Causes of Death in Pennsylvania During March, 1913

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

Saturday, June 14, 1913: Nothing much doing.

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

Did you ever wonder if people died from different causes a hundred years ago than what they do today? Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today, I’ll share an interesting article I found in the June 16, 1913 issue of the Milton Evening Standard.

Births Exceed Deaths in State During March

Births in Pennsylvania during March numbers 18,945, but to offset this increase in population the deaths numbered 11,000, the ratio of deaths to births being higher than the average.

Pneumonia, which always exacts heavy toll during the winter, caused 1,721 deaths in March. The deaths were distributed among the various diseases and other causes about as usual.

Following are the figures compiled by the bureau of vital statistics of the state department of health:

Typhoid fever. . .62

Scarlet fever. . . 100

Diphtheria. . . 171

Measles. . . 314

Whooping cough . . . 77

Smallpox. . . 1

Influenza. . .211

Malaria. . . 4

Tuberculosis of lungs . . . 817

Tuberculosis of other organs . . . 118

Cancer. . . 485

Diabetes. . .63

Meningitis . . . 87

Acute anterior poliomyelitis. . 7

Pneumonia . . . 1721

Diarrhea and enteritis, under 2 yrs. . . 240

Diarrhea and enteritis, over 2 yrs. . 63

Bright’s disease and nephritis . . . 716

Early infancy. . . 716

Suicide . . . 76

Accidents in mines. . . 80

Railway injuries. . . 85

Other form of violence. . . 462

All other diseases. . . 4343

$5 Bill is Crowning Star of Graduation Gifts

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

Thursday, June 12, 1913: I was a bad girl today and am taking myself to task.

When Pa came home he brought me a graduating present. It was the crowning star of them all: a five dollar bill.

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

This is one of the few time that Grandma mentioned her father in the diary. It generally seemed like he probably spent much of his time out in the barn or fields—and that he wasn’t very involved in household activities

The previous day Grandma wrote that her father was away and that her married sister Ruth had come out to “help take care of us for Pop was away.”

What was he doing when he was away? Whatever it was must have gone extremely well, if he felt prosperous enough to give Grandma a five dollar bill for a graduation present. This would be the equivalent of about $120 today.

The graduation gifts sure straggled in over a long time period,Grandma graduated from McEwensville High School on April 23. In April she wrote that her mother gave her a $2 gold piece. It’s surprising that her father gave a separate gift, and that it took him a month and a half to give it to her.

Grandma made quite a haul. This is at least the 22nd gift that she received.

—

Overall a good day—but Grandma was mad at herself. Why did she do that she was taking herself to task?

Sister Visits Washington, DC

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

Monday, June 9, 1913: Our dear Ruthie left this morning for Washington DC. Wonder what I will do without. She won’t be home for a week at least. I surely will be lonely while she’s gone.

Am fixing my last summer’s white dress. It got too tight around the waist. Isn’t that a calamity?

DC.capitol.1913 — Post card of US Capitol, Washington, DC (circa, 1913)

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

Even today, trips to Washington, DC are often considered really special trips. I wonder why Grandma’s sister Ruth went to DC. Was it a holiday trip with friends?

. . . Or maybe the trip was work related. Ruth was a teacher at a one-room school house—maybe teachers were able to take trips to DC for professional development reasons.

Post card of Union Station,Washington, DC (circa 1913)

In any case, Grandma sounds bummed. Is she most concerned about the extra work she’d have to do (there were definitely more cows to milk twice a day without Ruth, and probably lots of other additional chores). . . or about being lonely without a sister to talk with?

And, any day is a bad day when you realize you’ve gained a few pounds.

Birthstones, 1913 and 2013

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

Friday, June 6, 1913: Nothing doing, therefore not worth writing about.

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

Since Grandma again didn’t write much, I’m going to pick up where I left off yesterday. Yesterday I wrote about how an advice columnist named “Aunt Harriet” told young men in the April, 1913 issue of Farm Journal about what they should expect to pay for a wedding and engagement ring.

Aunt Harriet bemoaned the high cost of diamond engagement rings and wrote that:

Of late years it has become quite customary to use the birthstone of the young lady for the engagement ring, and these can be had in a variety of settings and at various prices.

She continued:

The stones for the twelve months are as follows: January, garnet; February, amethyst; March, bloodstone; April, diamond; May, emerald; June moonstone; July, ruby; August, sardonyx; September, sapphire; October, opal; November, topaz; December, turquoise.

I had a vague memory that modern lists of birthstones include zircon for one of the months, so checked the American Gem Society website and found that the stones have changed for a few of the months since 1913.

The 1913 August birthstone was sardonyx. It’s a banded mineral that was often carved into cameos.

How Much Should a Man Spend on a Date? Hundred-Year-Old Advice

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

Wednesday, June 4, 1913: Nothing doing, therefore not worth writing about.

dirt.road — Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons

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

Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today, I’ll share some advice an advice columnist named Aunt Harriet gave a young man in the April, 1913 issue of Farm Journal.

(An aside—I’m amazed that Farm Journal had an advice columnist years ago.)

“How much should I spend on a day’s outing with a young lady I hope to win for my wife?”

When it comes to saying just how much a man should spend on amusements, no stranger can advise. The young man who lives in a scenic district of the United States, writes me, “How much should I spend of a day’s outing when we take a trip over one of our mountain railroads?”

Having invited a young lady to accompany him on such a trip, he should pay all of the necessary expenses, such as carfare, carriage hire, fees, etc.

If the luncheon is not carried along, he pays for this, at a convenient café, and to these necessary outlays, he may add any extra which appeals to their tastes, –a box of candy, a package of picture post cards, a glass of soda water, or any pretty souvenir, which might serve as a memento of a pleasant day’s outing.

Take along enough money to provide for emergencies. The unexpected will sometimes happen, –an accident, a storm, perhaps, something to prevent the carrying out of your plans. Of course your first thought will be the comfort and safety of your companion, and the extra money will ease your way.

In attending a place of amusement, the legitimate expenses are the price of admission and transportation to and from the building. Select as good seats as you can afford; they need not be the most expensive in the house. You can, if you choose, send flowers to the young lady on the day of the entertainment; the florist will help you decide, and the young lady will wear them.

There may be a supper afterwards, but this is not in good taste unless you are in a party. A girl and a man, alone in a restaurant late at night are subject to criticism. As prices vary in different localities, I am sure my young men friends will understand that is impossible for me to state definitely how much they should spend.

1913 Treaty Ending Balkan War

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

Monday, June 2, 1913: About the same as any other day. Didn’t do anything of note.

Source: Milton Evening Standard (June 1, 1913)

SIGN BALKAN WAR TREATY

Delegates of Turkey and the Allies in Accord

London, May 31.—The preliminary treaty of peace was signed at St. James palace by the delegates of all the Balkan allies and of Turkey.

Sir Edward Grey, the British foreign secretary, presided at the conference as he did at the previous debates, in the capacity of honorary president, and opened the proceedings with an explanation of Europe’s attitude and of the necessity of insisting that there be no further delay.

The powers will not, however, be able to indulge in unalloyed self congratulations as the outlook in the Balkans is marred by the reports of continued warlike measures and even of conflicts between the allies. A dangerous temper is prevailing both in Servia and in Bulgaria.

All the efforts of Russia to bring about peace between Bulgaria and Servia apparently have failed, and the worst is still feared. Meanwhile the quarrelsome allies are throwing enormous bodies of troops into Macedonia for the purpose of occupying disputed territory.

Bulgarian artillery at Prava opened fire on the Greek positions in the directions of Eleuthera, according to the Exchange Telegraph company’s representative in Athens.

The Bulgarian commander refused to enter into negotiations with the Greek commander to stop firing. Owing to this clash a part of the Greek fleet has been sent to Eleuthera.

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

Grandma’s world often seems so small. The diary provides little evidence that she was aware of happenings across the US and around the world.

But the newspaper that Grandma would have read, the Milton Evening Standard, regularly reported national and world events.

For example, the previous day the paper contained the above article about a peace treaty–it’s called a war treaty in the headline, but the text says it’s a peace treaty– that was signed by the Balkan countries and Turkey.

The article indicates that the treaty may not have been totally successful—and obviously over the longer run it failed since World War I began a little over a year later due to continued unrest in the Balkan countries. The war was triggered when Archduke Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated in Sarajevo, Serbia on June 28, 1914.

An aside—it’s interesting how the spelling of several cities and countries have changed across the years. In the old article:

–Serbia was spelled Servia.

–Prague was spelled Prava.

–And, I’m not quite sure what Eleuthera referred to in the article (“. . . the Greek fleet has been sent to Eleuthera”), but I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t the island in the Bahamas. 🙂

Percentage of US Population Affiliated with Various Religions, 1913 and 2013

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

Sunday, June, 1913:

What is so rare as a day in June ,

For then if ever comes perfect days,

When song of bird and hum of bees

Bring to us fair summer’s sweetest day.

Went to Sunday school this afternoon. Took my time a getting home. I heard some of the best speaking I have ever listened to this evening. A converted Jew talked about some of the customs of the Jewish people in the Reformed Church at McEwensville.

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

Grandma’ diary entry made me wonder: What percentage of the US population were considered members of the various religions in 1913 and 2013?

I discovered that this was a much more difficult question to answer than I thought it would be. The data on religious affiliations were collected very differently in the early 1900s than how it is gathered now—so when the data are compiled to do a comparison, it’s kind of like comparing apples to oranges.

This gets complicated, but let me try to explain what I did to create the figure above:

In the early 1900s , the US Bureau of the Census conducted a religious census every ten years. Religious leaders were asked how many members their congregation had; whereas in recent years, various non-profit organizations have conducted surveys where they asked a sample of the population about their religious preferences. As a result of these differences in methodology many more people were considered to have no religious affiliation a hundred years ago than now.

Calculation of 1913 Percentages

For the figure above, I used data from an article titled “U.S. has 42,043,374 Members of Church, New Census Shows” in the May 2, 1918 issue of the Minneapolis Morning Tribune. According to the article:

The term ‘members’ has a wide variety of uses. In most Protestant bodies it is limited to communicants or confirmed members; in the Roman Catholic, Eastern, and some other churches it includes all baptized persons, while in some bodies it covers enrolled persons.

The membership for the Jewish congregations requires some explanation. Some congregations reported as members all who contribute to the treasury of the congregation and not infrequently included women and children. The more orthodox, of the other hand, reported only those males who have incorporated the institution or have bought share or membership in it, but do not recognize as members other persons who are regular attendees or even contributors.

For the figure, I used data from the 1916 Religious Census, as reported in the Minneapolis Morning Tribune article, since this was the one done closest to a hundred years ago. To calculate the percentages I used the US population estimate for 1916 as reported by the US Bureau of the Census. I assumed that the percentage of the population who were members of various religions did not change much between 1913 and 1916 when creating the figure.

Calculation of the 2013 Percentages

For the 2013 percentages, I used data from a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. Phone interviews were used to survey a sample of the US population. Respondents were asked which religion they identified with.

The survey was conducted in July, 2012—and I assume that the percentages have not changed significantly since then.

Monthly Poem

On the first of each month Grandma included a poem in the diary. For more information about the poems, see a previous post:

Monthly Poem in Diary