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Jane's Illness: What Did Community & Church Offer?

Image: Unsplash   This is the sixth post in this series about Jane Darragh Cassidy's illness. Catch up with the first five posts here:   Maria Jane Darragh's Illness: Researching Acute Mania in 19th Century Ontario Next Steps in Researching Jane Darragh's Diagnosis   Jane's Illness: What Did Acute Mania Look Like in the 19th Century?   Jane's Illness: Home Life, Beginnings of Mania, and Mental Illness as a Cause of Death  Jane's Illness: Home Care, Her Doctor, and Her Caretakers   In the past few weeks, I've been looking at my great-great-grandmother Jane Darragh Cassidy's cause of death—acute mania. We've learned that Jane was not institutionalized for her illness but rather cared for at home as was usually a first option. Her physician, Dr. John Sheahan, was newly graduated from the University of Toronto and opened an office in St. Catharines in 1896, just a few years before Jane fell ill. He possibly knew the most advanced treatments for Jane and ...
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Mysteries Solved! Cases Studies in Cracking Death and Burial Puzzles


Last year I was excited to hear that the editors of Stirpes, the journal of the Texas State Genealogical Society, had planned to publish an issue with a death theme. Now that might sound morbid, but think about it...there are so many records and resources that we can use to determine death dates, burial places, etc. And they might not be the ones you immediately think of, such as Find a Grave or a death register. 

I have had my share of challenges to determine when various ancestors died, where they were buried, etc. I wrote the article "Mysteries Solved! Case Studies in Cracking Death and Burial Puzzles," for the June 2025 Stirpes issue, "Final Footsteps: Our Ancestors' Journey."

I hope reading about these cases will give you ideas for solving your own death and burial puzzles. 

Let me know in the comments if any of these approaches might work for your case. Or, if you've had a similar success, share them here so we can all learn from one another.

Got Texas roots? Learn more about the Texas State Genealogical Society here. 

Until next time... 

© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2026. All rights reserved.  


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  1. Marian B. WoodJuly 16, 2026 at 4:55 AM

    Fabulous case studies! TY for fresh takes on how to answer such questions about where/when ancestors dies and where they were laid to rest.

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    1. Nancy Gilbride CaseyJuly 16, 2026 at 9:22 AM

      Thank you Marian. I am glad you found it useful. That's the goal! Thanks for reading and commenting.

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  2. Lisa S. GorrellJuly 17, 2026 at 6:37 AM

    Great article and case studies. I loved reading your article last year.

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    1. Nancy Gilbride CaseyJuly 17, 2026 at 8:15 AM

      Thank you Lisa! I appreciate that a lot. Glad you're reading Stirpes!

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