When the death certificate for my Alexander McPhail finally came online, I did some further research to try to absolutely confirm his heritage. There were a total of 5 articles in the Seattle Daily Times about his tragic death due to accidental gas poisoning while cooking his dinner. As I don’t have other relatives in Seattle that I wanted to look up, I took the time to research the address he was living at – and was surprised to find that not only did a good number of the articles mentioning that address relate to deaths there, but they also suggested that gas poisoning was the cause of those other deaths.
As I researched further, I was able to find 15 deaths due to gas poisoning at 803 Charles Street that were mentioned in the Seattle Daily Times between 1920 and 1947. From a review of these articles/death certificates:
- Only one of the 15 deaths was a woman – and that particular case was a double suicide.
- A full third of the victims were Swedish
- 20% were German
- Three of them had the last name Johnson.
- Two of them shared the name “Carl Johnson.”
- Both Carls died in January, but they died 22 years apart.
- Ten of the deaths were suicide attempts. Eight were successful. One of the remaining two died a month later in a psychiatric institution.
- The youngest two men were in their thirties. The oldest two were in their seventies.
- Their average age was 55.
- Most of their occupations were labour intensive – general labourers, longshoreman, loggers.
| Date of Article | DC Link | Date of Death | Name | Age | DC Age | Dead? | Newspaper Cause | Cause on DC | Occupation | Country of Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-Jan-20 | Link | 11-Jan-20 | Carl Johnson | Abt 50 | Yes | Not mentioned | Gas poisoning – “probably” accidental | Logger | Sweden | |
| 27-Mar-22 | Link | 27-Mar-22 | Gust Johnson | 46 | 47 | Yes | Not mentioned | Poisoning – illuminating gas suicide | Laborer | Sweden |
| 21-Dec-24 | Link | 20-Dec-24 | Fred Torno | 43 | 73 | Yes | Not mentioned | Illuminating gas poisoning, accidental | Laborer | Germany |
| 26-Apr-32 | Link | 16-Jun-32 | Larry Cuculich | 63 | 66 | No | Suicide attempt (survived) | *Died 2 months later – General paralysis of the insane | Logger (NP), Laborer (DC) | Austria |
| 05-Nov-33 | Link | 09-Nov-33 | Alexander McPhail | 60 | 60 | Yes | Accident | Illuminating gas poisoning, accidental | Laborer | Canadian |
| 28-Jan-36 | Link | 27-Jan-36 | William Mosley | 70 | 70 | Yes | Not mentioned | Illuminating gas poisoning, suicide | Laborer | Negro |
| 29-May-39 | N/A | James Hilton | 54 | No | Suicide attempt | Unsuccessful – no DC w/n 2 years in Seattle | Unknown | |||
| 12-Dec-41 | Link | 11-Dec-41 | Peter Ross | 50 | Abt 50 | Yes | Suicide | Illuminating gas poisoning, suicide | Laborer | Unknown |
| 04-Jan-42 | Link | 02-Jan-42 | Carl Johnson | 65 | Abt 50 | Yes | Double Suicide | Illuminating gas poisoning, circumstances unknown | Sweden | |
| 04-Jan-42 | Link | 02-Jan-42 | Anna Peterson | 65 | Abt 50 | Yes | Double Suicide | Illuminating gas poisoning, circumstances unknown | Sweden | |
| 11-Sep-42 | No Image | 11-Sep-42 | Archie E. Ballard | 50 | Yes | Suicide | N/A | Longshoreman | Unknown | |
| 13-Aug-46 | Link | 13-Aug-46 | Julius J. Stern | 74 | Yes | Not mentioned | Illuminating gas poisoning, suicide | Old age pensioner | Germany | |
| 16-Jan-47 | Link | 16-Jan-47 | Frank Breunig | 39 | 39 | Yes | Accident | Illuminating gas poisoning, accidental | Longshoreman and Truck Driver | Germany |
| 06-Mar-47 | No Image | 05-Mar-47 | Alfred J. Ruud | 36 | 35 | Yes | ? Might not be gas | N/A | Unknown | |
| 02-Sep-47 | Link | 01-Sep-47 | Victor Julius Hallen | 72 | 72 | Yes | Suicide | Illuminating gas poisoning, suicide | Fisherman | Sweden |
As I’d run out of credits for the Seattle paper, I had to settle for looking at Newspapers.com to determine how common gas poisoning was as a cause of death. There is obviously a huge spike in the search term “gas poisoning” during the WWI period. After that, the Hamilton Spectator contains a number of gas poisoning deaths for the period between 1920 to 1947. The Toronto Star lists several a month at the beginning of the time period, gradually spreading out, but not all of these are deaths in Toronto (the Star had a much wider reach than the Spectator).
My research suggests that during the early to mid-20th century, natural gas was a common method for suicide and accidental deaths in both Canada and the United States. The odourless nature of natural gas at that time made it particularly dangerous, as leaks were difficult to detect. This led to numerous fatalities, both intentional and accidental.
A significant turning point occurred in 1937 with a school explosion in Texas that resulted in the deaths of nearly 300 students and teachers. This tragedy prompted the widespread practice of adding odorants to natural gas, making leaks more detectable and significantly improving safety.
A study by the US National Library of Medicine suggests that gas poisoning is still a suicide method of choice in Toronto today. Another study in the publication suggests that accidental deaths by gas poisoning in Canada have been trending down for years.
While it’s impossible to make direct comparisons to other similar locations, the clustering of deaths at 803 Charles Street raises questions about living conditions, societal support for vulnerable populations, and the psychological toll of transient or precarious lifestyles during this era. My findings offer a small yet significant glimpse into a period when the dangers of technology and the challenges of mental health were not yet fully understood or addressed.
This exploration serves as a reminder of the human stories behind the data—stories of hardship, loss, and eventual systemic change. It also underscores the importance of continuing to study and learn from the past to ensure safety and well-being in the present and future.
