1796 — Scarlet Fever epidemic (especially children), Marblehead, MA and esp. VT–681-846

lornajarrettblanchard January 1, 1796

Marblehead, MA ( 21)

–21 Caulfield. “Some Common Diseases of Colonial Children.” Transactions, 1942, p. 35.

Vermont (660-825)

–660-825 Blanchard note on following towns and death toll from Gallup and US Census data.[1]

–20-25 Arlington, Bennington County. 170 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 9.

–20-25 Bennington, Bennington County. 375 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 9.

–20-25 Brattleboro, Windham County. 260 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Chester, Windsor County. 170 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Clarendon, Rutland County. 258 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Cornwall, Addison County. 150 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 9.

–20-25 Danby, Rutland County. 212 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Dorsett, Bennington County. 155 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 9.

–20-25 Dummerston, Windham County. 274 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Guilford, Windham County. 412 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Halifax, Windham County. 199 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Hartford, Windsor County. 168 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Hartland, Windsor County. 270 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Manchester, Bennington County. 200 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 9.

–20-25 Norwich, Windsor County. 181 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Orwell, Rutland County. 150 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Pawlet, Rutland County. 249 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Pittsford, Rutland County. 156 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Poultney, Rutland County. 190 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Pownal, Bennington County. 282 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 9.

–20-25 Putney, Windham County. 291 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Randolph, Orange County. 150 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 9.

–20-25 Rockingham, Windham County. 208 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Rupert, Bennington County. 179 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 9.

–20-25 Rutland, Rutland County. 243 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Shaftsbury, Bennington County. 301 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 9.

–20-25 Springfield, Windsor County. 204 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Thetford, Orange County. 157 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 9.

–20-25 Tinmouth, Rutland County. 171 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Weathersfield, Windsor County. 207 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Westminster, Windham County. 261 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Windsor, Windsor County. 240 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

–20-25 Woodstock, Windsor County. 268 heads of families. 1790 Census, p. 10.

Narrative Information

Gallup on VT: “1796. The first winter months of this year were the season of the greatest prevalence of the ulcerous sore throat, or canker rash.[2] It attacked, with great force, children and young people. Some aged people had it, who said they had been affected with it in their younger years. The eruption was, for the most part, very red, sometimes more of a crimson appearance; some cases had no vestige of eruption. Some had great swelling in the throat externally as well an internally. The fatal cases terminated, sometimes on the third, more commonly on the fifth or seventy day, with great distress, delirium, and difficult respiration.

“No data can be procured, in this part of the country, to ascertain the number of deaths in each town; if anything is offered, it must be a matter of opinion. I should say then, that in towns containing 150 families, perhaps 20 or 25 died. Some towns had more fatal cases than others in proportion to their population. Suring this and the following year, it affected perhaps all the towns in the middle and northern parts of the state.” (Gallup. Sketches of Epidemic Diseases in the State of Vermont. 1815, Chapter II, pp. 11-12.)

Source

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

Gallup, Joseph A., M.D. Sketches of Epidemic Diseases in the State of Vermont; From its First Settlement to the year 1815, with a Consideration of their Causes, Phenomena, and Treatment. Boston: T. B. Wait & Sons, 1815. Accessed 2-7-2018 at: https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/bookviewer?PID=nlm:nlmuid-2555005R-bk

United States Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce and Labor. First Census of the United States, 1790: Vermont. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1907. Google preview accessed 2-7-2018 at: https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html

[1] Gallup, in Narrative Information section below, guestimates in 1815 published book that in towns “containing 150 families, perhaps 20 or 25 died.” We consult U.S. First Census (1790) and note herein only the towns showing 150 or more “Heads of Families.” There were 33 such towns, which we first multipled times 20 and then against 25 to derive the range we show. We should point out a large majority of VT towns show fewer than 150 heads of families.

[2] We are assuming this is a reference to what would later be called scarlatina and then scarlet fever, in that Caulfield writes of scarlet fever in Marblehead MA. Caulfield notes that it is not always clear from descriptions of epidemics which involved severe sore throats and mortality whether the cause was scarlet fever or diphtheria. Additionally, we know from our research that “canker rash” was a term used for what we now think of as scarlet fever.