Daily AncestorPainter's colic
Painter's colic was lead poisoning, named for house painters who absorbed lead from lead-based paint and suffered cramping belly pain.
Lead poisoning causes abdominal pain, constipation, weakness and, in severe cases, seizures and death. House painters mixed and sanded paint made with white lead, so they were among the most exposed workers.
If an ancestor was a house painter or worked with lead in another trade, painter's colic on a death record fits. Other old names for lead poisoning include plumbism, saturnism and Devon colic.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Jas. Burke, 44, Painter, Painter's colic
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Daily Ancestor. "Painter's colic." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/painters-colic. Last checked 2026-10-01.