Daily AncestorAcute indigestion
Acute indigestion on an old death record meant a sudden fatal attack blamed on the stomach; the Census Bureau warned the phrase was often worthless.
Webster's 1913 defines indigestion as a failure of proper digestion, or dyspepsia. The 1911 Census Bureau manual lists gastritis and acute indigestion as undesirable terms, frequently worthless as causes of death and loosely used for almost any fatal illness with stomach irritation.
A sudden death after a meal, with pain high in the belly, could have had many real causes.
As seen in a recordCause of death line, state death certificate, 1910s to 1930s
Cause: Acute indigestion. Duration: 4 hrs.
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Acute indigestion." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/acute-indigestion. Last checked 2026-10-12.