One of the main benefits of amassing a detailed family tree is the insight it can provide into your family medical history. Knowing what genetic conditions run in your family may at least help you to prepare for their impact. (1) I recently solved a long-standing family mystery concerning what happened to a Great Great Uncle (also a Great Great Great Uncle—well I am Tasmanian after all!). The details of his fate have further strengthened my suspicions relating to the reasons for a very high youth mortality rate on a specific branch of my mother's family tree. This theory in turn, may also explain a chronic illness that has had a large impact on my own life.
While perhaps it wasn't one of the most difficult family mysteries I've had to solve in the last thirty years or more of research, I can now answer the question as to what happened to Arthur Edward Taylor. He was born to a large family in the sleepy Northeastern Tasmanian village of Longford on 3 October 1874. (2) He was ninth of no less than sixteen children born to William and Mary Taylor who had married there in 1861. (3) They appear to have been an ordinary family for the time and place: religious, hardworking, law abiding, family orientated and therefore well regarded. (4) Mary's parents had been convicts, but they had been trusted and valued servants of a prominent local family. (5) Their likely shared convict roots were also 'ordinary' for the age and Taylors don't appear to have been disadvantaged in any way by that baggage.
Above is one of several photos taken on the occasion of their 50th Wedding anniversary in 1911 in the Forrester's Lodge Hall, Longford. Despite the size of the assemblage, Arthur and several other of their children though are missing. (6)
Arthur - like all his siblings - appears to have grown into a well-adjusted young man. He excelled physically it seems and both he and his slightly older brother Ernest were in fact selected on the basis of their performances with the South Esk Football club to play for the city team in August 1894. (7)
At some point Arthur relocated to Huonville where he married Ada Elizabeth Crisp at St. James' Church in 1901. Arthur likely moved for employment and may have been employed in the mining industry at Queenstown. That is listed as his usual place of residence on his marriage certificate, giving his occupation as a labourer. (8) Certainly, he was a member of the 'Smelters Football Club' from 1900. (9). All in all, this is a relatively 'low skill' discovery for me but the reason for focusing on it is the mysterious nature of his untimely death.
On 21 March 1905, Arthur died at his home in Huonville. His decline appears to have been protracted in some way as his wife Elizabeth thanks local physician, Dr. Clark of Franklin for his 'untiring and ever willing assistance' in the local paper. (10) But why would such a healthy young man die so prematurely? It grows stranger still when one considers the fact that of a family of 16 children, only 5 lived past the age of 50 years. It is true of course that life expectancy was lower in the Nineteenth Century than it is today but in reality it was actually improving during that time, at least in Victorian England. The data provided below on premature deaths in this family alone is suggestive that at least one of the four driving factors of mortality in the period (living standards, public sanitation, disease, access to medical science) had an influence on these specific family outcomes. (11)
At least two of the deaths are ordinary: typhoid fever was a very common disease in the period. Lilias May was barely a teen when she died of the disease. (12) Charles also died of typhoid but is noticeably older than the other premature deaths, eclipsing the next longest living in this sub-group by more than a decade. (13) Baby Ada Maud's cause of death is highly suggestive of pneumonia. (14) Again, all but particularly the vulnerable were prone to the epidemic diseases of the age. However, I have heard a story that there was a family malady of some kind that afflicted many of the siblings in that generation. Of the four infant deaths, three are attributed to convulsions. (15) The real clue to the puzzle of the family disease may lie in the premature deaths of the young adults. The eldest son, William Alfred, died of tetanus contracted during his work in a slaughterhouse. (16) I think Rose's death certificate though gives the vital clue as she died of 'heart failure following diabetes'. (17)
My theory is that the family affliction was type 1 diabetes. Hypoglycemia will cause seizures and that may explain the fatal convulsions that killed three Taylor babies. (18) We know now that diabetes comes in many forms and is more complicated than a simple distinction between juvenile diabetes and supposedly 'self-inflicted' insulin resistance. The condition Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) normally occurs in young adulthood when the body has stopped developing and the body suffers a particular immune response to a serious infection, which leads to the destruction of the pancreas. (19) By its nature the condition is sudden and before the development of insulin treatments after 1921, inevitably fatal. (20) As type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition, diabetics can be prone to tetanus which killed William Alfred Taylor (21). Furthermore, it exacerbates comorbidities such as hypertension and cholesterol levels, two major contributors to heart disease which was the stated cause of Rose's death (22) I'm personally very relieved I live in an age where insulin is an option as death by insulin deprivation is apparently a horrible way to die. (23) However, this theory needs to be considered in a wider scientific context and it has been found that 85% of those with type 1 diabetes have no family history of the disease. (24) Inversely, this also means that 15% do and the aforementioned oral tradition of a family illness common to one generation, may relate to similar symptoms across multiple cases.
So, while some of the deaths are typical of the age, the number and nature of the deaths seems highly suggestive of a genetic disorder. My aim in the future is to be able to afford to access the death records of the three outstanding siblings listed above in yellow: Ernest, Arthur and Bertie Claud. Their causes of death may provide further evidence of my theory. I suffer from LADA, exhibiting diabetic symptoms from a young age but virtually becoming a type 1 insulin dependent in a week following a bout of scarlet fever in my early thirties. I can't help wondering if there is some kind of connection (?). The chances of inheriting a recessive disorder may have been increased by the fact that I am descended twice from William and Mary through their children Eardley and Mary, as my mother's parents were second cousins (or more accurately first cousins once removed). Such was the concern that my own sons have been screened for the disorder and they have thankfully been cleared. If I am right in my thesis then, while I thank them for my life, William and Mary's legacy is truly a bittersweet one.
- Dr. Colin Woollcott Mallett, 20 December 2024.
Endnotes
(1) National Library of Medicine, 'Diseases that run in the family', A Guide to Genetics and Health, n. d., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK115605/, accessed 5 August 2024.
(2) Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Birth, RGD 33/1/52, no. 953, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/944244, accessed 5 August 2024.
(3) Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Marriage, RGD 37/1/20, no. 279, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/862432, accessed 5 August 2024.
(4) At the time of his death in 1914, William Taylor had been resident in Longford for six decades. A shoemaker by trade who worked at W. Edwards' boot making manufactory, William also worked as a sexton for the Longford Anglican church until January 1883 and eventually became a municipal caretaker, specifically an 'inspector of slaughterhouses'. He was probably most famous locally for working with local physician Dr. Appleyard to establish a 'biblical garden' in the grounds of Christ Church, Longford. See: 'About People', Examiner 15 October 1914, p 3, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50782819, accessed 5 August 2024; 'Longford Notes', Tasmanian 30 August 1884, p 14, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200330663, accessed 5 August 2024; & Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Marriage, RGD 37/1/60 , no. 704, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/924926, accessed 5 August 2024.
(5) Mary had been born in 1845 at Woolmers estate near Longford. See: Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Baptisms, RGD32/1/3, no. 2751, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/1089592, accessed 6 August 2024. Mary's parents had both been convicts assigned to the Archer family. Her father, Isaac Boxhall, was their coachman/groom and Ann Ball was a trained dairy maid prior to transportation. See: Author Unknown, 'Isaac Boxhall', Convict Records, n. d., https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/boxshall/isaac/6653, accessed 6 August 2024; Author Unknown, 'Ann Ball', Convict Records, n. d., https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/ball/ann/42029, accessed 6 August 2024.
(6) Photograph of William and Mary Taylor's 50th Wedding anniversary, 1911, original held by Diane Mallett, Launceston, Tasmania. Two siblings in the photos, Charles and Rose Taylor would be deceased within a few years. Uncle Charlie is seated bottom, second from right in cap next to his brother Eardley. He died in 1916. It's highly likely that Aunt Rose is there as well as she lived until 1914.
(7) 'Our Footballers', Daily Telegraph, 25 August 1894, p 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article153448158, accessed 5 August 2024.
(8) Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Marriage, RGD 37/1237/1901. His parents' names are listed and his birthplace given as Longford. I'd found the wedding notice years ago but what had thrown me somewhat is that he was erroneously described as being 'Mr E. Taylor of Hobart'. See: 'The Last Chance', Tasmanian News, 7 September 1901, p 2, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/185268476, accessed 5 August 2024.
(9) 'Deaths', Mercury, 23 March 1905, p 1, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12295862, accessed 5 August 2024.
(10) 'Bereavement Notices', Mercury, 29 March 1905, p 1, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12296570, accessed 5 August 2024.
(11) Robert Woods & P. R. Andrew Hinde, 'Mortality in Victorian England: Models and Patterns', The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Summer 1987, 18(1):27-54, p 27, https://www.jstor.org/stable/204727, accessed 8 August 2024. Woods and Hinde in this article critque the model presented by Thomas McKeowen in his 1976 book The Modern Rise of Population. They conlcude that all four of McKeown's factors are valid but question the importance he attached to some of them, particularly the nutrition component of the living standards factor. The authors note that infant mortality fell particularly rapidly after 1900 and agree with McKeown that it reflected an improved control over scarlet fever. (pp 52-4). Being part of the British Empire in the period I think it is reasonable to accept that similar factors and patterns influenced mortality rates in Tasmania influenced by our own demographic and socio-economic conditions.
(12) Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/1/60, no. 411, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/RGD35-1-60/RGD35-1-60P131, accessed 6 August 2024.
(13) 'About People', Examiner, 25 February 1916, p 6, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50860572, accessed 6 August 2024. While the article mentions there was much sympathy for the young widow left with seven children, the youngest being only three weeks old, there is also sympathy for '...his aged mother, who has lost five grown up sons, a daughter and her husband'.
(14) Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/1/39, no. 318, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/RGD35-1-39/RGD35-1-39P106, accessed 6 August 2024.
(15) The following are the references for the death registrations for three infant Taylor siblings who died of convulsions: 'John Frederick Taylor', Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/1/48, no. 356, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/RGD35-1-48/RGD35-1-48P111, accessed 6 August 2024; 'John Willie Taylor', Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/1/53, no. 383, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/1167380, accessed 6 August 2024; 'Percy Harold Taylor', Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/1/58, no. 562, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/1215149, accessed 6 August 2024.
(16) Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/1/53, no. 376, https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/RGD35-1-53/RGD35-1-53P124, accessed 6 August 2024 & The Tasmanian, 30 August 1884, p 14, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200330663, accessed 6 August 2024. His condition was described as having been a severe but recent illness, wherein he had had a cold and was then overcome with tetanus—these might suggest a compromised immune system?
(17) Tasmanian Archives: Registers of Death; RGD 35/556/1914. It is also perhaps significant that in her father's obituary, her recent death is mentioned and it is observed that she had been in 'failing health for some time'. See: 'About People', Examiner, 15 October 1914, p 3.
(18) Elizabeth Rosenfeld & P. S. Thornton, 'Hypoglycemia in Neonates, Infants and Children', Endotext, National Library of Medicine, 22 August 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK594592/#:~:text=Hypoglycemia%20in%20neonates%2C%20infants%20and,primary%20fuel%20for%20brain%20metabolism., accessed on 5 august 2024.
(19) Maria Prelipcean, 'How do GAD antibodies affect diabetes?', Medical News Today, 25 March 2019, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313764, accessed on 5 August 2024.
(20) Ananya Mandel, 'History of Diabetes', News Medical Life Sciences, 4 July 2023, https://www.news-medical.net/health/History-of-Diabetes.aspx#:~:text=The%20term%20diabetes%20was%20probably,sweet%20taste%20of%20the%20urine., accessed 5 August 2024.
(21) Zahra Hoseini Tavaasol et al, 'Do Patients with Diabetic foot ulcer need booster dose of tetanus vaccine?', Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, June 2022, 1(1):1023-7, pp 1023-7, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9167406/#:~:text=CDC%20has%20reported%20that%2013,more%20vulnerable%20to%20bacterial%20infections, accessed 5 August 2024. The article states that tetanus infections are higher in diabetic patients as diabetes makes patients more susceptible in general to bacterial infections; according to statistics quoted, one fourth of all killed by tetanus today are diabetics.
(22) Oana P. Zaharia et al, 'Comorbidities in Recent-Onset Adult Type 1 Diabetes: A Comparison of German cohorts', Frontiers in Endocrinology, 3 June 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9205191/, accessed 5 August 2024.
(23) Tessa Lebinger, 'How long can someone live without insulin?', Children with Diabetes, 20 July 2005, https://childrenwithdiabetes.com/question/how-long-can-someone-live-without-insulin/, accessed 5 August 2024.
(24) Prelipcean, 'How do GAD antibodies affect diabetes?'
Figures and Illustrations
(i) William and Mary Taylor's 50 Wedding Anniversary,
photograph, original held by Diane Mallett, Launceston, Tasmania.
(ii) 'Our Footballers'.
(iii) Based on research contained in Colin Woollcott Mallett,
Taylor Research Folder (1), unpublished genealogical project, F017 TAYLOR
Folder (1), accessed 8 August 2024. The following footnotes denote the
specific documents relied on.
(iv) 'Our Footballers'.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Daily Telegraph (Launceston, 1883-1928)
Examiner (Launceston, 1900- )
Mercury (Hobart, 1860- )
The Tasmanian (Launceston, 1881-1895)
Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Baptisms, RGD32.
Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Birth, RGD 33.
Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Death, RGD 35.
Tasmanian Archives: Register-General's Department; Registers of Marriage, RGD 37.
Tasmanian News (Hobart, 1883-1911)
William and Mary Taylor's 50 Wedding Anniversary, photograph, original held by Diane Mallett, Launceston, Tasmania.
Secondary Sources
Tavaasol, Zahra Hoseini et al, 'Do Patients with Diabetic foot ulcer need booster dose of tetanus vaccine?', Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, June 2022, 1(1):1023-7, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9167406/#:~:text=CDC%20has%20reported%20that%2013,more%20vulnerable%20to%20bacterial%20infections, accessed 5 August 2024.
Woods, Robert & Hinde, P. R. Andrew, 'Mortality in Victorian England: Models and Patterns', The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Summer 1987, 18(1):27-54, https://www.jstor.org/stable/204727, accessed 8 August 2024.
Online Sources
Author Unknown, 'Ann Ball', Convict Records, n. d., https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/ball/ann/42029, accessed 6 August 2024.
Author Unknown, 'Isaac Boxhall', Convict Records, n. d., https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/boxshall/isaac/6653, accessed 6 August 2024.
Lebinger, Tessa, 'How long can someone live without insulin?', Children with Diabetes, 20 July 2005, https://childrenwithdiabetes.com/question/how-long-can-someone-live-without-insulin/, accessed 5 August 2024.
Mallett, Colin Woollcott, Taylor Research Folder 1,
unpublished Genealogical research project, F017 TAYLOR
Folder (1), accessed 8 August 2024.
Mandel, Ananya, 'History of Diabetes', News Medical Life Sciences, 4 July 2023, https://www.news-medical.net/health/History-of-Diabetes.aspx#:~:text=The%20term%20diabetes%20was%20probably,sweet%20taste%20of%20the%20urine., accessed 5 August 2024.
National Library of Medicine Website, 'Diseases that run in the family', A Guide to Genetics and Health, n. d., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK115605/, accessed 5 August 2024.
Prelipcean, Maria, 'How do GAD antibodies affect diabetes?', Medical News Today, 25 March 2019, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313764, accessed on 5 August 2024.
Rosenfeld, Elizabeth & Thornton, P. S., 'Hypoglycemia in Neonates, Infants and Children', Endotext, National Library of Medicine, 22 August 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK594592/#:~:text=Hypoglycemia%20in%20neonates%2C%20infants%20and,primary%20fuel%20for%20brain%20metabolism., accessed on 5 august 2024.
Zaharia, Oana P. et al, 'Comorbidities in Recent-Onset Adult Type 1 Diabetes: A Comparison of German cohorts', Frontiers in Endocrinology, 3 June 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9205191/, accessed 5 August 2024.
