This register is from the Reformed Church in the town of Szekszárd in Tolna county. It includes a very substantial amount of identifying information for a death register of this era. It is also illustrative of how important additional information is included -- in this case a detailed description of a cause of death.
Format: Simple-list, but with substantial information to help identify each decedant.
Content of Register.
Column.
- Date: Day and Month of Burial.
- Identification of Decedant: Most entries give not only the name, but other information that puts the decedant into context. For example:
- 2 Jan -- Sarah young daughter of Paul Ranga aged 6 1/2 years.
- 6 Jan -- the widow Mrs. Paul Török born Catharine Bálint aged 88 years.
- 23 Feb -- the old widower Michael Csanádi aged 80 years.
- 25 Feb -- originally from [the town of] Fadd, Mrs. Stephen Gaspár born Elisabeth Kováts aged 57 years.
- Age at Death: given as years (eszt abbreviation for "esztendös") or months (hónap) or weeks (hét) or days (nap) -- see examples of all on this page.
- Burial Performed: "with my own words" (Énekszó) or "by the teacher" (Tanitás). In Lutheran churches most burials were performed by the teacher; in Reformed churches the pastor and teacher shared this duty to a greater degree; in large Roman Catholic churches most burials were performed by an assisting priest (káplán).
- Cause of Death: this register is unusual because, in addition to the cause of death, the length of the illness is often noted. For instance, in the entry of January 6th the 88 year-old widow Lukáts died after 4 days of "shooting pains" (nyilallás). Remember that medicine was far more primitive than we are accustomed to, and so the causes of deaths due to illness -- while often interesting -- are not very reliable in a modern sense.
Interesting Note see entry of April 12: My fifth-great-grandfather, the "old" Adam Tolnai, died at age 83 and the pastor provided considerably more information about his cause of death than was typical even for this register -- "on the 24th of March he severely injured his left leg while cutting reeds; he was taken to the barber who amputated the leg; but, despite this treatment he died at dawn on April 11." Sometimes you're lucky and find such interesting family stories.