Leier Family Chart
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CAUSES OF DEATH
born February 25, 1912 in Kings County Hospital - died March 23, 1912, age 1 month.
Father: John J. Sullivan
Mother: Edith Kuntze (1890-1912)
Cause of death: Marasmus
Marasmus is severe undernourishment. In baby Katherine's case, it was caused by a "Gastro Enteric Origin", that is, inflammation of the stomach and lower intestine.
Katherine's mother Edith Kuntze had contracted Erysipelas Fasciitis, a flesh-eating skin infection. When Katherine was born at Kings County Hospital, Edith was too sick to care for her. Neither mother nor daughter ever left the hospital alive. Four weeks after her birth, baby Katherine died on March 23, and Edith the next day. They are buried together in the same unmarked plot at Evergreens Cemetery with Edith's grandmother Louise Pubanz Nowasky and where her mother Bertha would go when she died in 1923.
Erysipelas Fasciitis is effectively treated with Penicillin. Unfortunately for Edith, Penicillin wasn't discovered until 1928.
Although her death certificate lists Katherine's father as John J. Sullivan, there is no evidence that Edith ever married. Plus, the baby's surname is listed as Kunzer, which we may assume was an error in the spelling of Kuntze.
