In one of my Family History Library trips I found a book containing the cemetery records for the Plain City Cemetery. I copied the pages with Lund’s and Taylor’s then added them to my database. Under “LUND” there was an entry for Verla.
Source: Evelyn B. Christensen Harris, Plain City, Weber County, Utah cemetery records, typed by the Genealogical Society of Utah (N.p.: The Genealogical Society of Utah, n.d.), 26.
Verla, b. 20 Jan. 1922, Plain City, Ut. child of Victor Erastus Lund & Edith Pearl Taylor, d. 29 Jan. 1933.
This young girl died at 11 years old! At the time I didn’t continue my research, but since I’ve been looking at census records for Victor Lund’s family I found Verla’s name again. In the 1930 census she was 8 years old. How did she die? To find out I went to the Utah State Archives and found her death certificate.
Source: State of Utah, Utah Death Certificates, 1904-1956, Series 81448, Entry 14159, Verla Lund, 29 March 1933; digital images, Utah State Archives and Records Service, Utah State Archives (archives.utah.gov : downloaded 4 March 2012); Series no. 81448.
Transcript:
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1 Place of Death
County or
Precinct or
City / no. / ward
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Weber
Ogden / Dee Hospital
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2 Full Name
Residence No. / St.
Length of residence in city or town where death occurred (yrs. mos. ds)
How long in U.S., if foreign birth?
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Verla Lund
Plain City, Tuah
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3 Sex
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Female
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4 Color or Race
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White
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5 Single, Married, Widowed, or Divorced
If Married, Widowed, or divorced, Husband of (or) wife of
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Single
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6 Date of Birth
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January 20, 1922
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7 Age
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11 yrs. 2 mos. 9 ds.
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8 Occupation
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Student
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9 Birthplace (City or town)
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Plain City
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(State or Country)
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Utah
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10 Name of Father
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Victor Erastus Lund
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11 Birthplace of Father (State or Country)
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Plain City, Utah
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12 Maiden Name of Mother
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Pearl Taylor
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13 Birthplace of Mother (State or Country)
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Plain City, Utah
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14 Informant
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Mrs. R. F. Cottle
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Address
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2975 Jackson Ave, Ogden
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15 Filed / Registrar
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Mar 30 1933 / N. H. Savage
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16 Date of Death
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March 29, 1933
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17 I hereby Certify, That I attended deceased from Feb 28, 1933 to Mar 29, 1933 that I last saw her alive on Mar 29, 1933 and that death occurred, on the date stated above, at 5 PM.
The Cause of Death was as follows: Ruptured appendicitis and peritonitis Duration: 31 ds.
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18 Where was the disease contracted if not at place of death?
Did an operation precede death?
Was there an autopsy?
What was the confirmed diagnosis?
(Signed), M.D.
Date/Address
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Plain City, Utah
No
No
—
(signed)
3-30, 1933 / Ogden, Utah
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19 Place of Burial, Cremation or Removal
Date of Burial
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Plain City, Utah
April 2, 1933
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20 Undertaker
Address
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Lindquist & Sons
Ogden, Utah
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21 Registered No.
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126
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22 no of Burial or Removal Permit
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12
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- Cause of death is listed as “ruptured appendicitis and peritonitis”. So for 31 days this young girl not only had endured the pain of a ruptured appendix but the subsequent infection that ultimately took her life. How overwhelmingly sad. The more I research family history the more grateful I am for the blessings of living in the modern world, and especially for modern medicine. This cause of death would be unheard of in the USA today.
- I’m not sure who the informant, a Mrs. R.F. Cottle, is. The only Cottle in my database is a Laurence Nelson Cottle, who married Victor’s aunt Lettie Rosella Lund. Could the R.F. refer to one of their son’s meaning the informant was his wife, making her Victor’s Cousin-in-law? Alternatively, perhaps one of Edith Pearl’s sisters married a Cottle.
- The death date is listed incorrectly in the cemetery records.