Least; The Least Lived

I struggled with this writing prompt; least what? And then I stumbled across a person in my husband's ancestry, whilst researching the original Ferguson for the 'Symbol' post a few weeks ago. In that story I searched for the birth, marriage, and death records for Helen Ferguson's parents. Helen Ferguson, and her husband Ebenezer Grosset were my husband's 3x great grandparents. Ebenezer Grosset was born on the 26th October 1829, in Burdiehouse, Liberton, Midlothian, in Scotland. Liberton is now considered a neighbourhood in the south of Edinburgh city.  Before he married Helen Ferguson, Ebenzer Grosset was married to an Elizabeth Thompson (sometimes spelled Thomson). They married on the 30th June 1852, when Ebenezer was 22 and Elizabeth was 26. /

From the Ordnance Survey Map of Scotland, 1856-91

Elizabeth and Ebenezer had 4 children together. The first three were Ebenezer, William, and Helen Murray. But it was the fourth child that grabbed my attention for the purpose of this week's writing prompt. You see Elizabeth died on the 17th August 1858. She died from 'phthisis pulmonaris', the archaic medical term for the disease we now call tuberculosis, or TB. Elizabeth had suffered from 'consumption', the colloquial term for the disease, for more than 12 months. During those 12 months Elizabeth became pregnant with her  fourth child, and on her death on 17th August 1858, her baby girl was born prematurely. Elizabeth's daughter lived for  8 short hours, and died on the 18th August 1858. Ebenezer Grosset registered the death of his wife, and the birth and death of his baby daughter, all on the following day; 19th August 1858. It must have been quite a tragic few days for the family, and I can only imagine the sense of loss he would have felt on that day.

Death certificate for Elizabeth Thompson

Birth certificate for Baby Girl Grosset

Death certificate for Baby Girl Grosset

Consumption was also known as the Great White Plague, or the White Death, due to the pallid colour those suffering from the disease would turn. It is thought that tuberculosis is one of the worlds greatest killer diseases throughout history, and has generally hit the most poverty stricken in society. In 1838-1839  somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of poor, working class men died from TB, whilst just 1/6 of the 'gentleman' class died from the disease. Despite these statistics, our family tree, branches of all classes, rich and poor, is littered with deaths from 'phthisis'; usually the type that affects the lungs, although TB can affect many other organs in the body.

The Young Consumptive, by Henry Robinson Peach, 1858

Strangely, the look of consumption was rather 'en vogue', during the Victorian era. It was generally felt, by society, that there was something romantic about the thin, pale, melancholic appearance of a person wasting away from this disease. This romanticism was encouraged by poets and writers, such as Keats, Shelley, and Emily Bronte all of whom, ironically, died of the disease. Lord Byron did not die from tuberculosis, but he did once wish that he would die from consumption, reasoning that "all the women would say, 'See that poor Byron- how interesting he looks in dying.'" It seems so strange to the modern mind, that anyone would desire such an awful, destructive death. 

The rates of tuberculosis in the world have decreased over time, due in part to a better understanding of the disease, better treatment, and mass vaccination programs. In the 19th century tuberculosis killed roughly a quarter of the adult population of Europe. In 2022 the same disease killed around 1.3 million worldwide. I have, however, been pondering on how today's cat walk and fashion models are often very thin, and pale looking, and how it seems that our modern society is still hankering after the 'consumptive' look. When will we return to admiring the looks of a person robust with good health?

#Grosset

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https://victorianweb.org/science/health/tb.html

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/pgrs/documents/Granite%20Tuberculosis.pdf

https://thegildedhour.com/tuberculosis/

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/700944

https://www.thecollector.com/tuberculosis-art/

https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/tuberculosis-a-fashionable-disease/

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=14.0&lat=55.91611&lon=-3.17633&layers=205&b=ESRIWorld&o=100

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis

https://www.valmcbeath.com/victorian-era-england-1837-1901/victorian-era-consumption/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tuberculosis#Nineteenth_century