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Father John and Daughter Edith McDaniel Both Succumb to Tuberculosis

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In 1940 and 1945, respectively.

John Wesley McDaniel was born 16 July 1887 in Harrison, James (now Hamilton) County, Tennessee. He was one of ten children belonging to Sarah E. Capps (1864-1922) and George Oliver McDaniel (1862-1941). Two of his siblings were Jennie Green and Ott McDaniel.

John married Addie Ollie Lowe (1887-1982), daughter of James S. Lowe, about 1910. This couple had at least two children: James Elder McDaniel and Mary Edith McDaniel.

Twelve days before his 53rd birthday, John died. The cause of death was deemed to be Pulmonary Tuberculosis. John's death certificate doesn't explicitly state how long he suffered with the disease, but his attending physician cared for him for less than a week.


Mary Edith McDaniel was born 20 September 1917 in Hamilton County, Tennessee. She, too, succumbed to Pulmonary Tuberculosis on 3 October 1945. Edith had just turned 28 less than two weeks prior. It appears her attending physician was the same as her father's, and Dr. Hughes cared for her for almost a year.


Interestingly, mother Ollie and son James successfully weathered their exposure to the deadly disease. In another family I have researched, three of ten died of tuberculosis, even though you can presume all were exposed to it.

Scientists today claim a healthy immune system often kills the bacteria or contains it in a dormant, non-contagious state known as "latent-TB." There have been cases, however, where people with close and long-term contact with the bacteria never become infected. And this phenomenon is not yet fully understood.

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Both John and Edith were laid to rest in Maddux Cemetery at Harrison, Hamilton County, Tennessee. When Ollie died at the age of 95, she was laid to rest next to John.

(Better image at FindAGrave.)


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