Betty Griffith wrote in part:
> I'm trying to find my ggg-grandfather, Isaac COYLE, in the
1900 census.
> He seems to be an elusive bird. Today I received a copy of his death
> certificate in the mail. He died in 1902; he was 91 years old--cause
> "senility". His address at death is recorded as 1241 Lexington Ave.
> (Center Twp) Indianapolis, IN. He is a widower at the time of his death.
> . . . ."
Hello Betty and all interested,
You say that Isaac Coyle died in 1902 at the age of 91. That places his
birth at about 1811. So I went through the on-line Ancestry census for 1900
selecting for all men named Isaac in Indiana approximately the right age
(+/- 5 years from 1811. There were only 27 "Isaac"s that old in 1900 and
none had a last name that was even close to Coyle.
There was a home for the "poor and aged" in Indianapolis on Vernon Street. I
think it was in Center township. I looked through the inmate list and did
not find anyone whose name was even close to "Isaac Coyle." However -- the
enumerator for that part of Indianapolis was not as meticulous as others so
he could have been missed if he was, indeed, at the institution.
Could Isaac have used another name at times? Perhaps a middle name?
As for the word, "senility" I think it used to mean "old age" more
than a
form of dementia. From Google:
" . . .The word 'senile' . . . was transformed during the nineteenth century
from a general term signifying 'the state of being old' to a medical term .
. . ."
I'll be glad to search anything else for you in the
Ancestry.com census
images if you let me know what to look for.
Jeanne Surber