ACTIVITY
Use a death record as a source of medical history and family history
You are the sum of all of your ancestors. Think about it. You received half the genes in your body from your father and half from your mother.
Sometimes the genes that a person receives from his or her ancestors contain the code for producing certain diseases. In this episode, Carol Krause explained that she was concerned for her own health when her mother got ovarian cancer. Carol began to research all her family’s medical history, and sent away for the death certificates of those who died.
One death certificate she received was for her Aunt Bertha, who was her father’s sister. Bertha’s death certificate contains medical and family history information. See how much you can learn about Carol’s Aunt Bertha from her death certificate.
1 What was Bertha’s full name?
2 What do you suppose was her maiden name?
3 What was her husband's name?
4 Do you think that the person listed as the informant was a reliable source of the information?
5 What was the immediate cause of her death?
6 Approximately how long after her exploratory surgery did she die?
7 How old was she when she died?
8 In addition to the date of her operation and date of death, what two other events and dates are given about her?
9 What was the name of the township where she died?
EPISODE EIGHT: ACTIVITY SHEET
When researching your medical family tree, death certificates are important records to use. A death certificate contains valuable medical and family history information.
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