Daily AncestorOld age
Old age as a cause of death meant an elderly person died without a specific disease that the family or doctor could name.
Old age was written when an elderly person simply faded and died. Most families and many doctors had no way to identify what failed, so age itself stood in as the cause.
It is still sometimes used to describe natural death in advanced years. It tells you little about medical history but confirms the person was considered old at death.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Susannah Biggs, 87, F, W, Widowed, Va., January, Old age
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Daily Ancestor. "Old age." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/old-age. Last checked 2026-10-01.