1745 — Malignant Dysentery Epidemics, Shrewsbury, MA, esp. Stamford (one st.), CT–>80
—>80 Blanchard tally from locality breakouts below, especially those noted by Caulfield.
Boylston, MA ( ?)
–? Rev. Parkman diary: Mr. Morse of Boylston writes of sickness in his community.[1]
Stamford, CT ( 70)
–70 Beach. “Contagions and Epidemics in America,” Journal of the AMA, Vol. IV, N.11, 1885.
–70 Cadwallader Colden. Collect. N.Y. Historical Society, LXVII, p. 330; in Caulfield, fn 140.[2]
–70 Purvis, Thomas L. Colonial America to 1763. NY: Facts On File, Inc., 1999, p. 174.[3]
Shrewsbury, MA (>10)
—>10 Vital Records of Shrewsbury; cited in Caulfield 1942, p. 51, footnote 142.[4]
— >3 “Several” “dysentery” deaths. (We translate “several” into “at least three.”
Sutton, MA ( ?)
–? Benedict and Tracy. History of Sutton, p. 70; cited in Caulfield 1942, p. 51.[5]
Westborough, MA ( ?)
–? Caulfield 1942, p. 50.[6]
Narrative Information
Beach: “In this same year [1745] a malignant dysentery carried off seventy persons at Stamford, Conn., and one of the peculiarities of the epidemic was that it was confined to one single street.”. (Beach. “Contagions and Epidemics in America,” Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. IV, No. 11, 3-14-1885, p. 282.)
Caulfield: “It was said that in 1745 ‘the town of Stamford in Connecticut was severely distressed by a malignant dysentery, which swept away seventy inhabitants out of a few hundreds. The disease was confined to one street.’[7] In the same year dysentery epidemics started in Westborough, Massachusetts, and surrounding towns. The Reverend Ebenezer Parkman wrote in his diary:
September, 1745. 6th at Eve Mr Bezal Eager come from Mr Billings wth his Earnest request to have me go over to see his sick Children. I went and found his little son, his only son, very nigh to Death, and Two little Daughters sick—returned at abt ten & ½ to my Family. Their sickness is Fever & Flux wc greatly prevails in Shrewsbury and many Childr are taken away . . . 10th . . . my Wife and I went to the Funeral of Two of Mr Billing’s Children—his little son and a little Dauter who Sabbath was Sennight went hand in hand to ye House of G. now lay in one Grave & in one Coffin. They were buryed by the New Meeting House. The first yt have been buryed in that place . . . 12th Fast on the North side. Mr Cushing [of Shrewsbury] sent a Letter yt the Sick and Dead among ym prevented his coming. Mr Morse [of Boylston] sent a Letter also yt not only was ye most distressing Sickness among his nrs but he hims. was Sick nay and desired a Fast might be kept among them next Week . . . 16th Was at ye Funeral of anor of Mr Billings Children & Mrs Billings ill. N.B. A Story has got about of a Dream of Mrs Billings, & wc I took the Freedom to enquire into and wc she confirmed, viz yt she Saw a man bring ye Coffin of her youngest Child into ye House upon wc She looked on: but presently yre came in another Man wth a large Coffin, & said to her yt she had not need take on for her Child for here was a Coffin for her also, for she wd die next . . . N.B. Mr Hale who lives near ye new burying place (tis said) saw a large Coffin (as well as a small one) in ye air just over ye Burying place last Tuesday evg imedly after ye burying Mr Billings Two Childr. wc storys much fright pp abt Mrs Billings Death but I reply’d yt we have a more Sure word of prophecy &c. Mr John Oake & Mr Jesse Brigham have Each of ym a Child very bad of ye Distemper both wc I visited & prayd with. 17. I visited Eunice Bradish A.M. She lying Sick. Messengers one after anor of ye Deaths and Sickness among us. Mr Brighams & Oakes Childr dyd last night. Mrs Billings very bad. Mrs Dinah Goodenow taken last night, but better today.[8]
Sources
Beach, Wm. Morrow, M.D. “Contagions and Epidemics in America,” Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. IV, No. 11, 3-14-1885, p. 282. Google preview accessed 1-28-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=EvVGAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Caulfield, Ernest. “Some Common Diseases of Colonial Children.” Transactions of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Vol. 35, April 1942, pp. 4-65. Accessed 1-17-2018 at: https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/865
Purvis, Thomas L. Colonial America to 1763. NY: Facts On File, Inc., 1999. Google preview accessed 1-9-2018 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=BZRJSx3uMYEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[1] See Rev. Parkman diary excerpt below in Caulfield 1942, p. 50.
[2] Caulfield has in Dysentery section of his paper.
[3] “Table 6.7 Outbreaks of Epidemic Disease in Colonial America,” pp. 173-174. (Purvis, Thomas L. Colonial America to 1763. NY: Facts On File, Inc., 1999, p. 174; cites John Duffy. Epidemics in Colonial America. 1972.) Listed as Typhoid Fever.
[4] Notes multiple deaths (meaning at least two) in five families. Thus there were at least 10 deaths, probably more.
[5] “In near-by Sutton [~Shrewsbury], on November 5, it was proposed to set aside a day of humiliation on account of ‘ye sickness.’
[6] “In the same year [1745] dysentery epidemics started in Westborough, Massachusetts, and surrounding towns.”
[7] Cites Noah Webster. Pestilential Diseases, I. p. 239.
[8] In footnote 143, cites: MS., A.A.S. See also Vital Records of Shrewsbury (multiple deaths in the Bragg, Davenport, Hapgood, Herrington, and Keyes families).”