Friday, March 5, 2021

Netta or Metta? Her 1894 Butler County, Pennsylvania, Death Record

Brendice Gerner told me when she was in her late 90s that she had a sister named Meta Mildred who died in 1894.  While researching in a book of transcriptions of deaths in Butler County, Pennsylvania, I saw her name as Netta, and so I've been wondering which is correct.  Brendice was born a year after Meta/Netta died so it's likely she only heard the name and did not see it written.  It's easy to mishear or confuse an M and an N.

Perhaps you can please help?  This is a partial copy of her record in Butler County (Pennsylvania) Registration of Deaths, 1893-1906, on a digitized film of the original record book at FamilySearch.  Her name is at the top of this image.  Clearly there are two t's but what are the first and second letters?  I included the names below for comparison of handwriting.



What do you think?  Metta or Netta, or do you see a different name from those?

Below is an image of the whole page (she's about halfway down), then just her line, and below those is a transcription of her information.  Click on any of the images to enlarge them in a new tab in your browser.
This is the transcription.
Page 43 [both pages have the same number], G, Registration of Deaths, Butler County.
[left page:]
Name of Deceased.  Gerner, Netta M. [or is it Metta?]
Color.  white
Sex.  Female
Age.  4 mo.
Name of Father. (If minor.)  Fred Gerner
Name of Mother. (If minor.)  Elvira Gerner
Married or Single.  Single
Place of Birth.  Bruin
right page:]
Occupation.  [blank]
Date of Death.  Nov 7 1894
Place of Death. (Street and Number.)  Bruin
Cause of Death.  Enlargment [sic] of liver
Duration of Last Sickness.  2 weeks
Place of Interment.  Bear Creek C.
Date of Interment.  Nov 9 1894
Date of Record.  Dec 15 1894

Notes and Observations
  • I was thrilled to find the digital image with this information but hoped that her name would be so clearly written that there would be no question about it.  The transcription I have from a book just isn't the same as seeing an image of the original entry in the ledger.
  • It's interesting that both Netta/Metta and her father, Fred Gerner, had liver problems.  Could it be that there was a genetic or hereditary relationship between their problems?  Fred died of chronic interstitial hepatitis whereas Netta/Metta died of an enlarged liver. 
  • How would an enlarged liver have been diagnosed in 1894?
  • I checked Bear Creek Cemetery at Find-a-Grave but did not find Netta/Metta.  It's possible that she has no grave marker.

Thanks for offering your interpretation of her name in the record if you have time.  I appreciate it.

-–Nancy.

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Do not copy or use any content from this blog without written permission from the owner. 

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6 comments:

  1. I'd say Netta with a capital N and then a capital E tta.The Ms in Mary and Male are clearly M.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Linda. I was hoping for confirmation. We both see the same thing. Perfect!

      Delete
  2. It looks like Netta with an "N". There is a similiar "e" on the birthplace of William B. Graham, a little farther down. It is Renfrew PN and the second "e" looks like the one in Netta's name.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Robin. It looked like Netta to me and I'm grateful for the confirmation. You really poured over that page to find the e in Renfrew! I appreciate your taking the time to look. Thank you.

      Delete
  3. Compared to an M at the beginning of another name, I'd say that the name you are after is Netta.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's what I saw, too, QuiltGranma. I was hoping for confirmation and you gave it. Thanks!

      Delete

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