# Diabetes - Genealogy **URL:** \ **Category:** My Story\ **Created:** [July 18, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/diabetes-genealogy/4515 "2018-07-18T17:44:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![T1Allison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c77e96/32.png) [@T1Allison](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/T1Allison)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/diabetes-genealogy/4515/1 "2018-07-18T17:44:37Z")
While working on my amateur genealogy today, I came across this 1928 death certificate for my 74 year old great-great-great uncle citing “Diabetes Mellitus” as his cause of death, with “Diabetic Gangrene” as a secondary cause. This is the first death certificate citing diabetes in my family that I’ve found. I was quite surprised by it given the year. I need to brush up on my diabetes history to have a better idea of what doctors knew about the disease at that time. ![William%20L%20Brown%20Diabetes%20Death%20Cert%201928](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/fudiabetes/original/2X/7/760aed3c4b028f8613d28ec68674b30ee684bd02.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Chris](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/chris/32/382_2.png) [@Chris](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Chris)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/diabetes-genealogy/4515/2 "2018-07-18T18:18:54Z")
Here is a good place to start that @Richard157 shared. > [@A History of Insulin](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/a-history-of-insulin/3387): > > The video below gives an excellent history of the discovery of insulin. WARNING: There are pictures shown that may be disturbing to some of you. This is a very well prepared, and very educational video. I hope that many of you will appreciate this. Would be interesting to know when he was diagnosed, since insulin was in its infancy in the 1920’s. ---
**Author:** ![TiaG](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/tiag/32/594_2.png) [@TiaG](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/TiaG)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/diabetes-genealogy/4515/3 "2018-07-18T18:31:55Z")
That’s really interesting. Given that he was 74 and he died of gangrene I sort of wonder whether he was T2 rather than T1. But of course at that time, there was no distinction. ---
**Author:** ![T1Allison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c77e96/32.png) [@T1Allison](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/T1Allison)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 7:55pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/diabetes-genealogy/4515/4 "2018-07-18T19:55:49Z")
@Chris and @Richard157, thanks for the link to that video. Amazing story and history there. @TiaG, I assume he was Type 2 like you said. If I find anything more, I will post it. ---
**Author:** ![Richard157](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/richard157/32/1996_2.png) [@Richard157](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Richard157)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/diabetes-genealogy/4515/5 "2018-07-18T21:05:00Z")
Thanks for recalling the video. I had not seen it for awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Sensorium139](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/forum.fudiabetes.org/sensorium139/32/6950_2.png) [@Sensorium139](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/Sensorium139)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/diabetes-genealogy/4515/6 "2018-07-18T22:28:47Z")
It’s possible he was someone with LADA? hard to say but he died in 1928? so that’d be 5 years after the mass marketing of insulin. All diabetics were treated with Insulin until at least like the 40’s I think? Type 1 and 2 weren’t even distinctively diagnosed until 1936. From what I understand though, type 1 always has been known of first since people died of it faster. ---
**Author:** ![T1Allison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c77e96/32.png) [@T1Allison](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/u/T1Allison)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/diabetes-genealogy/4515/7 "2018-07-19T18:30:44Z")
Check this out! Eli Lilly Civil War Recruitment Poster: ![Eli%20Lilly%20Civil%20War%20Recruitment%20Poster%20-%20found%20w%20Asa%20Martin%20hints](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/fudiabetes/original/2X/3/3f32df93db34aa1b912faeaa74e924a53d785e89.jpg)