Natural Causes
The “hand of God” is an active presence in CSI:D files. To be sure, the Almighty took no part in the suicides and homicides; those were the work of men “not having God Before [their] Eyes But moved by the instigation of the Devil.” Deaths that could be traced to what we would call ‘natural causes,’ however, were typically deemed an ‘act of God,’ a ‘visitation by God,’ or the ‘dispensation of Providence.’
Such cases expand on the point made in the introduction that coroners’ inquests paint a very particular portrait of death in the nineteenth-century South. The stock and trade of the coroner’s office were sudden deaths, especially those that intruded upon the public view. An old man succumbing to slow cancer in his own home was unsuspicious and unlikely to be investigated. This explains why heart attacks and strokes (which they called apoplexy) figure more prominently than fever among the ‘hand of God’ cases in these files. It also explains the relative frequency of deaths that occurred out-of-doors. Daniel Brown died in his cotton field; Jane Laniere died “in the woods near the public road”; Hartwell Roper “fell dead ... at his plow.”
The words ‘Hand of God’ were also used in cases where the deceased had been struck by lightning. (In perhaps the strangest case, Broderick Mason and his enslaved girl, Cinthy, were killed by the same lightning bolt, a sure sign that God does not play favorites.) Despite the similarity in terminology, however, lightning deaths have been filed as accidents because, like cave ins and train crashes, they are cases of people simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time and however ‘natural’ they might seem they are not a ‘natural death.’
NEXT: Meet the Coroners
Natural Causes Inquests
| Name | Deceased Description | Date | Inquest Location |
Death Method |
Inquest Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Clark | near Lyles Ford, Fairfield County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that in their opinion Sam Clark came to his death from Heart diseas |
|||
| Harry Horton | October 8, 1889 | at Harry Hortons, Chesterfield County, SC |
upon their oaths do say That the aforesaid Harry Horton came to his death by the act of God or natural causes |
||
| slave | slave | May 31, 1832 | Kershaw County, SC |
do unanimously believed that the said negro woman deceased formerly the property of Isaac Mothershed now lying Dead came to her death by an act of God |
|
| Amanda Glover | August 30, 1892 | at Mr Pofse[?] Lotts Plantation, Edgefield County, SC |
upon their oaths do Say That Amanda Glover came to her death from hart Failure |
||
| Caroline Batson | freed woman | November 21, 1866 | at Reedy River Church, Greenville County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that she came to her death by exposing herself while sick with fever |
|
| Hezehiah Gulledge | January 14, 1889 | at Clifton, Spartanburg County, SC | |||
| Sarah Ellen Oliver | January 2, 1904 | at J. W. Crawley's place, Chesterfield County, SC |
from the examination and testimony believe that she came to her death from natural causes. |
||
| Marisley Malone | September 23, 1890 | at the residence. Mrs Fooshers, Laurens County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that on the night of the 22nd day of Sept. AD 1890, at the House of Mrs. Foosher in Laurens County, that the said Marilsey Malone came to her death by the Act of God. |
||
| Sopha Bolz | April 2, 1876 | at John Wolf's Place, Fairfield County, SC |
upon their oaths, do say: that she came to her death [?] have no doubt from Diesase of the heart |
||
| Reuben Johnson | March 11, 1881 | Spartanburg County, SC |
upon their oaths ... do say that the said Reuben Johnson ... came to his death from natural causes |
||
| infant child | infant child | August 9, 1837 | on the plantation of Mr. Austin Wilson, Union County, SC |
do say upon their oaths that the said Child . . .died by the visitation of God in a natural way |
|
| William Anderson | April 14, 1864 | at the plantation of T.[?] S Boles, Edgefield County, SC |
upon there oaths do say that said William Anderson came to his death by some sevear attack of disease. . .by Mischance or Visitation of God |
||
| Clarissa Campbell | freedwoman | March 29, 1867 | at the residence of Sarah Campbell, Anderson County, SC |
that the said Clarissa Campbell a freedwoman came to her death natural by the act of God |
|
| Curtis Outlaw | February 21, 1895 | at Campbell's Graveyard, Chesterfield County, SC |
upon their oaths, do say: That the said Curtis Outlaw came to his death form blood clot on the brain [????] apoplexid |
||
| Martha Stevenson | Fairfield County, SC |
from what I can see on the other children it died from influenza |
|||
| Miss Vida Nivius | April 4, 1923 | at Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Chesterfield County, SC |
We the Jury after viewing the Body of Miss Nivius find that the dec'd aforsaid she came to her death from natural causes |
||
| Amanda Hogan | May 11, 1898 | at the late residence of Miss Amanda Hogan, Kershaw County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that the said Amanda Hogan came to her death from natural and providential causes |
||
| Bluford Abney | November 14, 1894 | at M.A. Colemans plantation, Edgefield County, SC |
the said Bluford Abney came to his death by natural causes or colic |
||
| Henry Shaw | April 14, 1899 | at the place of R. W. Humphries, Kershaw County, SC | |||
| Mid[?] Griffin | February 2, 1895 | at the Govelace[?] Place, Edgefield County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that the Aforesaid Mid Griffin came to his death by Heart failure |
||
| William Fisher | September 12, 1855 | at the home of Sarah Vanderford, Union County, SC |
upon their oaths do say . . .that they are of opinion that the Said William Fisher died a natural death by [?] and by the act of God |
||
| Sarah Acock | February 25, 1881 | at D. R. Davison, Chesterfield County, SC |
upon their oaths do say That the said Sarah Acock came to her deathby some caus or causes unknown to the Jury |
||
| Bilpha Hargroove | February 1, 1847 | at Joseph Simmon's, Laurens County, SC |
do say upon there oaths, That after a thorough examination of the body we find no marks of violence or bruises on the body, we after a full examination of the testimony we are of opinion that the Deceased came to her death by appoplectic fit or some suffocation. |
||
| Elsie Starks | at N.C. Roberts' place, Fairfield County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that the deceased came to her death from some cause uknown to the Jury between two & seven Oclock the 21st Jan 1883[.] |
|||
| Infant of Susie Redfern | Infant of Susie Redfern | at Mt. Croghan, Chesterfield County, SC |
[No official declaration] |
||
| Emmar McDonald | daughter | November 27, 1881 | at William McDonald's, Greenville County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that the sd Emma [?] McDonald came to her death by asphyxia of the brain, or some unknown cause |
|
| Mary Gillam | January 1, 1891 | at Mrs Francis Wrights Plantation, Edgefield County, SC |
upon their oaths do Say that the said Mary Gillam came to her death from Rhumatism from the Heart |
||
| Sally Williams | July 19, 1880 | n.a., Anderson County, SC |
find her lungs badly affected and diseased came to her death from consumption & had consumption badly. |
||
| Lou Terry | November 25, 1884 | Spartanburg County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that [she] came to her death from natural causes |
||
| Pleas Jackson | August 6, 1899 | at M. E. Tomlinsons, Chesterfield County, SC |
upon their oaths, do say: That the said Ples Jackson came to his death by natural causes |
||
| George Roberts | May 2, 1896 | Laurens County, SC |
we the Jury Empannelled in the case of the State vs dead body of George Roberts find that he died From Heart failure |
||
| Unknown | at the Gailiard Plantation, Fairfield County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that the said infants death was from premature birth, from best evidence we can get, it not being over six months old the 17 of Feb 1886[.] |
|||
| Chanya | slave | December 31, 1849 | at A.G.W. Gordon's, Spartanburg County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that she came to her death by infirmity and old age |
|
| Major | negro man the property of no person | July 29, 1845 | at the plantation of Miss M. J. Rogers, Union County, SC |
upon their oaths do say, that the above named Major came to his death by the act of God, |
|
| Doublin | male slave, boy | April 5, 1857 | at the Residence of Mrs Delila Philips, Edgefield County, SC |
upon their oaths do say. . .that the deceased Doublin in manner and form aforesaid came to his death by a Providential occurrence under the influence of an apoplectic fit. |
|
| Child of Mary Muree | Child of Mary Muree | October 8, 1833 | at the meeting house nown by the name of Pleasant Hill, Laurens County, SC |
do say upon their oaths, the affore said child then and their died of the visitation of God, and not otherwise. |
|
| John Boone | July 31, 1893 | at the residence of Jno Boone, Chesterfield County, SC |
upon their oaths, do say: that the deceased came to his death from heart trouble |
||
| George Jefferis | near Crosbyville, Fairfield County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that in their opinion George Jefferis came to his death from appoplexy |
|||
| John Polk | February 27, 1889 | at Hannah Polks House, Chesterfield County, SC |
upon thire oaths do Say Infant child came to his death from natural causes unknown to the Jurors |
||
| Lydia Parish | December 6, 1835 | at the house of Mrs. L. Parrish on Rutledge Street in the town of Camden, Kershaw County, SC |
find no reason to suppose the deceased came to her death otherwise than by the act of God or in the course of nature from diesease the particular character of which is unknown to us |
||
| Edmond Smallwood | October 19, 1892 | at E. C. Ridgells Plantation, Edgefield County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that he came to his death. . .from heart trouble |
||
| Milton Ponder | January 19, 1867 | at Milton Ponder's, Greenville County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that the said Milton Ponder came to his death . . . by the hand of Providence |
||
| M. H. Miller | April 10, 1889 | at W. T. H. Miller's, Spartanburg County, SC |
upon there oaths do say that from the evidence given Martha Miller died with heart disease |
||
| Authur Lee Johnson | October 1, 1904 | at the place of Mary Cassidy, Chesterfield County, SC |
[No official declaration] |
||
| Josephine Smith | October 12, 1890 | on the plantation of M.B. Pool, Laurens County, SC |
upon their oaths do say that the said Josephine Smith from some natural cause unknown to the jury. |
||
| Manerva Proctor | September 19, 1876 | at Thomas Anderson's place, Fairfield County, SC |
upon their oaths do say: That Manerva Proctor came to her death by disease of the heart. |
||
| Mariah Pincy | July 10, 1881 | Spartanburg County, SC |
upon their oaths aforesaid do say that said Mariah Princey ... came to her death from heart disease |
||
| negro child a slave | negro child a slave | January 27, 1835 | on the plantation of T Hooker, Union County, SC |
do say upon their oaths that the Sd child . . .died by the visitation of god in a natural way |
|
| Lizza | colered woman | October 7, 1866 | at the house of Thomas S. Miller, Edgefield County, SC |
upon there oaths do say that the deceased died from a desease of the Heart |
|
| Hardy McKinney | freedman | July 28, 1867 | at an old field near F. Wyne's, Anderson County, SC |
do say that said decd being diseased came to his death by the visitation of God |
