Daily AncestorStroke of paralysis
A stroke of paralysis, or shock of paralysis, was an old way of saying a person had a stroke (apoplexy), often leaving part of the body paralyzed.
The 1911 Census Bureau manual lists stroke of paralysis, shock of paralysis and paralytic shock under cerebral haemorrhage and apoplexy, so these deaths counted as apoplexy. Webster's 1913 defines apoplexy as sudden loss of consciousness, sensation and voluntary motion.
The same manual told doctors that when hemiplegia, paralysis of one side, followed apoplexy or cerebral haemorrhage, they should report that first cause.
As seen in a recordNewspaper death notice, 1860s to 1900s
Died, of a stroke of paralysis, Mrs. Lavinia Orcutt, aged 74.
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Stroke of paralysis." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/stroke-of-paralysis. Last checked 2026-10-12.