Genealogy Chat

Thank you everyone for all your replies and suggestions. So it does appear that the weather was extremely hot around the time he died. What I find very sad is that his widow never remarried and lived a further 53 years after his death, dying at the ripe old age of 97.

I looked up Apoplexy, it is to do with strokes, lose of blood and sudden unexpected death. So with the weather report for that time I would say yes it was heat strokes.

Carole I found this by googling "September 1898 weather England" "7th September 1898 - highs reached 33.4C in Norwood, London. Nationally this was the hottest day of the year. " So it looks as though Sep 1898 was very hot. nell

Unfortunately your area/year isn't covered, but you can find out about seasonal extremes on this website: http://homepage*.*ntlworld.com/booty*.weather/climate/1850_1899*.htm remove * first. oh drat it won't print the **ing address. So, just google 1898 weather! nell

Heat stroke is caused by excessive heat - not necessarily sunshine, it could have been another heat source. nell

It's an interesting line of inquiry to check the weather at the time but keep in mind that it doesn't have to be especially hot for someone to heat stroke. People regularly get heat stroke in the UK despite our lousy summers! A number of factors including exposure to sun, heat, physical exertion, dehydration or other illnesses can cause heat stroke. If you ancestor was a coach driver a number of these could have played a part. There's lots of info on heat stroke on any first aid site. Louise

There is a forum here which might be worth trying.... http://www.ukweatherworld.*co.uk/forum/thread-view.asp?threadid=16520&posts=8 Martin

Try the Met Office. They keep records. Whether they will answer a personal query I dont know. Or, search the local newspaper archives at the local library. Margaret

Hello, I am trying to find out about the weather in Essex in September 1898. My Great Great Grandfather's death certificate states that he died of Heat Apoplexy 4 days (which I believe is heat stroke). He died on 9th September 1898 in Loughton, Essex, aged 46. I need to know if the weather was exceptionaly hot around 5th September 1898. He was a coachman so I guess he would have spent a lot of time riding outside, but I wouldn't have thought he would die of heat stroke! Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you.