— ? Castleton. “prevailed with great severity.” (Gallup. Chap. II, “History of Diseases,” p. 52.)

–60 Orwell. Thompson. A Gazetteer of the State of Vermont. 1824, p. 203. Population ~1,376.[1]

— ? Shoreham. “…swept away vast numbers…” (Gallup. Chap. II, “History of Diseases,” p.52.)

Narrative Information

Gallup: “1804….This season, dysentery prevailed with great severity in Castleton. About this time, says my correspondent, it swept away vast numbers in Orwell and Shoreham.” (Gallup. Chapter II, “History of Diseases,” p. 52.)

Thompson: “Orwell….The dysentery prevailed here about the year 1804, and in the course of 60 days carried off 60 children.” (Thompson. A Gazetteer of the State of Vermont. 1824, p. 203.)

Sources

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

Thompson, Zadock. A Gazetteer of the State of Vermont; Containing A Brief General View of the State, A Historical and Topographical Description of all the Counties, Towns, Rivers &c. Together with a Map and several other Engravings. Montpelier, VT: Published by E. P. Walton (Printer) and the author, 1824. Google preview accessed 2-11-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=YHIDAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

United States Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce and Labor. (Second Census). Return of the Whole Number of Persons within the Several Districts of the United States. “Schedule of the whole number of Persons in the District of Vermont.” Washington, DC: Printed by order of the House of Representatives. Accessed 2-12-2018 at: https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1800-return-whole-number-of-persons.pdf

[1] According to the Second U.S. Census Return of the Whole Number of Persons within the Several Districts of the United States, p. 23, Orwell had a population in 1800 of 1,376. Of those, 493 were children under the age of 10. We do not have specific information on the ages of the children who died in this epidemic, but in many others we have looked at in this general time-period in colonial/U.S. history, the majority of deaths were children under ten years.

1804 — Summer-Fall (2 month period), Dysentery (especially children), Orwell, VT — 60