52 Ancestors #2: Richard Daniels

This post is for the little Uncle who never made it to a census. Richard M. Daniels was born on September 3rd, 1913 in Columbus Ohio. He died on April 7th, 1918 in Columbus Ohio...smack dab between the census cycle. According to the back of this photo, he had light hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. He was the second child born to Clyde and Ruth (Schilling) Daniels, and therefore, my Grandfather's brother. Besides this picture, and his death certificate, I don't have much knowledge about this little fellow. Although, I will write more about his Mom and Dad later. One thing I do have concerning little Richard, is the following story my Grandfather, Charles Daniels, related to me in 2002 about his brother's death:

"Besides my Brother Horace, I had another Brother Richard, and a sister Garnet. Both of them died at a young age and are buried with my Mom up in Columbus. I was the oldest and next came Richard. He was such a sweet little boy.When he was about five, he got real bad sick and the doctors didn't know what was wrong. He was sick for quite awhile and finally the doctor sent for doctors and professors from Ohio State University to help figure out what was wrong with him. But even them with all their tests could not find out what was wrong. He kept getting sicker and sicker and I remember that two ladies came from the Church and prayed for little Richard. They said 'Lord, if this little boy can't get better and get well, please take him home.' It was only about an hour after they prayed over him that he died. As a little boy this made a big impression on me and I can still see it like it was yesterday."

As a post script to his story, I am including a copy of Richard's death certificate below. The doctor listed pneumonia as the cause of death, and that he had the illness for over two months! He was not quite 5 years old, about four and a half - which was interesting to me. The doctor gave a clear cause of death with a notation that read "No Other Cause". I don't know how common that type of notation would have been. At first I thought maybe Grandpa's memory was a little off, but that notation makes me think he was remembering pretty spot on. He got Richard's age correctly, and the long illness.....

Here is something that might help fill in the blanks - some conjecture - as it turns out, Richard's little sister Garnet had passed away the year before, at the age of one and a half....almost exactly a year earlier....of "lung and cerebral complications following the measles." In the years following the death of the two children, Ruth was naturally known to have not taken this double tragedy well - no one would have. She joined a spiritualist church in an attempt to talk to her dead children. My guess is that the lingering, lung related, illness of her second child, so close to the death of her daughter, sent a panicked stricken Mother to the jugular of the local doctor. If he could not make the child any better, and as Richard continued to decline, I would bet there was some pressure to get extra help in the treatment, perhaps explaining Grandpa's memory about the University doctors and professors. It is heartbreaking that nothing could save this sweet little boy. Perhaps next week I will post about Garnet's death. The double grief caused a ripple effect in the family.