Tweet
Greetings all,
Francis Tumblety had died in 1903 and the cause of death as reported in the papers was valvular disease of the heart:
(Newark Advocate, Ohio, 30 May 1903, Kept Identity A Secret)
St. Louis, May 30. “…Dr. Tumblety was suffering from valvular disease of the heart.”
Since the 1860s, he was battling some sort of medical ailment. He rarely (if at all) discussed this and for good reason – bad for business. An Indian herb doctor claiming to cure all illnesses yet not his own, would seem to hurt business. He would visibly be a lousy testament. Regardless of the actual cause of his heart disease, in his 1893 autobiography, A Sketch in the Life of Francis Tumblety, he seems to hint at what he believed his medical problem was – rheumatic heart disease:
“The nature of the cause that has produced the disorder of the heart is a very important item; heart disease originating in an attack of rheumatic fever is usually more serious and brings on more rapidly and more frequently an organic lesion than when it is due to alcoholism…” “A hydro mineral treatment at Neris, Plombeires or Ais-les-Bains will do wonders in checking or lessening attacks of rheumatism, and in order to avoid more certainly their recurrence it is well to follow a perfectly regular life…”
“A person afflicted with a lesion of the heart is not necessarily an invalid… But although they are not ill, they are, through the fact of their lesion, continually exposed to serious trouble.”
According to the American Heart Association, rheumatic heart disease is a condition in which the heart valves are damaged due to rheumatic fever.
Francis Tumblety visited Hot Springs, Arkansas, on multiple occasions in his later life and Hot Springs was where countless people during the Victorian Age visited for a hydro mineral treatment. For example, one week prior to Carrie Brown’s NYC murder on April 23/24, 1891, Francis Tumblety was the victim of a theft in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Interestingly, even though he was so familiar with Hot Springs, he only noted Neris, Plombeires and Ais-les-Bains in his autobiography.
What I also find interesting is that he did not consider this infliction an illness. IMO, this reinforces the idea that he believed his medical ailment was rheumatic heart disease. It smells of denial and egotism.
Any thoughts?
Sincerely,
Mike
Francis Tumblety had died in 1903 and the cause of death as reported in the papers was valvular disease of the heart:
(Newark Advocate, Ohio, 30 May 1903, Kept Identity A Secret)
St. Louis, May 30. “…Dr. Tumblety was suffering from valvular disease of the heart.”
Since the 1860s, he was battling some sort of medical ailment. He rarely (if at all) discussed this and for good reason – bad for business. An Indian herb doctor claiming to cure all illnesses yet not his own, would seem to hurt business. He would visibly be a lousy testament. Regardless of the actual cause of his heart disease, in his 1893 autobiography, A Sketch in the Life of Francis Tumblety, he seems to hint at what he believed his medical problem was – rheumatic heart disease:
“The nature of the cause that has produced the disorder of the heart is a very important item; heart disease originating in an attack of rheumatic fever is usually more serious and brings on more rapidly and more frequently an organic lesion than when it is due to alcoholism…” “A hydro mineral treatment at Neris, Plombeires or Ais-les-Bains will do wonders in checking or lessening attacks of rheumatism, and in order to avoid more certainly their recurrence it is well to follow a perfectly regular life…”
“A person afflicted with a lesion of the heart is not necessarily an invalid… But although they are not ill, they are, through the fact of their lesion, continually exposed to serious trouble.”
According to the American Heart Association, rheumatic heart disease is a condition in which the heart valves are damaged due to rheumatic fever.
Francis Tumblety visited Hot Springs, Arkansas, on multiple occasions in his later life and Hot Springs was where countless people during the Victorian Age visited for a hydro mineral treatment. For example, one week prior to Carrie Brown’s NYC murder on April 23/24, 1891, Francis Tumblety was the victim of a theft in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Interestingly, even though he was so familiar with Hot Springs, he only noted Neris, Plombeires and Ais-les-Bains in his autobiography.
What I also find interesting is that he did not consider this infliction an illness. IMO, this reinforces the idea that he believed his medical ailment was rheumatic heart disease. It smells of denial and egotism.
Any thoughts?
Sincerely,
Mike