A child left behind: Malnutrition and chronic illness of a child from the Erie County Poorhouse Cemetery

Abstract

This osteobiography describes a probable disease co-occurrence in a juvenile interred in the Erie County Poorhouse (ECPH) cemetery, Buffalo, New York. The remains were associated with a salvage excavation project at the University at Buffalo. The osteobiography details the palaeopathology of the skeletal remains of an 11- to 12-year-old child who died between 1851 and 1913 at the ECPH. The skeleton displayed lesion patterning consistent with co-occurrence of healing scurvy, probable tuberculosis or another type of chronic bacterial infection, and possibly other metabolic disorders via co-morbidity or co-occurrence. In 19th-century Buffalo, New York, a child with these pathologies, and their associated functional limitations, was likely disabled by society. This may have contributed to the child's stay in the ECPH and ultimate interment in its associated cemetery. The palaeopathology community will find the lesion manifestations insightful when attempting to diagnose co-occurrence via skeletal remains in children. We were limited in the certainty of our diagnoses due to the pathological skeletal manifestations and preservation of the vertebral column, inability to conduct histological analyses, reburial of material in 2017, and thus no photos/radiographs of certain diagnostic items. Considerations about how age intersects with pathology can lead to insightful investigations of disability and impairment in the past.