to remain unfeeling. During the Depression years, the number of suicide cases escalated to nearly three times the average from pre-Depression years. Handling and reading handwritten suicide notes was distressing for me, as I sat at my desk encountering suicide case after suicide case. I learned about the Great Depression as early as grade school, yet seeing how history intimately affects the individual is another lesson altogether. As well as an upsurge in suicides, abortion attempts escalated as well. I imagine this rise can be linked to the reality that children are costly, the twisted tragedy being that such a choice could cost a woman her life.

As a young woman of the 21^st century, those cases relating to abortions were very interesting to me. The dangerous and dreadful lengths these women went to in avoidance of pregnancy, either employing homespun methods or seeking the help of a doctor, were disturbing to read about. In one case in which a doctor was found to have performed a criminal abortion, the Coroner’s Jury recommended he be charged with murder, and that the boy responsible for the pregnancy be charged as an accessory. I was unaware of how harsh the penalties were relating to illegal abortions. To this day the sensitive topic of abortion continues to be debated, some fighting to overturn a woman’s right to seek a safe abortion. Such a decision would thrust women back into such a time when the sole option was to inflict unimaginable harm upon their bodies, as I read about so many women having to do.

Once the sample project was completed, we narrowed our attention to the onset and decline of the Flu Epidemic, beginning in the latter part of 1917 and finishing in the early part of 1919. As opposed to the broad sweep of the sampling, focusing our energies on a smaller timeframe provided us with more well-rounded insight into the time. Along with tracing the Flu Epidemic, this time was also the closing of World War I. Certain files contained draft and discharge notices, as well as other wartime records, which were amazing to see as I have only ever heard about such documents. There were cases of ex-soldiers coming home with emotional and mental strains that drove them to suicide. Also, abortions and female suicides were also at times linked to husbands being away on military duty.     

Influenza struck men and women in their prime of life. Noting the residences of victims showed how severely contagious the virus was; entire households perished, neighbor contracted it from neighbor, nurses and doctors contracted it from patients, and infants born to ill mothers died because no one was able to nourish them. Many of the affidavits cited that many of the victims never received medical attention despite urgent pleas for aid. True to epidemic form, there was a shortage of medical help. As a result, a few of the large industrial companies who had emergency hospitals on the premises of their plants had their medical staff make rounds to attend the sick. A number of later suicide cases cited a bodily recovery from influenza, yet the terror, trauma and tragedy of the epidemic left emotional and mental scars.

Documenting the various nationalities of the citizens of Allegheny County was fascinating to me. There were observable patterns in residence, as immigrants seemed to form their own communities. The industry of Pittsburgh depended largely upon immigrant labor, men mainly from Eastern Europe. Along with nationality, the documentation of race was also interesting. Although few in number, Chinese immigrants, stereotypically employed as launders, were recorded as being “yellow.” I am curious as to why some African-Americans were listed as “black” versus “colored,” and “Afro-American” versus “American.”  I wonder whether there was an established mode of documentation and there were perceived differences among certain African-Americans, perhaps based upon origin or status, or whether there was no standard at all. Also, you can see that African-Americans largely populated what is now known as the Hill District.

The number of railway and streetcar accidents was astronomical. It was interesting in some of the cases to read the Coroner’s Jury verdicts, as they sometimes made recommendations for law reform. In the 21^st century, precautions have been adopted in various sectors of modern life as a result of such early accidents. For instance, a tragic streetcar accident in 1917 led to Jury recommendations for stricter discrimination in employee selection, the requirement for safety brakes, and a maximum number set for passengers allowed on board at one time. Industrial accidents also called for great reform in precautions and conditions within factories and plants.

In 1918 less was known about prenatal care, a fact supported by the high infant mortality rate. The usual cause of death was either stillbirth, congenital malformation of heart, convulsions, or the horrible case of infants being scalded to death. The latter case was all too common, as infants fell into pots of boiling hot water left on the floor or upset coffee pots onto themselves. Gas stoves were also the source of many fatal accidents. From asphyxiation from gas fumes to clothes catching fire from open grates, domestic kitchens appear to have been very dangerous places for children and adults.

Countless fatalities were linked to Allegheny County’s burgeoning industry, most notably the Carnegie, Jones & Laughlin, Railroad and Railway Companies. Also, chemical and electric companies were also very dangerous workplaces. For historians interested in Pittsburgh’s renowned industrial past, these case files provide an invaluable record of its darker side. The victims of “Pittsburgh’s progress” are accounted for in these files, as the dangerous and sometimes deadly conditions of the various industrial plants are exposed. In sum, the files inadvertently paint pictures of what life was like in 1918.

Moving picture shows, old hotels, poolrooms and restaurants, the various kinds of factories and workplaces, and the spectrum of jobs and nationalities, all work together to show how colorful and alive the city was, as well as how it has evolved into the Pittsburgh I have come to know and love.

Primary sources are at the micro level of historical study, providing the foundation for the macro level of understanding. In basic history classes we learn on a macro level, digesting secondary sources in the form of text and lecture. The key word is digesting, for when one works with primary sources one learns how to approach history as a more dynamic subject, unfixed and subject to interpretation. One must proceed with a broad lens and a critical outlook, sensitive to detail yet never abandoning the larger picture. This internship strengthened my appreciation for the study of history and the work of historians, in that beneath all of the broad themes and patterns lay individual stories. It has also solidified my desire to pursue a more rigorous study of history and continue work with the historical record.

RLM 08 Aug 08