Story County, Iowa 1880 Mortality Schedule

Search Story Co. 1880 Mortality Schedule

The Mortality Schedule has been abstracted from microfilm. The Mortality Schedule was Schedule 5 for the 1880 census. (The main population schedule was Schedule 1.) The deaths were to be recorded for the 1880 census year which began 01 Jun 1879 and ended 31 May 1880. The earliest deaths recorded in the Story County Death Registers begin later in 1880, so there is no other source of information about many of these deaths. As always, errors can be introduced at many places, beginning with the original enumeration and including the transcription. It is your responsibility to verify the information contained here.

The overall process had the enumerator determining those deaths that occurred in the enumeration district as well as deaths that occurred outside of the district for those families living in the district as of June 1, 1880. Later, those out-of-district deaths were copied to the district in which they occurred and were crossed out within the original district. Thus, you won't find here the deaths of people who died outside the county but whose families appear in the 1880 Story County census. The intent is that the final list is of all deaths that occured within Story County for the census year, whether or not the family of that person appears in the Story County census.

There are five sections to the form. For a detailed explanation of how the data was recorded, read the instructions to the enumerator.

Main Section. Lines are provided to record each death in the following columns:
1. Line number. This column is not visible on the microfilm, but can easily be determined by counting the lines.
2. Col 1. Family number from schedule 1. This column is not always visible on the microfilm. For those persons transferred from other enumeration districts, "P.R." is usually written in the column.
3. Col 2. Name of deceased.
4. Col 3. Age
5. Col 4. Sex
6. Col 5. Color
7. Col 6. Single
8. Col 7. Married
9. Col 8. Widowed/Divorced
10. Col 9. Decedent's place of birth
11. Col 10. Decedent's father place of birth
12. Col 11. Decedent's mother place of birth
13. Col 12. Occupation
14. Col 13. Month of death. Some enumerators recorded deaths that occurred Jan-May 1879 which is outside the census year. When that happens this column is misleading because it is assumed that January to May falls in 1880 and June to December falls in 1879.
15. Col 14. Cause of death. This will often be incorrect because the handwriting was difficult and some medical terms were obscure to the layman.
16. Col 15. How long resided in county. Some enumerators filled this in only when the person had moved into the county. Others filled it in even when the person was born in the county. I included it only when different that the person's age.
17. Col 16. Where desease contracted if not at place of death.
18. Col 17. Attending Physician.
19. Deaths for which families had moved to another district as of June 1, 1880. I placed this information in the "Enumerator Remarks" field.
20. Deaths which occurred out of district for which family was in district on June 1, 1880. I ignored this information since the decendents information was later crossed out.
21. Remarks. This was used by the enumerator, usually to comment on certain deaths. I place this information in the "Enumerator Remarks" field.
22. Physician Statement. On reverse side of form, this contained:
  1. Line number from main form.
  2. Cause of Death: Primary.
  3. Cause of Death: Immediate
  4. Physician Signature
    
    The following information is included for each record:
    1. Township (from schedule)
    2. Enumeration District Number (from schedule)
    3. Name of Enumerator (from schedule)
    4. Family Number from Schedule 1 (from schedule)
    5. Surname (from schedule)
    6. Given Name (from schedule)
    7. Age Last Birthday (from schedule)
    8. Sex (from schedule)
    9. Color (from schedule)
    10. Marital Status (from schedule)
    11. Place of Birth (from schedule)
    12. Father's Place of Birth (from schedule)
    13. Mother's Place of Birth (from schedule)
    14. Occupation (from schedule)
    15. Month Died (from schedule)
    16. Cause of Death (from schedule)
    17. Time in County (from schedule)
    18. Where Desease Contracted (from schedule)
    19. Attending Physician (from schedule)
    20. Primary Cause by Physcian (from schedule)
    21. Immediate Cause by Physician (from schedule)
    22. Physician Signature (from schedule)
    23. Enumerator Remarks (from schedule)
    24. Date of Birth (estimated by subtracting age from date of death or taken from grave marker)
    25. Date of Death (usually from form but sometimes from grave marker)
    26. Date Came to Story County (estimated by subtracting time in county from date of death)
    27. Grave Marker ('yes' if one located in Story Co, 'No' if not, blank if uncertain)
    28. Cemetery (from grave marker books)
    29. Grave Marker Information (from grave marker books)
    30. 1880 Census Head of Household Surname (from 1880 census)
    31. 1880 Census Head of Household Given Name (from 1880 census)
    32. Transcriber Comments
    As a check against the schedule, I have attempted to determine whether or not a grave marker survives for that person in Story County and have included some information from the marker. This information was extracted from the excellent set of Story County Cemetery Grave Marker Inscriptions sold by the Iowa Genealogical Society. I have not attemped to include all information about the marker or anything about nearby markers, but rather leave it the researcher to obtain the appropriate book. Information on purchasing is available from the Iowa Genealogical Society.
    
    I have also included when possible the name of the head of household from Schedule 1 for the family the decendent.
    
    Please E-Mail Mark Christian with your questions, comments, or suggestions.
    
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