How We Died

Death And Disease In The Parish

Arksey parish registers are full of interesting bits of information. Other than just providing a list of baptisms, marriages and burials carried out at the church there are names of church wardens, places are mentioned, occupations and causes of death.

Not all burials have a cause of death listed, details vary depending on who was writing the records. In some entries a known medical cause has been included. But more intriguingly, where the cause wasn't known, terms such as 'dropped down dead' sufficed as an explanation.

Here then, is a look at some of the deadly diseases and other means which claimed the lives of Arksey and Bentley people in days gone by.

Contents

• Causes of Death A - Z
• Plague and the Population
• List of Plague Victims

Causes of Death A - Z

There is a section in the indexes of the book version of Arksey's parish registers which lists burials alphabetically, by cause of death. By picking out some of the more unusual cases, we can find out just what the cause of death was, and who was affected.

Accident

The first recorded accidental death happened in February 1736, when Joseph Shaw, carrier to Bentley Mill, was 'slain in the mill by accident'.

In June 1806, William Hague, a servant from Doncaster, was killed by a waggon accident, when aged 15.

In August 1806, two year old George Stanley, the son of labourer John Stanley, was tragically killed in a gun accident.

Other accidents include, Robert Crawshaw, aged 15, who was killed in an accident in Kirksandall, in July 1787. Elizabeth Law was killed in November 1800, aged 22. Thomas, the two year old son of George Fox, miller of Bentley was killed in September 1803. Also killed, in March 1804 was Edward Cooke, son of a Bentley labourer, aged 12. None of these accidents were specified.

Apoplexy

Apoplexy is an archaic term for 'stroke', the rupturing of blood vessels in the brain causing arrest of sense and motion. 

In the registers, the term 'apoplectic fit' was also used to describe the condition. Three individuals are recorded as having died of this condition. 

In October 1793, Stephen Battey, a 74 year old labourer from Bentley, died of an apoplectic fit.

Mary Cawton, a 71 year old woman from Sheffield, died of apoplexy in October 1795.

Buried in August 1799, was Robert Crawshaw of Almholme, aged 55. He too died of apoplexy.

Asiatic Cholera

Asiatic cholera is an acute infectious disease, indigenous to India. It is a form of cholera with much worse symptoms, such as cramps, purging and vomiting, with rice-water evacuations. The progress of the disease is rapid and generally fatal. 

There are a cluster of eleven deaths due to this disease in the months of July and August 1832, recorded at Arksey. Just how this dreadful epidemic ended up in Bentley is quite interesting.

The first instance of Asiatic cholera began when two sailors arrived in Doncaster in January 1832. They found lodgings in the town, but the next morning one of the men took ill with signs of Asiatic cholera, and died within hours. This did not spark an immediate epidemic however, and it wasn't until the following April that the disease broke out in both Goole and Hull. By the summer Asiatic cholera had reached epidemic proportions across most of Yorkshire, with Leeds having the highest mortality rates at 702. Doncaster had fewer than 40 deaths, but eleven of them occurred in Bentley, with the following people buried between July 3rd and August 18th:

Thomas Hall of Bentley, aged 55
Ann Butterfield of Bentley, aged 25 
Ann Amory of Bentley, aged 65
John Kaye of Bentley, aged 63
Harriet Hall of Bentley, aged 26
Elizabeth Amory of Bentley, aged 26
Ann Burton of Bentley, aged 5
Thomas Cook of Bentley, aged 65
Thomas Elvidge of Bentley, aged 4
Mary Stock of Bentley, aged 3
Mary Guest of Bentley, aged 41  

There were further outbreaks of Asiatic cholera in Yorkshire, but 1832 seems to have seen the worst epidemic. No other cases of this disease were recorded in the Arksey parish registers.

Asthma

Today Asthma is a fairly common condition, but cases recorded in the parish registers are few, in fact only two cases were listed as a cause of death as follows:

Mary Tyass, wife of William Tyass, a Bentley labourer was buried on 21st December 1803, aged 58, an asthma.

Jane Marshall, wife of John Marshall, victualler of Bentley was buried on 18th November 1808, aged 48, asthma.

Black Jaundice

Jaundice is a general yellowing of the skin and eyes. It is basically an obstruction of bile, and can have many causes. Bile is taken into the blood and this causes the yellowing. Black jaundice is when the colour becomes very dark.

There are two cases of black jaundice in the parish registers, as follows:

Hannah Wells, wife of John Wells, of the parish, was buried on 15th March 1800, black jaundice.

Elizabeth Butterfield, daughter of William Butterfield, shoemaker of Bentley, was buried on 17th November 1803, aged 13 weeks, jaundice.

Burns

No explanation needed here, but the entries have been included for interest. The three entries under the heading, burns, are as follows:

An entry from September 25 1585, is written in Latin, but roughly translates as follows:

'Two daughters who were burnt at Wrostall whose names are Alice Savage and Anne Seeresbye, daughters of John Savage.'

Mary Walker, daughter of William Walker, farmer of Tilts, she was buried on 28 September 1799, aged 3 years.

Interestingly, the entry above this one relates to Mary's mother, Sarah, wife of William Walker of Tilts, who was buried on 2nd September 1799, aged 42 years, she died from unknown causes.

Mary Bedford, daughter of Robert Bedford, labourer of the parish. She was buried on 10th of January 1809. She died of a burn.


Childbed

One of the riskiest times of a woman's life was during pregnancy and childbirth. 'Childbed' is an archaic term for 'childbirth' and to die in childbed meant any death brought on by infection of the reproductive tract following childbirth or miscarriage. 

Undoubtedly there will have been many premature deaths in childbirth over the centuries in Arksey and Bentley, but of those specifically recorded as such only seven cases are listed.


Consumption

Consumption, or Tuberculosis was the scourge of the 19th century. Poor communities were especially affected and mortality rates were exceptionally high. It was only with the development of antibiotics that TB became less of a threat to humanity. 

Bearing in mind that not all local burial entries had a cause of death included, the incidence of Consumption cases is fairly low at around 30 between the years of 1793 - 1813. However, if this is indicative of other twenty year periods in the registers then the mortality rates for this disease would make it one of the more common causes of death in the community. 

Decay of Nature

This is one of those vague terms which usually means a person has died of 'old age', probably by having some debility in the last weeks of life. 

Only one entry in the register is described in this term; he was John Heppinstal, tenant of the Almshouses at Arksey. He died on the 7th May 1796, aged 78 years.



Decline

This seems to be another vague term for some unexplained illness, in which the patient gradually 'declines' and then dies. There are a handful of cases recorded in the registers, and seemed to affect those aged between their twenties and their forties. The most notable case recorded occurs in the Cooke family.

George Augustus Cooke esq., of Loversall Hall, and son of Sir George Cooke (7th bt), died on the 5th May 1808, and was buried in the Cooke vault at Arksey Church. As the eldest son of Sir George and Frances Jory (Middleton) Cooke, he would have become the 8th baronet, but died at the age of 27. His younger brother William Bryan Cooke, inherited the title instead. A memorial plaque to George is located in the Cooke memorial chapel at Arksey church (below).

Memorial to George Augustus Cooke esq.

The inscription reads as follows:

'Sacred to the memory of George Augustus Cooke Esq. who died on the 5th of May 1808, aged 27 years.'

Dropped Down Dead

We can only assume that the term 'dropped down dead' meant a fatal collapse of some sort. Interestingly, the only two instances recorded are both together in the register.

The first to die this way was James Hydes, a labourer from Bentley, who was buried on the 19th November 1767.

The other entry appears just underneath, and is for John Fox, another labourer from Bentley, who was buried on the 6th December 1767. Bracketed alongside these entries are the words 'They both dropped down dead'. Which is made even more curious by the fact that their entries were the only two to mention cause of death, during the years 1765 - 1770. 

Dropsy

Dropsy is a general term for a water-filled swelling, or edema, occurring in any part of the body. Today, the condition is usually described in more descriptive terms, to specify the cause. For example, dropsy of the brain would be described as Hydrocephalus, or dropsy of the chest would be described as a Hydro-thorax.  

There were four recorded cases of dropsy in the registers, but none of them were remarkable in any way.

Drowned

As many as twenty four individuals lost their lives by drowning, according to the parish registers. Some make interesting reading.

The first one is recorded for the 4th November 1615, and reads as follows:

'A certain stranger who was drowned at the Willow Bridge was buried.'

Just who this 'certain stranger' was remains a mystery, maybe he was a traveller from out of town and not known by locals? The circumstances of the drowning are not recorded, but it wasn't unusual for people to fall into the river in that area, perhaps following a visit to a nearby hostelry.

Another entry from the 9th of July 1636 states:

' Robert Lunn lately servant of Susanna Rookeby of Kirke Sandall, widow, who was drowned in the waters of the Dunn, and was found in Arksey parish.'

An entry from 5 October 1799 reads as follows:

'A Man unknown found drowned in Brussling Holm drain near Bentley, buried in the Churchyard.' 

This final interesting entry from the 15th June 1748 states:

'Elizabeth wife of John Elliss of Almholme (she was drown'd by accident in a well).'

Natural Smallpox

Smallpox is a virulent, infectious disease, often fatal; caused by a poxvirus. The symptoms are high fever and aches followed by a widespread eruption of pimples that fill with pus, and which burst to cause pock marks.

The term 'natural smallpox' was probably used to distinguish the natural virulent form of the disease from a mild form sometimes administered before the use of cowpox vaccine, in the hope of giving some immunity. This practice was introduced into this country from Turkey, by the traveller Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762).

A successful vaccine for smallpox was discovered by Edward Jenner (1749-1823), when he realized that milkmaids who caught cowpox (a skin disease similar to smallpox, but much milder), seemed to be immune to smallpox. His legacy ensured that by 1979 smallpox was declared an eradicated disease.

Of the years in which causes of death were recorded at Arksey (1792-1812), the instances of natural smallpox only amount to 16 cases. 1795 saw the highest rates of death at 7 that year, with no further recorded cases after 1805. All those affected were children under the age of 11.

Plague/Pestilence

(See below)

Scarlet Fever

Scarlet fever is an infectious childhood disease, characterized by a scarlet rash over the entire body, and a high temperature. The disease was often fatal until the discovery of antibiotics, which are used to treat cases today.

The instances of scarlet fever in the parish seem to be clustered in the year 1812, when four cases were recorded. However, there were seven other deaths of young children that year, which do not have the cause recorded. It could be the case that some of these also had the disease.



Slain

As the word suggests, this is a case of a killing. Just one entry occurs for this most serious crime, which happened in April 1656. The entry reads as follows:

'Apr 27 - Barnabas Alcocke a minister was slayne by Samuel Pickeringe of Bentley.'

Interestingly, it seems that Samuel Pickeringe did not live to face trial, as he was also buried a few days before his victim. The entry reads as follows:

'Apr 19 - Samuel son of Samuel Pickeringe (late of Almholme now of Bentley). 

Barnabus Alcocke doesn't appear to have been a minister at Arksey, and no further information about this incident was found.

Worm Fever

Worm fever is really just another term for intestinal worms. This condition has quite a few unpleasant symptoms including, stomach pain, fetid breath, slimy stools, emaciated body, dizziness, fever, and bizarrely, grinding of the teeth and picking of the nose!

The parish register is peppered with cases of fever and worm fever, one probably not distinguishable from the other. 

Plague and the Population

One of the most feared epidemics in history would undoubtedly have been plague. Famous pandemics occurred in the 1300's and the 1600's, but smaller, localized outbreaks of highly infectious fatal diseases occurred with frequency during the decades up to the 1700's. 

Carried by flea-bitten rats, victims suffered horrific symptoms, characterized by buboes (swollen lymph glands), high fever, bleeding and coughing, before a rapid demise.  

It may surprise some to know that the terrible Doncaster plague of 1582/83 actually began in Bentley, and many of the victims were buried at Arksey. It is recorded in Arksey parish registers that a man named William Monkton was travelling south from Thirsk in North Yorkshire along the Great North Road when he was found collapsed at Amersall in the township of Bentley. He died shortly after being found and as Bentley was in the parish of Arksey, William was buried in the churchyard of All Saints. 

The unusually detailed parish entry for the 30th of August 1582 is written in Latin, but translates as follows:

'William Monckton stranger, he died of plague on the King's high road of Amersall, who lived in town of Thurske, in the northern country, was buried in our cemetery at Arksey.'

William Monkton had brought something very unwelcome to the people of Arksey and, subsequently, the wider population of Doncaster. Between September 1582 and June 1583, 65 burials were recorded in Arksey, three times the number of burials in any other year. The cause of death in all but eight cases were recorded as having died of the pestilence. 

By the 18^th of September 1582 the burial register of St George in Doncaster recorded its first plague victim with the letter ‘P’.Records do not specify which disease was affecting the population; the word ‘plague’ was used to describe any epidemic.

The winter of 1582-1583 was exceptionally severe and was the worst year in an appalling decade for Doncaster and its surrounding villages, when one epidemic followed another. Another plague in 1592 saw death rates double those of births. The results were catastrophic, neighbouring Cantley recorded 36 burials in September and October 1583, when normally there would be only one or two. Commercial Doncaster also suffered with nil income from corn mills and tolls of the borough market in that year. 

Doncaster suffered at least nine lethal epidemics in the following hundred years and between the 1550’s and the end of the seventeenth century, burials outnumbered baptisms by nearly two thousand.

List of Plague Victims

The following is a list of all those who died of plague in Arksey and Bentley in the year 1583, and the burial dates:

Frances Pettie of Bentley, Jan 30

Alice Byrke of Bentley, Feb 21

Elizabeth Gillowe of Bentley, Feb 24

Richard Ellys of Bentley, Mar 2

Robert Byrke of Bentley, Mar 17

Henry Ellys and his wife, Mar 24

William Alderson of Bentley, Mar 25

Tobias Byrke of Bentley, Mar 27

Catherine Ellys (the daughter of Henry, above) of Bentley, Mar 29 

Elizabeth Jackson of Bentley,Apr 2

Joan Alderson of Bentley, Apr 8

Robert Alderson, Apr 8 (brother of Joan, above)

William Webster of Bentley, Apr 19

Robert Carver of Bentley, Apr 19

John Jackson and his wife Dorothy, Apr 20

Samuel Wilbore of Bentley, Apr 20

Elizabeth Atkenson of Bentley, Apr 20

Alice Brooke of Bentley, Apr 20

Dorothy Webster (wife of William, above) of Bentley, Apr 21

Samuell Webster (son of William, above) of Bentley, Apr 22

Richard Ellys of Bentley, Apr 22

Richard Brooke of Bentley, Apr 22

Wife of Wilson of Bentley, Apr 24

Joan Hill of Bentley, Apr 25

Maid of William Rymer of Bentley, Apr 27

Another son of Richard Brooke of Bentley, Apr 27

John Carver of Bentley, Apr 27

Dorothy Stringer of Stockbrigg, Apr 28

Wife of Thomas Hill of Bentley, Apr 30

Thomas Lawe, miller of Bentley, Apr 30

Thomas Hill of Bentley, May 1

Margaret Wilbore of Bentley, May 5

Elizabeth Whyteheade, maid to widow Wilbore of Bentley, May 6

William Smyth of Bentley, May 6

Frances Smyth (wife of William, above) of Bentley, May 7

Lucy Smyth (daughter of William, above), May 8

Another boy of Thomas Stringer of Stockbrigg, May 8

Isabel Cookson of Bentley, May 9

Wife of Hartley of Bentley, May 10

Margaret Doncaster, May 11

Edward Atkenson of Bentley, May 14

Another boy of Edward Atkenson (above) of Bentley, May 15

Robert Doncaster, May 21 Daughter of Robert Hartley, May 27 
Thomas Fowler of Bentley, May 27

John Bowser of Bentley, May 28

Old Robert Cookson of Bentley, Jun 2

Joan Bowser (wife of John, above), of Bentley, Jun 4

Wife of Robert Smythe of Bentley, Jun10

Agnes Cookson (daughter of Robert, above), Jun 23

Thomas Ducket, Jun 29

Ring o' ring of roses

A pocket full of posies

Atishoo, atishoo, we all fall down.

Alison Vainlo

First written 2013, updated 2020