Brief Bio:

 

     I am currently a senior at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in History and English Literature.  Within these two majors I've concentrated on American History and American Literature.  These are two big areas of interest for me, especially as possible careers.  Others include  music, movies, art, and baseball.  I believe that this project appeals to me because it provides a greater interaction with history than is possible in a classroom setting.  I think the project also appeals to my interest in literature, as many of the files would make good fiction. 

 

 

Working Notes:

 

1895

 

19th Century Medicine

 

    A file containing the inquest into the death of a 36 year-old patient at McKeesport Hospital reveals some of the interesting practices of the medical profession during the late nineteenth century.  The man was admitted to the hospital as a, "charity case," who was suffering from, "ulceration of the foot."  His doctors decided that he should undergo an operation for this condition and examined his heart in preparation.  It was determined that the man had no apparent heart conditions and was cleared for the operation.  Problems initially arose when the anasthetic, chloroform, was administered.  The patient reportedly became, "excited," and the doctors could clearly see something was wrong.  They stopped administering the anasthetic and began attempts to restore the man's respiration.  They claimed to work at this for a period approaching two hours.  They described their methods in the inquest when asked to define their attempts at, "artificial respiration." 

    The doctors said that they used forceps to pull the man's tongue out of his mouth in order to prevent any obstruction to his breathing.  They then began to pull his arms up over his head and bring them back down to his sides while alternately applying pressure to his chest to draw air into his lungs.  They said they also administered hypodermic injections of glycerine, whiskey, and spirits of amonia.  Some of these they administered in the man's rectum.  The doctors placed hot cloths over the man's heart and held his head in a downward position, alternating between this position and the artificial respiration of arm movements and chest pressure described earlier.  They also said they used an electric battery in an attempt to restore his heart beat.  His death was attributed to the effects of the anasthetic chloroform. 

    Some of the methods described by these doctors seem absolutely ridiculous, while others are still a vital part of modern medicine.  The technique of "artificial respiration" practiced by these men doesn't seem to be terribly far removed from modern CPR.  The electric battery used is quite obviously an early version of a modern defibrillator, and possibly almost as effective.  The hypodermic injections, especially those of whiskey to the rectum, appear most outrageous in comparison to modern medicine.  It is interesting to consider how doctors during this time period came to have such a seemingly even mix of effective and likely ineffective treatment techniques.  It would be interesting to know the circumstances under which each treatment became accepted and thought of as useful.    189501.342

 

TG 4/7/08

 

1954 - 1956

 

Coronary Occlusion and Suicides

 

    The files that I came across this week included all or portions of the months of January 1954, May 1955, and February 1956.  Coronary Occlusion was responsible for an overwhelming majority of the deaths in the files I read.  Based on how common this is, I think it might be useful to record the ages of  those dying of heart conditions to determine their nature and the degree to which they affected society at that time.  As a result of this trend I try to consider the time period's health standards as I read all the files. 

    Suicides occurred about as frequently as any cause of death other than Coronary Occlusion or heart failure of some kind, but one method seemed most common.  I believe that most of the suicides that I've read involved people utilizing clotheslines and rafters or pipes running along basement ceilings to hang themselves.  Self-inflicted gunshot wounds seemed to occur less frequently.  I'm interested to see if these frequencies stay proportionately the same. 

 

TG 1/21/08

 

1956 - 1958

 

Work-related Accidents

 

     Work related accidents seem to be very frequent in this period.  Most occur in coal mines and steel mills as well as on construction sites.  Usually there is a legitimate accident that occurs resulting in someone's death, but instances of men approaching old age and still being employed as physcial laborers were not uncommon.  I can recall two such cases:  the first was a man who accidentally dropped a pinball machine on himself while trying to take it off a truck flatbed; the other man dropped a jackhammer on his leg resulting in a fracture that contributed to heart failure.  Both men were in their late fifties.  This issue sparks my interest in the average age of retirement during this time period. 

 

TG 1/29/08

 

 

1958 - 1960

 

The Emergence of Cancer and Common Causes

 

     While looking at files from 1958 and 1959 I've encountered deaths due to cancer for the first time.  It would be useful to look into the time frame during which this became a frequent and accepted diagnosis.  As of yet I've only come across three cancer deaths.  Work related deaths and auto accidents remain consistent causes.  I've seen a few instances of people dying as a result of being struck by streetcars.  Accompanying newspaper clippings compare the number of auto-related deaths from the current year to the preceding one.  Work-related deaths usually seem to occur in construction, coal plants, and steel mills.  It is interesting to note where safety regulations are improved as a result of a specific accident.  I've recently become interested in some of the procedures followed by the Coroner's office in documenting and handling the deaths in Allegheny County.  One file describes what is done with unclaimed bodies.  I also believe I've noticed the repetition of a specific notation on the coroner's jury verdicts pertaining to possible cases of suicide.   

 

TG 2/11/08

 

Early "XX" Files Hypotheses

 

     I've come across a few more files that may shed some light onto this verdict notation issue I've been wondering about.  One file describes a man who died of carbon monoxide poisoning while working on his car in a garage.  He told his wife he was going to work, but had actually called off (most likely because of the headaches from which he had been suffering).  Because of these details and the fact that he was found on his back next to his car with his hat right behind his head, it seemed to me a probable suicide.  The coroner's verdict didn't specify the death as an accident or a suicide, but marked "XX" after the description of the cause.  Like most of the files marked with "XX", the next also seems most likely a suicide.  It describes a man found drowned one month after going missing.  He suffered from psychoneurosis and was very anxious about losing his job.  Again the verdict didn't specify accident or suicide, but simply a description of the circumstances and "XX".  The third file I recently found marked "XX" strays from the likely suicide trend.  It describes a man who died of severe burns to his lower torso.  He lived in what sounds like a homeless camp near a slag dump.  Trying to stay warm, he apparently fell asleep too close to a fire and died.  I initially guessed that the "XX" notation on the coroner's verdicts was a covert way of communicating a case was a suicide when the circumstances allowed them to officially record it as accidental.  I assumed this was done for the benefit of the deceased's family or just his or her reputation.  The case of the man dying while sleeping next to a fire leads me to believe that this notation didn't necessarily refer just to suicides, but any cases in which the victim was solely responsible for their own death.  I'll have to see if any more files marked with "XX" support this idea.   

 

TG 2/14/08

 

     I noticed an unusually high number of auto accidents in the files I read today.  Three people died in one accident that involved a parked truck trailer.  Another accident involved a 4 year old boy.  The details of this accident were particularly gruesome. 

     Although it is not necessarily common, I'll generally come across one or two cancer deaths every day if I get through a decent number of files.  The last one I found was throat cancer.  I also read about a death from a brain tumor for the first time today.  The victim was a 12 year-old girl. 

 

TG 2/15/08

 

1960 - 1961

 

Unclaimed Bodies

 

     While looking through my notes I rediscovered the file explaining the coroners procedure for handling unclaimed bodies.  I find this interesting for much the same reason as the "XX" files, as both provide an idea of how the coroner and his staff conducted their work and some of the social implications involved.  The file, 195806.104, describes the death of an 84 year-old man due to gastro-intestinal hemorrhage.  Included is a letter describing the procedure for unclaimed bodies.  Unclaimed bodies would be held for 30 days, after which time they would be cremated and stored for one year.  If they went unclaimed at the end of this year, they would be committed to a common grave along with the ashes of other unclaimed bodies.  I remember initially reading this file and being somewhat shocked at the notion of the county burying even unclaimed bodies in common graves.  I suppose it boils down to a matter of practicality and expense.  Still, I wonder if this practice has changed drastically, if at all, over the decades.  I think such a procedure is an interesting indicator of the respect for life in a society.   

 

TG 2/26/08

 

1962

 

"XX" Files (Undetermined)

 

     The only "XX" file I came across today was fairly interesting.  It described a 44 year-old black male who died of, "Recurrent Intracranial Subdural Hemorrhage and Acute Lobar Pneumonia following Old Fracture of Skull, received in April, 1961."  The deceased, a habitual drinker, claimed that he sustained this injury while being robbed.  According to numerous sources in the police report, this was a fabrication.  It is much more likely that he fell and hit his head on the ground while drunk.  He died from a stroke, a complication resulting from this injury, in December of 1961.  Both the Press Report and Jury Verdict were marked with "XX".  The significance of this notation is likely to communicate that the victim, and not alleged muggers, was responsible for his death.    196201.060

 

TG 2/27/08

 

     An "XX" file from May of 1962 continues the trend of apparent suicides not being recorded as such.  A 51 year-old white female was found dead in her apartment with a plastic bag over her head.  The woman had been undergoing treatment for a thyroid condition for a number of years, with her condition improving around the time of her death.  In his affidavit, the woman's husband said that his wife would never take her own life, that she would have no reason to.  He said he knew she had been using a plastic bag as a shower cap.  The woman's body was found by the mortician who worked at the funeral home below the apartment.  A rubber band was holding the plastic bag in place around the woman's neck.  The police report contained in the file designates the case as a suicide, but the coroner's jury verdict has "(Undetermined)" typed after the description of cause of death, and "XX" following the verdict.    196205.104

 

TG 2/29/08

 

Growing Cancer Rate?

 

     In the past week or so I've noticed deaths due to cancers of various kinds becoming increasingly frequent.  I believe it would be valuable to do some research on the medical developments of the period to track the growth of cancer as a common cause of death.  This information would be very relevant to some of the chronological sections of the wiki.  I think it would be very interesting to learn at what time and rate cancer became familiar and widespread. 

 

TG 3/3/08

 

1963 - 1964

 

"XX" Files - Accidental or Suicide?

 

     An "XX" file I came across today seemed to articulate what the notation specifically refers to.  A 73 year-old white male died of Carbon Monoxide poisoning due to inhaling fumes from his car.  The car's motor was running and the basement garage door containing it was closed.  The trunk of the car was open and the deceased was on his back inside it, with his legs hanging outside to the floor of the garage.  A flashlight, screwdriver, and wrench were found on the floor by the trunk of the car.  The man was found by his wife when she tried to call him upstairs for lunch.  The file explains that the deceased had a heart condition for which he took medication, but his death was due to a 95% saturation of Carbon Monoxide in his blood.  The doctor who pronounced him dead informed the coroner that he had known the deceased personally for two years, during which time he had always maintained an optimistic outlook on life.  The police report relates the inability of investigators to determine the death as either an accident or a suicide.  The coroner's jury verdict is labeled "XX".  Based on all of the "XX" files I've encountered, I believe that the notation refers to such an inability to classify a death as definitively accidental or a suicide.    196306.125

 

TG 3/5/08

 

     The latest "XX" file I encountered supports the idea that the notation refers to an unidentifiable nature of death, namely accidental or suicide.  The file describes the death of a 45 year-old white male as a result of an overdose of barbituates.  The deceased, a physician, was found in the x-ray room of his practice by the janitor who regularly cleaned it.  On his way into the office, the janitor found some blood, a silver dollar, and some broken tinted glass on the porch of the practice.  He noticed lights on in the deceased's office and eventually found him dead on the floor in a crouched position in the x-ray room.  The police were notified at this time.  Two officers on patrol had actually encountered the deceased shortly past midnight earlier that morning.  He was sitting in his car, which was parked in his driveway, with the driver's side door open and his arm dangling out of it.  When asked he told police that he was alright and they moved on.  The officers passed by again at 4:30 AM and again saw the physician's car, but with no one in it.  The man died of an overdose of phenobarbital.  The post-mortem examination revealved that the deceased's blood alcohol level was somewhere between 0.38% and 0.44%.  His wife believed that he was in good spirits and health before his death.  It is unclear whether the deceased had intended to kill himself or if while intoxicated took an excessive amount of the drug phenobarbital.  The file's press report is marked, "XX", while the coroner's jury verdict is simply marked, "Undetermined" after the description of the cause of death.  This is most likely the significance of the "XX" notation.  Given the other areas in which it would be difficult or impossible for the coroner to determine the specific cause or nature of a particular death, it is interesting to consider the potential reasons for having a specific notation for referring to confusion over a death being accidental or a suicide.    196402.056

 

TG 3/10/08

 

     In March of 1964 a 57 year-old white female died of uremic coma following burns of 75% of her body due to a fire in her home.  Police reported that the deceased claimed to have started the fire herself.  In his affidavit her brother explained that she had a nervous condition and was at one time a patient at Mayview State Hospital.  The affidavit of the deceased's landlord claims the woman was attempting suicide, but none of the other documents in the file make the same claim.  This is interesting considering the basis of the landlord's claim was a report from police that the woman claimed to be attempting suicide and that God had told her to do so.  The woman was an artist and did her painting in her home.  She died nine days after being burned in the fire.  The press report and coroner's jury verdict of the file were marked, "XX".  I believe that the coroner was reluctant to designate this case as a suicide because fire was not a common method.  However, I still believe that it's possible the cause was left undetermined ("XX") out of some kind of personal courtesy to the deceased and her family.  I'll have to examine more of these cases to determine if this was the case.    196404.002

 

TG 3/11/08

 

     I've come across a couple of files lately that suggest the "XX" notation is not limited to just an inability to determine a death as an accident or suicide, but rather refers to any undetermined nature of death.  A file describing a possible homicide is the best example I've encountered.  In December of 1964, a 63 year-old white male died of, "concussion of brain and hemorrhage due to contusion of head and body, laceration of scalp, and crush of finger."  The deceased, known to his friends as "Patch-Eye" or "Uncle Bill", was found dead by a friend at the foot of the steps leading to the first floor of his home.  He and a friend used this space as a "club", out of which they ran a regular poker game.  His friends testified that the deceased always kept the door to this area locked, but it was open when he was found.  Blood was found splattered in various places in the room, such as on a cabinet and next to a sink, and there was a large smear on the wall near the body.  The testimonies of all of the deceased's friends and relatives suggest their belief that his death was the result of a robbery of some sort and not a fall.  The deceased's sister mentions in her affidavit that her brother's body was missing a gold ring.  The press report and coroner's jury verdict are both marked "(Undetermined)" and "XX".  While the "XX" notation seems to be most frequently used in reference to possible suicides, it is fairly obvious that it was used in any circumstance where the coroner or investigators were unable to determine the nature of a particular death.    196412.050

 

TG 3/12/08

 

1970

 

New File Arrangement, End of "XX" Notation

 

     The difference between the arrangement and nature of the files from the mid to late 1960s to the 1970s has affected the kind of information that can be retrieved from them.  In my opinion the most obvious difference, excluding the storing of each file in its own envelope, is the absence of affidavits from the friends and relatives of the decedents.  I had always found this to be a valuable source of information within each file.  In many cases it was the only narrative to be found in a particular file.  This was usually where to find, for example, the details of a suicide victim's medical history or emotional state before his or her death.  In the latest files, the "Report of Death" contains all the relevant personal information and a written narrative of the circumstances of death.  This provides the necessary information perhaps more consistently and more concisely than the previous method, but lacks detail and the gravity of statements made by people personally acquainted with the victims. 

     It also appears that the new file arrangement has marked the end of the "XX" notation.  The classifying of the "Manner of Death" as, "Undetermined" seems to have officially taken its place.  The details of a file from August of 1970 support this idea.  A 38 year-old white male died of, "acute combined poisoning of meprobamate and ethanol."  The deceased was at a friend's house where he was drinking alcohol and taking pills.  The man's friend called the police when she noticed him making a funny noise while lying on the floor.  She said the man had tried to commit suicide once before and was under the care of a doctor, though she was not sure of the specific reason.  The "Manner of Death" category on the Case Summary page was marked, "Undetermined".  This seems to be the same kind of case as the rest of the "XX" files, but the addition of the "Manner of Death" category on the Case Summary page likely influenced the official practice of marking such deaths as, "Undetermined".    197008.252

 

TG 3/19/08

 

1971

 

"Undetermined" Deaths

 

     An "Undetermined" file I recently encountered was the first in my experience to explicitly acknowledge the various possibilities potentially causing a person's death and therefore leading to the "Undetermined" classification.  A 42 year-old white male died of a, "massive crush injury," when, according to one witness, he jumped in front of the back wheels of a passing dump-truck.  The deceased was standing in front of his car, which was parked in the right lane of traffic on West Carson Street.  As he began to pass in the left lane, the driver of the truck stated he made eye-contact with this man.  As he passed, the truck driver heard an odd noise and felt as though he'd hit a bump in the road.  When he looked back he saw the man lying in the road.  The "Coroner's Summary" stated that the deceased was reportedly in good health and spirits before his death and had no known financial troubles.  It concludes that the deceased could have jumped under the wheels of the truck or came to be under them due to fainting or a seizure.  As a result of the confusion, the nature of death was classified as, "Undetermined."  As stated above, this is the first time a report addressed the multiple potential causes of death and the explicit reason for the "Undetermined" classification.  Given my attention to these specific kinds of cases, I appreciated this acknowledgement.  However, I felt that strangely absent from the investigation or file was a mention of the condition of the deceased's car.  If his car had broken down, his location outside the car is explained and his death becomes more legitimately a possible accident.  If his car was in fine working order, suicide remains the likely nature of his death.  If this information was included, the nature of death may not necessarily have been regarded as, "Undetermined."    197103.282

 

TG 3/24/08

 

     In October of this year, a 17 year-old white male died of severe head injuries following a fall from his third-story bedroom window to the sidewalk below.  The boy apparently suffered from a chronic brain syndrome that caused him to have violent nightmares on a regular basis.  He had previously been under a doctor's care for this condition, but had stopped showing up for his appointments prior to his death.  At 2:30 AM on the night of his death, the deceased got out of bed screaming, went downstairs and broke some glass in the kitchen door, and ran into the street.  His parents caught up with him and were able to wake him, from a still sleeping state, while in the street.  They returned him to bed.  The boy's mother later stated that she intended to call a doctor in the morning.  At 2:55 AM, the boy's mother was awakened by the sound of glass shattering.  She went to her son's room and, from his window, saw the boy on the sidewalk below.  He had apparently jumped through the glass pane of the window.  The investigation of the boy's death revealed that he had no drugs in his system.  While the "Coroner's Summary" concluded that the boy's death should be attributed to an, "accidental fatal fall," because of the lack of drugs in his system or an obvious intent to kill himself, the "Case Summary" denotes the nature of death as, "Undetermined."  I found this to be a particularly interesting "Undetermined" case.  Despite the boy's troubled emotional state as a result of his chronic brain syndrome, it would seem to me ultimately impossible to determine this death as an accident, a suicide, or of some other nature.  I don't really believe that this boy killed himself, but find it interesting that he had a condition which could have resulted in his death in the exact same way as if he had consciously committed suicide.  His condition made this case naturally undetermined, at least to a greater extent than any other I've come across.    197110.178

 

TG 3/26/08

 

1972

 

Case File Film

 

  A file describing the death of a 59 year-old man as the result of the cave-in of a hole dug for the installation of a sewer pipe appears to be the first of the coroner case files to contain film.  This film, shot by a KDKA news crew, is about two minutes long and shows the excavation of this man's body from the yard in which he was working.  His body is uncovered by men using shovels and then attached to a crane which lifts him from the dirt.  The film concludes just as the interview between KDKA's reporter and the owner of the home and sole witness to the accident is beginning.  This interview is likely the cause for the film crew's presence at the scene of this excavation and the subsequent recording of it.  This would appear to be a coincidence and a unique opportunity for relevant footage to be included in a case file, but doesn't seem to serve any practical purpose.  From an archivist's perspective it is a highly interesting and apparently rare find, but I remain unsure of the reason for its recording or its inclusion in the file.  It's seems unlikely that anyone would have a good reason for reviewing it or an interest in doing so.  Given that this is the first and only piece of crime or accident scene footage included in a file, I doubt that many other similar films were made, let alone included in the case files.  Photographs remain just as useful and much more conveniently viewed and contained within a file.    197210.010

 

TG 4/2/08

 

Personal Project Assessment

 

     I believe that my experience as an intern on the Coroner Case File Project was immensely valuable to me both personally and academically.  Despite being a history major, I was previously unacquainted with research of this kind.  At no other time did I have the opportunity to view such a large volume of primary source documents, which was something I particularly enjoyed.  I believe that this internship allowed me to make use of the most important skills developed through the history major and improve upon those skills.  Personally, this project fostered an interest in research and archival positions that I had previously not considered with much sincerity or excitement. 

     The Coroner Case File Project is by far the best research experience I have had as a history major.  While most of the research I had otherwise conducted was done through textbooks or the internet, this internship allowed me to examine primary historical documents and develop my own thoughts and analysis more freely.  Posting the details of interesting cases on the project website and identifying and following trends evident in the case files required the use of my writing abilities as well as those of analysis.  It was something I enjoyed thoroughly, for reasons related to being a history major as well as an English literature major.  The English literature and history majors deal largely in critical reading and written analysis, which were the skills most frequently used on this project.  I believe this internship practically utilized those skills and drastically improved my researching abilities.  Processing all of the information contained in each file in an organized and relatively quick manner was vital.  During the first few weeks of processing the files, this was a work in progress.  In the notebook I used to record data from the files, the progression from a lesser to a more highly organized research and recording method is quite evident.  While I felt that I didn't process a large enough volume of files to confidently identify large-scale trends, I believed that I had the proper method for doing so.  This was a great learning experience for which I'm quite grateful. 

     In addition to making use of some of the skills I've acquired through my education and improving others, the Coroner Case File Project widened the range of careers I would like to pursue.  Before this internship, I had thought that I was more likely to pursue a career more closely related to my experience as an English literature major.  I'm now very interested in research and archival positions because of the great experience I've had with this project.  It has also helped me to realize the skills common to both of my majors and some of the ways in which they can be put to use.  I feel that I've benefited a great deal from working on the Coroner Case File Project, both as a student and prospective employee.  I will always be interested in the progress of the project and the development of its website, which I think is a great historical resource.  My involvement in the Coroner Case File Project was certainly one of the best experiences of my college career. 

 

TG 4/15/08