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Phil Bigger
New on board
USA
2 Posts |
 Posted - 26/09/2008 : 12:24:35
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Would anyone know of the codes used by the masters of ships after enactment of the (US) Passenger Act of 1882? Passenger manifests after that time contained a column to record the date and cause of death. The master of the vessel must have had some standard reference to be
able to code the cause of death, but that reference seems to have disappeared. I am currently transcribing the August 1887 manifest of the SS Alaska for the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild (ISTG). During that voyage from Liverpool to New York, 78 of the 1029 passengers died. The cause of death codes on the manifest range from 0 to 23, but I have no key to interpret the numbers. I would appreciate any help.
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Phil Bigger |
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jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2008 : 18:24:03
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Hi,
You're looking for the Rosetta stone? 
In 1883, the French physician Jacques Bertillon introduced the Bertillon Classification of Causes of Death. This first edition had 179 causes of death. It was recommended that this classification system, subsequently known as the International Classification of Causes of Death (ICD), be revised every 10 years.
The first International Lists of Causes of Death, ICD-1, released in 1900, is based on the list from Jacques Bertillon.
See also this and this.
But what list did they follow in 1887...?
Jan Peter |
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Phil Bigger
New on board
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2008 : 20:10:50
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Thank you Jan. That was great information! I will still continue to look for the list used in 1887, but comparing the numbered causes of death on the SS Alaska with the numbers on the 1900 International List seems to indicate a hign incidence of small pox as a cause for many of the deaths on the ship. I would assume that the 0 (zero) figure on the manifest means that the cause was unknown.
Thank you, again.
Phil |
Phil Bigger |
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Deaths At Sea - Standard Coding of Causes
