Health and the Henricksons

The prompt for last week was "health." I thought it'd be interesting to take a look at the general health of our ancestors. Knowing the health history of a family can help people be aware of certain conditions and know what to look out for. This post will look at the Henrickson side of the family. 

My grandfather, Raymond Henrickson, was the 9th born child of the 12 children born to George and Malvina Henrickson. Of the 12 children, 11 lived to adulthood. The youngest child, Victor, was born March 10, 1921 and passed away on January 3, 1923. The death certificate states that cause of death was tuberculous meningitis and he had been treated for it for 6 days. From December 23, 1922 to January 2, 1923. Today it can be treated with drugs and medicine not available in 1923.

The next sibling to die was Evald Henrickson. He was born in 1911 and passed away in 1951. I haven't found a documented cause of death, but my mom said she thought he had kidney trouble. He was only 39 years old. Grace Henrickson Wall passed away in 1957 at the age of 52. Ingrid passed away in 1964. Neither had any children. Both are reported to have passed away from cancer. It's not known what type of cancer. Oldest son, Sidney, passed away in 1965. He died in a Veteran's hospital. His cause of death is unknown too. He was 63 when he passed away.

Aside from these early deaths, the other Henrickson siblings led relatively long lives. Selma and Eulalia lived to 85. Pearl was 89. Carl was 70. Esther lived to 78. Elvera lived to 91, and Raymond lived the longest of all. He passed away at the age of 93. I remember Grandpa saying he was glad to have lived longer than his mother.  

Going back a generation, let's look at George and Malvina Henrickson. 

George Henrickson was born in 1875 and died in 1941 at the age of 66. His cause of death was Pernicious Anemia. Pernicious Anemia is an autoimmune disorder where the body is unable to absorb B12. Being unable to absorb B12 then leads to many more complications, the most important being the body's inability to make red blood cells.  According to George's death certificate, he was treated for the condition for 5 years. There is still no cure for this disease, but it is treated with taking vitamin B12 shots, or orally. It is not a common disease, occurs mostly in older adults over the age of 60, in women, and in people of northern European/Scandinavian descent. People with pernicious anemia are also more likely to develop or have other autoimmune conditions, such as Type 1 Diabetes, Vitiligo, and Autoimmune Thyroid Disease. I remember Grandpa telling me about his father's condition. George had said it felt like he had cats in his chest, clawing to get out. Some of the symptoms include rapid pulse, tingling of the skin, abdominal bloating, rapid weight loss, weakness in the arms and legs, shortness of breath, and pale skin.

By contrast, Malvina Anderson Henrickson was born in 1879 and passed away in 1964. She gave birth to 12 children. Little is known about her because she generally kept to herself, despite living with Ray and his family. The children were instructed to leave her alone and not bother her. She may have had some bladder control problems in her older years, but that wouldn't be unusual after carrying 12 children to term. She was 84 years old when she passed away. 

George Henrickson outlived both his sisters. One sister passed away at the age of 2 and his younger sister passed away at the age of 63 following an illness of several months, according to a newspaper article.

George's parents also lived pretty long lives, for the times. George's father, Johan, passed away at the age of 76 from heart disease. His mother Ingrid passed away at the age of 81, apparently from natural causes. Interestingly, Ingrid was also the longest-lived sibling out of her family. Her sister Amanda died at age 48. She's reported to have been sick most of her life. Her other sister, Sara lived to 73. She suffered from Rheumatoid Arthritis. Brothers Jonas and Anders lived to 80 and 71, respectively. Rheumatoid arthritis is another autoimmune disorder. Amanda was always labeled ill or sick in the Household Examination books. I'm going to guess she may have had an autoimmune condition too. Another interesting fact is that Kajsa Jonasdotter, the mother of Ingrid, was noted to have a crippled hand, even as a younger woman. I'm wondering if she also suffered from RA? There definitely seems to be more autoimmune conditions from this branch of the family tree.

Swinging back to Malvina's family, Malvina also lived longer than both of her siblings. Her older brother Frank passed away at the age of 65 in 1939 from bronchial pneumonia, with Shingles also listed as present at time of death. Malvina's younger sister, Selma, also died in 1939, at the age of 56. Her death certificate lists Natural Heart Failure.

Malvina's parents also have heart disease listed as their causes of death too. Father, Carl Anderson, passed away at the age of 74 in 1915. The doctor wrote that Carl had been out working on the farm earlier in the day, came in and called for the doctor, but was dead before the doctor arrived. It was noted he had been treated previously for heart disease. Malvina's mother, Ulrika, passed away in 1918 at the age of 78. Her death certificate notes that she had been treated for chronic endocarditis before her death. 

It is possible to go back even further in Sweden with causes of death. The two main causes of death were either from a sickness, usually pneumonia, or if the person was older, it was usually listed as heart disease.  

So there you have it, the health history of the Henrickson family, going back to the 19th century in Sweden. I'm working on another post for the Strand and Bellinger families. 

Questions, comments, or have more information to share? Post below or email me. Feel free to share this post with others. I'm always looking for more relatives to add.