Coroners' reports, New York City, 1823-1842

by Kenneth Scott

Coroners' reports of New York City may be used for genealogical research, though their existence is unknown to many. This volume commences with January 1, 1823 and continues through 1842. For the years that have been covered, more than a thousand, largely those drowned, have been omitted, for they were not identified. On the hand some 5,000 have been identified and are listed in alphabetical order with date if inquest. Likewise, another list gives the names, in excess of 2,200, non-decedents, namely persons related to or acquainted with the decedents or who bore witness to their demise. Ships appear frequently in the text and therefore a list of some 180 vessels mentioned has been prepared. The deceased came from the United States, Canada, the West Indies, from Europe, particularly Ireland and the United Kingdom in general, but also from the Scandinavian countries, as well as from France, Spain, Holland, Germany and Italy. Inasmuch as New York was a port, drowning was an extremely common form of death. Many, especially when intoxicated, lost their lives when trying to board a vessel or go ashore. Mariners sometimes would fall from the rigging or into the hold. Numerous persons perished when bathing or seeking relief from intense heat. Some died when a vessel capsized or collided with another craft. Some individuals were knocked overboard by the boom. Numbers who slept on a ship were overcome by fumes of the charcoal used as a fuel. Intoxication, often in conjunction with extreme cold, was a frequent cause of death, and the frequent mention of intemperance or delirium tremens shows that alcoholism was one of the greatest killers of both men and women. See the book for even more data on how people died during this time in New York City history.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stumbled upon this in the Texana stacks. Talk about some lurid reading - just little one-sentence lines: name, age, gender,cause of death, murderer/site of accident/random extra info.
It's so weird and archaic and tragic and I just can't stop reading it when I'm supposed to be doing inventory of the genealogy collection.