Signature Analysis, 1912 and 1914 Death Certificates

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Sunday, May 24 – Thursday, May 28, 1914: Nothing much doing.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

This is the fourth of five days that Grandma lumped together into one diary entry. Her infant niece, the daughter of her sister Besse, died on May 23. Yesterday’s post contained the death certificate for the baby.

This was the second baby of Besse and Curt Hester that died in infancy—they previously lost one in 1912. On April 9, 1912, Grandma wrote:

I was an aunt for one brief half a day yesterday, but didn’t know it until this morning. I was so disappointed when I heard it was dead. My little nephew was buried this afternoon. The baby I never saw. I feel like crying, when I think I am an aunt no longer.

When Maryann Holloway saw yesterday’s post, she did a little research and found the death certificate of the baby who died in 1912. Thank you Maryann! I greatly appreciate you locating it—and then sharing it with me.

Both babies died of cyanosis which refers to a bluish skin color. The babies may have been premature and had immature lungs, or perhaps a heart condition. The baby born in 1914 also had spina bifida.

One thing that jumped out when I looked at the two death certificates was that the infants’ father, D. Curt Hester, signed them both. And, that his signature looked more wobbly in 1914 than in 1912.

hester death certificate 1912.signature — **1912**

I can’t begin to imagine the stress and emotions that he was feeling when he signed those documents. The baby in 1914 lived 3 days before she died. At least to me, Curt’s signature in 1914 suggests, that he was exhausted and totally wiped out when he had to help complete the death certificate. Whew, what a sad task for a young father!

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I continue to be amazed at the help and kindness of my readers. One reader found the death certificate of the baby born in 1914—and then another found the death certificate of the one born in 1912. Thanks again, Maryann and Agnette.

An aside– You might enjoy reading Maryann’s blog, If I Had a Time Machine. It contains interesting historical anecdotes for each day.

Baby Hester’s Death Certificate

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Sunday, May 24 – Thursday, May 28, 1914: Nothing much doing.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Sometimes posts just write themselves. This is one of those times.

This is the third of five days that Grandma lumped together into one diary entry. Her infant niece, the daughter of her sister Besse, died on May 23.

My readers are awesome. I owe Agnette a huge thank you for finding the death certificate for the baby. I’m still tingling with amazement that she took the time to search for it—and that she found it.

Sunday was a busy day—and I sat down to write the post for today at about 9 p.m. last night. I was unsure what to write—and then I glanced at the comments I’d recently received. There was Agnette’s comment and a link to the death certificate.

The death certificate affirms the information in the diary. I can’t quite make out the first listed cause of death—Does anyone have any ideas? –but was surprised that the second cause was Spina Bifida.

Grandma mentioned her sense of foreboding the day the infant was born—but did not indicate a serious congenial condition—and had seemed to think that the baby would be okay in the next diary entry. I’m surprised she didn’t mention something related to the Spina Bifida.

This makes me wonder if Besse’s first baby, who also died in infancy, had Spina Bifida. And, it makes me appreciate doctors’ recommendations today that women make sure that they get adequate amounts of folic acid prior to conception to help decrease the likelihood that the baby will have Spina Bifida.

The death certificate says that the baby was buried at River Church Cemetery. I wasn’t sure where it was—so I googled it. An Ancestry.com message board popped up. According the one of the comments on the message board:

The River Church is St. John’s Delaware Run Lutheran Church, located on Musser Lane, Watsontown. Because this is a rural area, it is actually closer to Dewart (about a mile) than Watsontown (about 2 1/2 miles).

I don’t know of any family connections to this church, but perhaps the Hesters’ attended it.

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I’m still tingling—so many pieces of the puzzle are fitting together with this death certificate. Thanks again, Agnette!

Watsontown Cemetery

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Sunday, May 24 – Thursday, May 28, 1914: Nothing much doing.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

This is the second of five days that Grandma lumped together into one diary entry. Her infant niece, the daughter of her sister Besse, died on May 23–and she apparently didn’t feel like writing.

Did they have a funeral for the baby? . . . I don’t know where is she buried.

I haven’t had a chance to get to the library to go through the microfilms to see if I can find the obituary—but I know that when I looked two years ago after the death of Besse’s first baby that I wasn’t able to find anything.

I also know that Besse and her husband Curt are buried in the Watsontown Cemetery—and that the two infants are not buried in that plot.

Memorial Day wasn’t until May 30 in 1914, but on this Memorial Day week-end I thought you might enjoy seeing some additional photos of the Watsontown Cemetery. It is on a hill overlooking the town—and has an awesome view of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River and the mountains in the distance.

The statue in the distance is a Civil War monument that was erected in 1902.

The Future Will be Better

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Sunday, May 24 – Thursday, May 28, 1914: Nothing much doing.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Things will get better for Grandma and her sister Besse. This photo was taken in 1924—and it is a picture of Besse’s husband Curt. The older boy is his son, Curt, Jr. The other two children are two of Grandma’s children. The baby is my father Harold, and the little girl is his sister Marjorie.

Somehow “nothing much doing” seems like odd words for Grandma to write in her diary to summarize the days following the death of her infant niece—but maybe that’s the best she could do. It had to be difficult.

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Besse and Curt Hester had one child who lived beyond infancy. Curt, Jr. was born in 1915, and had a nice, long life. He died in 1999 at the age of 83.

When I was child, Curt Jr. lived in the house that Grandma lived in when she was writing this diary. In other words, he lived in the lovely house pictured in the header of this blog.

The Little Life So Soon Begun Is Ended

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Saturday, May 23, 1914: The little life so soon begun is ended.

Recent photo of the house Besse lived in when I was a child. I’m not sure if this was where she lived in 1914.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Oh. . . Grandma,

I’m so sorry. What happened? . . . Are you okay? . . . How’s Besse doing?

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Grandma’s three-day-old niece died. She was the daughter of Grandma’s older sister Besse and her husband Curt.

Grandma was worried about her niece the day she was born—but the diary entries the next two days suggested that everything was going to be okay— yet obviously something went wrong.

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I try never to go ahead in the diary—yet somehow it doesn’t feel quite right that I didn’t clue all of you in that it wasn’t going to be a happy ending. I apologize if I should have foreshadowed the pending death.

This has been a hard series of posts to write. It almost feels like all of this is happening in real time—not a hundred years ago—to people I love and care about.

1914 Carter Baby Carriage Advertisement

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Friday, May 22, 1914: I saw the dear little babe this evening. How proud I was that it was my little niece. How I longed for one, I alone know. Ruth and I attended the commencement at Watsontown.

Source: Milton Evening Standard (April 1, 1914)

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Grandma—

Congratulations! Your niece sounds really special. Did you get to hold her?

Did you sister Besse get any baby gifts? I saw an advertisement for Carter Baby Carriages in your local paper. Maybe someone will give her one. It looks awesome.

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The baby was born two days prior to this diary entry. On May 20, 1914, Grandma wrote:

This afternoon I learned that I am an “auntie” for the second time. It is a little baby girl. Mingled with this new joy is a dim foreboding.

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Besse lived in Watsontown. It is located about 1 1/2 miles from the Muffly farm. Grandma and her other sister Ruth probably stopped by Besse’s home to see the baby then continued on the commencement. MyWatsontown has a list of the 1914 graduates. There were 12 graduates. Which were friends of Grandma and Ruth? I don’t recognize any of the names.

Average Weight and Height of Babies in 1914

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Thursday, May 21, 1914: Mother was with Besse today. I dreaded it when she came home for I was afraid she would bring bad news, but no, they filled me with glad anticipations.

Source: Ladies Home Journal (February, 1914)

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Grandma’s married sister Besse gave birth to a daughter the previous day. Besse lived in the nearby town of Watsontown. She had a baby that died in 1912, and Grandma was very worried about this infant.

I wonder if the baby was born prematurely, and was very small. Here’s what Ladies Home Journal had to say in 1914 about the characteristics of “normal” babies:

The Normal Baby

Every mother is anxious for a normal baby, but many mothers, do not know just what a normal baby should be like. Variations are always found in every human being, but the following measurements given by Dr. L.E. Holt in his large book, “Diseases of Infancy and Childhood,” are now taken as the standard for the normal baby.

The weights are taken without any clothing. The height is taken by placing the baby on a perfectly flat surface like a table, and having some one hold the child’s knee down so that he lies out straight, then taking a tape-measure and measuring from the top of his head to the bottom of his foot, holding the tape line absolutely straight.

The chest is measured by means of a tape line passed directly over the nipples around the child’s body and midway between full inspiration and full expiration. The head measurement is taken directly around the circumference of the head, over the forehead and occipital bone.

Some other points of interest in the development of the normal baby are the following: head held erect if trunk is supported during the fourth month. Sit alone for a few minutes about seven months of age. In the ninth or the tenth month the baby will usually attempt to bear his weight on his feet. When ten or eleven months old he often stands alone with slight help. Makes first attempt to walk at twelve or thirteen months. The baby must not be urged to do any of these things; let him alone to develop naturally.

The teeth are always of interest; here is the way the average normal baby cuts his first set of teeth: Two lower central incisors, 6 to 9 months; four upper incisors, 8 to 12 months; four canines, 18 to 24 months; four posterior molars, 24 to 30 months.

At 1 year a child should have 6 teeth; at 1 1/2 years, 12 teeth; at 2 years, 16 teeth; at 2 1/2 years, 20 teeth.

The “soft spot” on fontanel on top of the head closes with the average normal baby at eighteen months, but often varies greatly.

Ladies Home Journal (February, 1914)