I ordered my great uncle's death certificate from 1885 and received a coroner's inquest record for his death (as an infant).

The cause of death was "cholera infantum" which killed so many toddlers in the 19th century. It was from milk that had gone bad (no refrigeration).

I'm wondering why there would have been an inquest for such a common cause of death. How commonly were inquests held?

Is it common to receive an inquest record when you request a death record. (NYC sent me no death records -- presumably they didn't have one for him, so they sent this instead?)

Would really appreciate any insights on an inquest in a situation like this. It wasn't as though the baby had mysterious injuries.