1898 — Sep 1-7, Heatwave, esp. NYC (196-304), NJ (40) and Philadelphia (30) –297-407
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 2-1-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–297-407 Blanchard tally based on State breakouts below.
The range we note is large, which might bring into question the high-end of the estimated death-toll, but it does not include the large number of deaths of babies and elderly with underlying medical conditions whom also would have died, as several papers noted, though without speculating on the numbers. The numbers reported by the newspapers we use as sources (there being no US Government data) primarily represent deaths the result of those who died of sunstroke or heat exhaustion. Babies are poorly equipped to tolerate prolonged periods of high heat and humidity that does not substantially diminish overnight. At the time, many such deaths were classified as “cholera infantum.” Many would have certainly died.
Summary of State Breakouts Below
Connecticut ( 1) Sep 3
Illinois ( ~8) Sep 1-4
Maryland ( 13-15) Sep 1-6
Massachusetts( 1) Sep 3
New Jersey ( >40) Sep 2-6
New York (196-304) Sep 1-7
Ohio ( 7) Sep 2-5
Pennsylvania ( 30) Sep 1-7 All deaths in Philadelphia
Rhode Island ( 1) Sep 2
297-407 Sep 1-7
Breakout of September 1-7, 1898 Heat Wave Related Deaths by State
Connecticut ( 1) Sep 3
–1 Greenwich, Sep 3. John Dorin, 55, liveryman; prostrated while returning from New York.[1]
Illinois ( ~8) Sep 1-4
— 3 Chicago, Sep 1. Daily Journal, Freeport, IL. “Murderous Heat at Chicago.” 9-2-1898, p.2.
— 4 “ Sep 1-2. The World, NYC. “Great Extent of the Hot Wave.” 9-3-1898, 12.
— 3 “ Sep 3. Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. “Deaths in Chicago.” 9-4-1898, p. 7.
–1 William Ahrbeck, bookkeeper.
–1 Frank Schultz, carpenter.
–1 Unidentified man found dead on Harrison Street bridge.
— 1 “ Sep 4 Centralia Daily Sentinel, IL. “Thunderstorm Brought Relief.” 9-5-1898, 4
Maryland (13-15) Sep 1-6
–13-15 Blanchard tally: we show 13 names. If Alton Telegraph is included then it would be 15.
— 1 Baltimore, Sep 1. John Gebelein, 48, at work at Wilkens hair factory.[2]
— 1 “ Sep 1. Noah Webster, 81. “…the heat and old age caused his death.”[3]
— 4 “ Sep 2. Alton Evening Telegraph, IL. “The Hot Wave.” 9-3-1898, 5.
–1 “ Sep 2. Arthur Delavy, 38, cook at Hotel Stafford.[4]
–1 “ Sep 2. James Ford, 45, overcome at Light & Montgomery Streets; died in hosp.[5]
— 1 “ Sep 3. Carl C. Mehring; 33, butter dealer, overcome in Belair market and died.[6]
— 1 “ Sep 3. Vincent Mizieky, 35, tailor.[7]
— 1 “ Sep 4. Walter Neville, 25; Heart failure “superinduced by the oppressive weather.”[8]
— 1 “ Sep 5. Patrick O’Leary, Belair House proprietor, No. High St., “effects of the heat.”[9]
— 1 “ Sep 5. George Ingalls, brewery worker, taken ill at work died on way to hosp.[10]
— 1 “ Sep 6. Luke Cox, 48, driver for George Chipman & Co., 200 East Lombard Street.[11]
— 1 Easton Sep 3. George Thomas Hardcastle, 70, from Sep 2 heat prostration.[12]
— 1 Leitersburg area, Sep 2. John Forsythe, prostrated by heat working as farm tenant.[13]
— 1 Rohrersville, Sep 4. Jacob H. Mullendore, about 65. Overcome by heat walking on farm.[14]
Massachusetts ( 1) (Sep 3)
–11 Boston, Sep 2-3. Alton Evening Telegraph, IL. “The Hot Wave.” 9-3-1898, 5.[15]
— 1 “ Sep 3. Boston Daily Globe. “Daniel Kane a Heat Victim.” 9-4-1898, 4.
New Jersey ( 40) Sep 2-6
— 2 Bayonne, Sep 5. The World, NYC. “Heat Kills Two at Bayonne, N.J.” 9-6-1898, p. 7.
— 1 Elizabethport, Sep 2. NYT. “Twenty-One Die of Heat [Manhattan].” 9-3-1898, 12.
— 1 Hackensack, Sep 2. NYT. “Twenty-One Die of Heat [Manhattan].” 9-3-1898, 12.
–12 Hoboken, by Sep 2. The World. “Victims in Hoboken…Mortality…Infants.” 9-3-1898, 12.
— 8 Hoboken, Sep 3-6. Jersey City News, NJ. “Fatal Hot Wave.” 9-6-1898, p. 1, col. 6.
–1 Alfred Baily, 27. Overcome at 121 Willow Ave. home; died on way to hospital.
–1 Phelam Brennan, 45, saloon keeper; overcome at home; died in St. Mary’s Hospital.
–1 Fred Constable, 57, 311 Park Avenue; died at home “as the result of a sunstroke.”[16]
–1 Patrick Fitzpatrick, 34, overcome on the street, Sep 4; died at St. Mary’s hospital.
–1 Adolf Heiser, 38, bartender; found dead in bed at home.
–1 Louis Struckmann, 30, saloon keeper; overcome at work; died in St. Mary’s Hosp.
–1 Frederick Swarling, 22, assistant engineer, Bremen Line steamship Barbarossa.
–1 James Tier, 25. Overcome on the street Sep 4; died in St. Mary’s Hospital.
— 8 Jersey City Sep 3-6. Jersey City News, NJ. “Fatal Hot Wave.” 9-6-1898, p. 1, col. 6.
–1 Sep 3. Bernard Flaherty, 35, overcome at work in railroad yards, foot of 18th St.
–1 Sep 4. Michael Mahon, 31, died in City Prison.
–1 Sep 4. Henry Thremplin, 43. Overcome at 59 Sussex St. home; died shortly after.
–1 Sep 5. John Brady, 42, died from the heat at 533 Grand St. home.
–1 Sep 5. Charles Stoltz, 33, baker, found in 544 Newark Ave. hallway; died in hospital.
–1 Sep 6. John Egan, 45, found in a lot on Fourteenth St. between Jersey and Erie.
–1 Sep 3-6. Thomas Sheridan, 40, found dead in boarding house room on Wayne St.
–1 Sep 6. Henry Witter, 45, prostrated and died at 221 Railroad Avenue home.
— 1 New Brunswick, Sep 4. Daily Times, New Brunswick. “Heat Caused Death.” 9-6-1898, 1
— 2 Newark, Sep 3. NYT. “Two Deaths in Newark.” 9-4-1898, 10.
—>5 Trenton, Sep 3-4. Isaac Drake, 93, William Stutz, Joseph Manna, Carl Gompper, Edwin Wendel.[17]
New York (196-304)[18] Sep 1-7
–196-304 Blanchard compilation of death toll range noted in sources below. We highlight dates
where conflicting death tolls are noted. Additionally, we point out that our tally of
daily reports does not rise to the fatality numbers reported by The World of Sep 6 and
Sep 7 and the Quincy Journal of Sep 7. We recognize that there is a large difference.
— ? Camp Wikoff Quarantine Camp, Montauk, Long Island.[19]
— 1 Newtown, L.I. NYT. “Twenty-One Die of Heat…Three Score…Prostrated.” 9-3-1898, 12.
–272 NYC by Sep 5. The World. “Hot Wave Receding, Cool Weather Due.” 9-7-1898, 12.
–268 “ by Sep 5. The World, NYC. “Heat Killed 39.” 9-6-1898, p. 7.
–250 “ by Sep 5. Quincy Journal, IL. “250 Lives.” 9-6-1898, p. 3, col. 2.
–292 “ by Sep 6. The World. “Hot Wave Receding, Cool Weather Due.” 9-7-1898, 12.
–224 “ Sep 1-7 Blanchard tally of high-end of individual days noted below.
–194 “ Sep 1-7 Blanchard tally of low-end of individual days noted below.
— 2 “ Sep 1. New York Times. “The News Condensed.” 9-2-1898, p. 1.
— 24 “ Sep 2. NYT. “Twenty-One Die…Heat…Three Score…Prostrated.” 9-3-1898, 12.[20]
— 31 “ Sep 2. Boston Globe. “Killed By Heat. Thirty-One Deaths…[NY].” 9-3-1898, 12
— 60 “ Sep 3. NYT. “Scores Felled by Heat. Sixty Deaths are Reported…” 9-4-1898, 10.
— 46 “ Sep 4. NYT. “More Deaths From Heat. Forty-Six.” 9-5-1898, 2.
— 53 “ Sep 5. Quincy Journal, IL. “250 Lives.” 9-6-1898, p. 3, col. 2. (Greater NY.)
— 39 “ Sep 5. The World, NYC. “Heat Killed 39.” 9-6-1898, p. 7.
— 10 “ Sep 6. NYT. “Ten Deaths From Heat.” 9-7-1898, p. 2.[21]
— 20 “ Sep 6 The World, NYC. “Hot Wave Receding, Cool Weather Due.” 9-7-1898, 12.
— 11 “ Sep 7. The World, NYC. “Deaths From The Heat.” 9-8-1898, p. 12.
— 1 “ Sep 12. NYT. “Policeman Gilligan Dead.” 9-13-1898, p. 11. (Prostrated earlier.)
— 1 Rockaway Beach, Queens. NYT. “Twenty-One Die of Heat.” 9-3-1898, 12.
Ohio ( 7) Sep 2-5
— 1 Blanchester, Sep 2. Woodrow Whitacre. Sunstroke.[22]
— 2 Cincinnati, Sep 3. Piqua Daily Call, OH. “Heat Fatalities in Cincinnati.” 9-3-1898, p. 1.
–1 John Moore, laborer; died after coming home from work complaining of heat.[23]
— 1 Cincinnati, Sep 4. Massillon Independent, OH. “Died From The Heat.” 9-5-1898, p. 3.
— 1 Cincinnati, Sep 5. Altoona Mirror, PA. “Died From The Heat.” 9-5-1898, p. 4.
— 1 Cleveland, Sep 3. S. Munsch, 60. “Heart trouble and intense heat caused his death.”[24]
— 1 Wapakoneta, Sep 2. Louis B. Steve. Sunstroke.[25]
Pennsylvania ( 30) Sep 1-7
— 30 Blanchard tally based on date breakouts below.
–~30 Philadelphia Inquirer. “The Hot Wave At Last Broken.” 9-8-1898, p. 3.
— 3 Philadelphia, Sep 1. Philadelphia Inquirer. “Three Dead, Thirty-Six Prostrated.” 9-2-1898, 1.
“ John Buck, 50, overcome 911 Orlanna St.; died at St. Mary’s Hospital
“ William Hordeker, 48, found unconscious in Ninth St. stable; died on way to hosp.
“ Woman thought to be Mrs. O’Neill prostrated near Elm and Belmont Avenues.
— 3 “ Sep 2-3. Alton Evening Telegraph, IL. “The Hot Wave.” 9-3-1898, p. 5.
“ –1 Sep 2. Ernest Horn, 45, 2149 Dove Street.[26]
“ Sep 3. Patrick Laughlin, 40, Ice Co. driver, overcome at work; died in hosp.[27]
“ Sep 3. William Hessian, 63. Heat exhaustion; died in Hahnemann Hosp.[28]
— 9 “ Sep 4. Philadelphia Times. “Showers and Cool Weather…Nine Deaths…” 9-5-1898, p. 1.
“ Henry Blumstein, 30 or 38, died at 1231 Emil Street home. Coroner ruled heat.
“ Patrick Egan, 35, overcome at 2210 Greenwich home; died at St. Agnes’ Hospital
“ John Gallagher, 40, found dead in bed, 2816 East Morris St. Coroner ruled heat
“ Raymond Jones, 7 months, died at 1946 Shamokin Street home.
“ James M. Mackin, 35, died at 3831 Cresson Street home.
“ John Marriot, 38, overcome at 547 North Tenth St. home; died at Hahnemann.
“ John Moser, 26, overcome at 701 Mifflin St. home; died at St. Agnes’ Hospital.
“ Christian Pfuster, 63, died at home.
“ Geroge Sweeney, 37, died at home.
–10 “ Sep 5. Philadelphia Times. “Plenty of Work at the Coroner’s Office.” 9-6-1898, p. 8.
[Note: These are the deaths that Coroner ruled that heat was cause of death.]
–Alfred G. Ardes, 37, 716 Hancock Street
–Patrick Cosgrove, 32, rear of 1304 Olive Street
–James Glanding, 78, 204 South Eleventh Street
–Patrick Golden, 34, 1509 Pearl Street
–Daniel Haldouser, 34, 633 North Third Street
–James Lynn, 48, 2207 Callowhill Street
–James Oldroyd, 48, 4618 Canton Street
–George Seeney, 36, 135 Master Street
–Jacob Sonn, 40, 1623 Dover Street
–John Woods, 50, 1802 Tusculum Street
— 5 “ Sep 6. Philadelphia Inquirer. “The Hot Wave…Deaths…Yesterday…” 9-7-1898, 1.
Margaret Bulger, 55, domestic Chelten Avenue home near Reading Railroad.
Samuel Jones, 1644 North Fourth Street, died in Episcopal Hospital.
John M’Collom, 48, 1229 Christian Street; died at Howard Hospital.
William M’Phillimy, 40, 1712 South Twenty-first Street; heat exhaustion at home
Patrick Rice, 35, 1209 South Twenty-fourth Street found dead in bed.
Rhode Island ( 1) Sep 2
— 1 Providence, Sep 2. Boston Daily Globe. “Killed By Heat.” 9-3-1898, p. 12.
Illinois:
Sep 2, The World: “Chicago, Sept. 2. — This was the fourth day of hot weather up in the nineties. The mercury reached 91 in the forecaster’s tower on the Auditorium, but in the streets below it was three degrees warmer….One effect of the heat in this vicinity is to postpone the opening of the public schools in the suburb of Oak Park one week. Similar action is talked of in this city, where a strong movement has begun to have the school opening fixed for Sept. 12, instead of the 5th, as planned. The deaths due to heat in the past twenty-four hours include…[4 names and addresses].” (The World, NYC. “Great Extent of the Hot Wave.” 9-3-1898, 12.)
Sep 3, NYT: “Chicago, Sept. 3. – Should the high temperature continue unbroken until to-morrow morning all Chicago heat records for duration will have been broken. The record to date has been five consecutive days, with a maximum temperature in the nineties. In many places work has been suspended in shops and where men are obliged to labor exposed to the sun. The suffering in the tenement district has been intense. For duration and intensity of heat, Prof. Cox of the Weather Bureau says that the present hot wave is about as severe as anything he has ever observed. ‘It covers,’ said he, ‘practically the entire country east of the Rocky Mountains, and has run as high as 102 degrees above in Kansas, while in Huron, S.D., there have been three successive days of 100-degree weather.’ The reports of fatalities and prostrations from heat in the last twenty-four hours in Chicago showed one dead…nine prostrated, recovery doubtful, and thirty-one less seriously overcome.” (NYT. “Intense Heat in Chicago.” 9-4-1898, 10.)
Sep 5: “Chicago, Sept. 5. – A severe thunderstorm in this city last night brought temporary relief from the heat of the past week. Yesterday only one death was reported. There were several prostrations, none of which, however, were fatal.” (Centralia Daily Sentinel, IL. “Thunderstorm Brought Relief.” 9-5-1898, p. 4, col. 5.)
Maryland
Sep 2, Baltimore Sun: “The mercury climbed one degree higher in the thermometer yesterday [1st] than it reached on Wednesday, the maximum being 95 degrees, which was attained at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. The local weather officials make no promises as to a change for the better. Indications, they say, point to a continuation of the hot wave.
“It may be of some comfort to the sweltering, suffering residents of this city to know that everywhere over the country it was hot. At Fort Huron, S.D., the maximum temperature was even 100 degrees.
“Few warmer days than yesterday have been experienced in Baltimore this summer. Besides the excessively high temperature, there was much humidity in the atmosphere, the official record being from 70 to 65 per cent. This made the heat oppressive. The wind, also, had the velocity of a zephyr, the maximum velocity being but eight miles an hour. It also blew from the southwest and came charged with heat….” (Baltimore Sun. “Heat Brought Death. Two Persons Die From Its Effects…” 9-2-1898, p. 10, col. 4.)
Sep 3, Baltimore Sun: “The character of the first two days in September argues that this will be a record-breaking month in many ways. Never so far as the records of the local weather bureau extend has the month of September started out with anything approaching the high temperature of yesterday and Thursday….The maximum temperature yesterday was 96 degrees, which was reached at 3 p. m….The nearest to the record of this month was on the first two days of September 1894, when the mercury went up to 84 on the first day and 84 on the second. If the rest of September is modeled on the style of the first two days, the average mean temperature will be greatly exceeded….The average mean temperature of September for the last twenty-seven years has been 68 degrees….” (Baltimore Sun. “September Weather. Records Fail to Show Such a Hot Commencement of the Month.” 9-3-1898, p. 7, col. 4.)
Sep 5, Baltimore Sun: “Relief is in sight, and heat-burdened citizens may once again deem life worth living. The weather man, late yesterday afternoon, thought he espied far out to the west a small but determined-looking area of low barometer, which was in such, or was about to assume, a position which justified him in predicting a cessation of the fierce heat which has prevailed for the past week. The forecast made last night for Baltimore and Maryland was, accordingly, for cooler weather, accompanied by thunder showers. The average citizen of this sun-baked city does not care what comes with it just so the cooler weather gets here and the sun stops smiling so unceasingly.
“People all over the city agree in saying that while there were hotter days during the summer than those of last week and yesterday they have not suffered nor wilted to the extent that they have through the last week in August and the first four days in September….
“Saturday was the worst day during last week. With no breeze of any account, with the sun beating down on the town from an almost cloudless sky, it was well nigh impossible to find relief, or to get away from its beams. Hundreds of people took the different excursion steamers to points down the bay, while other hundreds visited the pleasure resorts outside of the city proper….The day was a terrible one for the poor of the city, especially in the eastern and southern sections of the city. Shut off from what little breeze was stirring, at night the children lay upon the steps asleep, or trying to sleep, while many families sat up most of the night, finding it impossible to go to sleep….
“Yesterday was much cooler, according to the thermometer, but the humidity was high enough to make things generally unpleasant. The maximum temperature was reached at 3 o’clock in the afternoon and was 91 degrees, six degrees lower than the maximum of Saturday. The wind was all day from the southeast and laden heavily with hot air, but never reached a greater velocity that seven miles an hour….” (Baltimore Sun. “Relief Promised. Weather Officials Say The Backbone of the Hot Spell is Broken.” 9-5-1898, p. 12.)
Sep 6, Baltimore Sun: “There was a drop in the temperature yesterday, the maximum temperature being 90 degrees. There was also an increase in the velocity of the wind, which attained a maximum of fifteen miles per hour. During the day the wind kept the temperature from becoming as oppressive as it would otherwise have been, but late in the afternoon and during the evening there was an increase in the quantity of the humidity in the atmosphere, and the night was made oppressively close. The maximum temperature was reached at 5 p. m., after the mercury had hung about 87 and 88 degrees for five hours. Between 5 and 6 o’clock the mercury dropped 5 degrees….” (Baltimore Sun. “More Relief Promised.” 9-6-1898, p. 10, col. 6.)
Sep 7, Baltimore Sun: “The refreshing promises of cooler weather and accompanying thunder showers held out by the local weather bureau went astray yesterday, and the same southerly breezes, heavy with hot air, blew lingeringly through the city, making Baltimore the hottest city in the United States. The maximum temperature yesterday was 93 degrees, and at no other city or town where records are taken by the weather bureau was this equaled. In Boston the mercury registered 86, in New York 88, in Philadelphia 90, in Washington 92, in Norfolk, 92, in Wilmington 90, in Savannah 90, in Jacksonville 92, in Key West 88, in Atlanta 86, in Galveston 88, in St. Louis 74, in Salt Lake City 76, and in Duluth 58.
“The local forecaster, Mr. F. J. Walz, said that the area of low barometer, in which faith had been placed, drifted around toward New York, where the result was shown in much cooler weather, the ‘low’ stirring up some northerly winds. However, he says, Baltimore will undoubtedly get a portion of the beneficial effects of the low, and that there is every reason to believe that it will be cooler today, and that thunder showers will occur before night….” (Baltimore Sun. “Again It Was Hot…One Death Due to the Heat.” 9-7-1898, p. 7, col. 2.)
Massachusetts
Sep 4, Boston Sunday Post: “[Begins by noting Daniel Kane death and the prostrations of seven named persons.]
“Sush was the intensity of the heat yesterday that the day’s record shows eight people stricken down in the street with sunstroke. One of the cases was fatal, and each of the others required the services of an ambulance, in which they were taken to hospitals. Daniel Kane was found by a hackman on Franklin street in a semi-conscious condition, and taken by him to 183 Harrison avenue. Before Dr. Sullivan, who was notified of the man’s condition, could arrive, Kane had died. The police were unable to find out his present address or any friends of the unfortunate victim, and so the body was taken to the city morgue. Dr. Sullivan stated that Kane died from the effects of sunstroke. None of the rest of the list was reported as dangerous at a late hour last night….
“The hot wave which reached here yesterday is general all over the country, reaching its maximum in the Dakotas and the Mississippi Valley, where the mercury registered over 100 degrees. Ninety degrees is an average temperature in all sections.
“The most unpleasant feature of the situation is that the Weather Forecaster Smith can promise nothing different for a number of days, not at any rate before Tuesday [6th]. At present he says there are no indications of anything at all cooling so far as the general temperature is concerned….Ninety-two was the highest point that the mercury reached here, and that was just a little after 3 o’clock. It began at 80 degrees at 8 in the morning and kept steadily increasing till 3 in the afternoon, when the easterly breeze set it, immediately started down the glass so that at 5 o’clock it reached the comfortable point of 83. The moisture or general humidity was about the average for this month, which tended to made the heat less oppressive, but the intensity of the sun more than overbalanced, so that the effect was fully as serious.” (Boston Sunday Post. “Result of Intense Heat Wave in Boston Yesterday. Thermometer Reached 92.” 9-4-1898, p. 6, col. 1.)
New Jersey
Sep 3, NYT: “….There was a general suspension of business in the industrial section of Elizabeth, N.J. yesterday [Sep 2]. All the departments in the Singer Sewing Machine Works closed at noon, and will remain shut down until Tuesday [Sep 6]. Nixon’s shipyard also closed, as did Moore & Sons’ Crescent Iron Works, Worthington’s Pump Works, Graff & Co.’s Stove Works, the Progress Iron Works, and the Central Railroad coal and pig iron wharves in Elizabethport. The men were unable to stand the heat.” (NYT. “Twenty-One Die of Heat [Manhattan].” 9-3-1898, 12.)
Sep 3, NYT: “Elizabeth, N.J., Sept. 3. – The thermometer this afternoon registered 100 degrees. Nearly all the factories along the Staten Island Sound were closed. There were six prostrations. Mrs. K. Schultz of 610 Elizabeth Avenue, while crazed by the heat last night, took a dose of creosote. She is in a critical condition.” (NYT. “Elizabeth Factories Closed.” 9-4-1898, 10.)
Sep 3, NYT: “Newark, N.J., Sept. 3. – The intense heat continued here to-day, the thermometer steadily rising until 3 o’clock in the afternoon, when it nearly touched the 100 mark. There were two fatalities…” (NYT. “Two Deaths in Newark.” 9-4-1898, 10.)
Sep 3, The World: “The tenement section of Hoboken has witnessed an unprecedented number of deaths during the past few days, and an appalling jump in the mortality rate among children especially has been noted. Within three days no less than thirty deaths have been reported of children less than a year old. One undertaker, Coroner Hoffman, has been called upon to bury twelve babies whose deaths were due to the heat. So numerous have been the demands upon them that the sisters at St. Mary’s Hospital have made special arrangements to care for cases of heat prostration.” (The World, NYC. “Victims in Hoboken. Officials Report an Enormous Increase In the Mortality Among Infants.” 9-3-1898, 12.)
New York:
Sep 2, Boston Globe: “New York, Sept 2. — The three million citizens who are compelled to make the struggle for existence right here in New York during the torrid season experienced a heat today that very closely approached that which the brave soldier boys faced at Santiago. There were 31 deaths reported from the heat and over 100 cases of prostration in the city hospitals.
“After 10 o’clock the mercury ranged above 90 [degrees]. The streets of the city were like an oven. In many parts of the town prostrations and death were occurring from the terrible heat. After a night of intense humidity the sun rose this morning in a cloudless sky, Not a sign of shower was above the horizon. During the entire night the mercury never fell below 76 [degrees]. At dawn it began to climb and from that time onward its upward course was never checked until the sun went down in the colors of the Spanish flag.
“In the tenement house district the suffering was universal. As is generally the case in all extremes of temperature, whether of heat or of cold, the little children were the most wretched.”
(Boston Globe. “Killed By Heat. Thirty-One Deaths in New York Yesterday.” 9-3-1898, p. 12.)
Sep 2, NYT: “The first month of Fall was ushered in yesterday [Sep 1] by a heat wave that brought the temperature up to within a few degrees of the Summer’s maximum heat record and broke the record as kept by the local Weather Bureau for Sept. 1 by 5 degrees. The mercury yesterday climbed up to the 92 degree mark on the official thermometer in the altitudinous office of the bureau, and all places in the city on the street level it went from 10 to 15 degrees above this, according to reports circulated by suffering humanity. Two deaths and thirty-three cases of heat prostrations were reported by the police. In some cases the victims were picked up unconscious and hurried away to a hospital…” (NYT. “Hottest First of September.” 9-2-1898, 5.)
Sep 3: “The oppressive heat continued yesterday [Sep 2] and claimed many more victims. Twenty-one deaths due to heat were reported, and the prostrations numbered sixty-four. The great heat of the preceding day left the city parched. The pavements and buildings retained the heat, and no cooling breeze came to relieve the hours of sleep. The lowest temperature between midnight and morning was 76 degrees, at 6 o’clock A. M., which was, in fact, the minimum for the day. The humidity at 8 o’clock A.M. was 87 per cent. The temperature at that hour was still 76, but an hour later it had gone up to 80 degrees, and at noon it reached 87 degrees, which was the record figure for Sept, 2, the temperature having last reached that mark on Sept. 2 in 1882.
“The afternoon remained insufferable and overpowering to man and beast. The clang of the ambulance gong was heard in all parts of the city. From one building, a hotel at Canal Street and Broadway, there were two calls. The chef and the cook had both been overcome, and they were taken to Hudson Street Hospital. One man, who may have been seeking the hospital for aid, fell in front of the door, and was carried in. The day clerk at this hospital, Robert B. Hurst, succumbed to the heat and the labors devolving upon him and had to be taken to a cot. There were 350 dispensary cases and 20 ambulance calls at this hospital.
“A policeman, James Cunningham, was overcome at Canal Street and Broadway. The first case of prostration occurred at 7:30 o’clock A.M., but most of them occurred in the afternoon. There had been a marked falling off in humidity as the day advanced, and a twelve-mile breeze was blowing, according to the official wind gauge in the Weather Bureau, but it did not reach the streets, and the mercury continued to climb. It reached its maximum – 90 degrees – at 3 o’clock P.M.; that was within two degrees of the point reached Thursday. After that if fell gradually, being 88 at 6 o’clock P.M., 82 at 9 o’clock P.M., and 81 at 10 o’clock P.M.
“The humidity, which had fallen during the afternoon to 50 per cent, increased in the evening. IT had gone up to 75 at 8 o’clock P.M. During the late afternoon a thick haze hung over the North River….
“The neighboring boroughs and the suburbs reported conditions similar to those that prevailed in Manhattan – heat and prostration and death. The deaths reported in the city and neighborhood were as follows: [list of 21 fatalities]
In Brooklyn and Elsewhere.
“There were more than twenty cases of heat prostration in Brooklyn, of which three were fatal….
“Seven cases of prostration were reported from Jersey City [NJ].
“John Lindkind, twenty-eight years old, of Newtown, L.I. [Long Island] a farm laborer…was overcome while at work and died.
Sep 4, NYT: “The torrid heat continued yesterday [Sep 3] and the list of fatalities and of victims of prostration was vastly augmented. The ambulance surgeons were kept busy responding to calls, and the hospitals, already taxed by the number of soldier patients, had their resources put to a test. In all the boroughs of New York there were 60 deaths ascribed to heat and 116 prostrations in addition.
“The temperature reached the high-water mark for Sept. 3 of 94 degrees. Not since 1875 has the day shown so high a maximum temperature. It was also one of the hottest days of the year, the day showing the highest maximum being July 3, when the mercury reached 99 degrees.
“The entire country was in a fairly broiling state yesterday. The 80-degree belt of the meteorological chart, made up at the local Weather Bureau after the 8 P.M. reports had been received covered almost the entire United States, while in the Southwest there was a 90-degree belt. During most of the afternoon Chicago and other cities of the Middle West were experiencing weather much similar to that of New York. There was a storm out over Manitoba, but it was moving eastward very slowly.
“The third day of very severe heat found New Yorkers about one-third as well prepared to stand it, but the mercury was merciless. From 80 degrees at midnight, it fell no lower at any time during the night than 75. Then it crept steadily up to 82 at 9 A.M., 91 at noon, and 94 at 4 P.M., 86 at 7 P.M., and 85 at 9 o’clock last night.
“The humidity was .85 at 8 A.M., as it had been at the same hour on the preceding day. It fell to .67 at 8 P.M. There were winds recorded as being from light to fresh varying about the southwest point, but even the occupants of offices in the tall buildings down town failed to discover any life in them….
“There were 102 [unclear] heat prostrations in Manhattan and the Bronx, most of the cases having to be removed to hospitals. In some instances there were no means of identifying the patients….
“The cases of death reported numbered forty-six, or twenty-five more than on Friday [Sep 2]. These were in addition to cases referred to as prostrations….Thee were twenty-four cases of heat prostration in Brooklyn yesterday, ten of them fatal….There were three deaths from the heat in Queens….John Parker Merrill, 42 years, of the Harbor Road, Mariner’s Harbor, Staten Island, was prostrated by the heat Friday night and died yesterday….
“There were thirteen persons prostrated in Hoboken, of whom four died….” (NYT. “Scores Felled by Heat. Sixty Deaths are Reported…” 9-4-1898, 10.)
Sep 4, NYT: “There was a falling off of six degrees in the maximum temperature of yesterday from the maximum of the day before, and there was a breeze which, though it did not attain a greater velocity than eight or nine miles an hour, and strong enough to be felt and appreciated….To the fact that it was not a working day was ascribed in no small part the fact that there were no more cases of mortality and prostration. As it was, there were 46 deaths in Manhattan and the Bronx, some of them being of those who had suffered prostration on preceding days. In addition, 15 cases of prostration were reported in the same boroughs, while other reports of fatalities came from Brooklyn and adjacent districts, and from Jersey City and suburbs. Not all the prostrations come to the notice of the police and hospitals from which the lists are made….” (NYT. “More Deaths From Heat. Forty-Six.” 9-5-1898, p. 2.)
Sep 6, Quincy Journal, IL: “New York, Sept. 6. – New York was again subjected to all the torments of the hot wave yesterday. Luckily it was a holiday, and thousands took advantage of the opportunity to seek relief from the heat at the seashore. The city was practically deserted, except in the tenement districts, where doors and windows were flung wide open, and men, women and children, in a pitiable state of exhaustion, sought the shade of walls or awnings.
“Throughout the day a brazen sun poured its rays upon the city from a pitiless sky. The temperature with a maximum of 98 degrees, was lower than it has been for the last four days, but 84 degrees of humidity made it insufferable.
“The breezes were astir all day long, but as they served only to set in motion the heated currents of air, they brought little relief. Of all the public institutions designed for the poor, the recreation piers were the most patronized yesterday. Thousands of poor families took their dinners with them and camped out all day beside the East river.
“Feverish babies were soothed by the shade, the bands played, and altogether an enjoyable and inexpensive holiday was spent there. The effects of the continuous heat were seen in the white and haggard faces of pedestrians.
“The strongest constitutions have broken down beneath the strain of the last six days, and although the heat has lessened the deaths, the prostrations maintained their high figures.
“Fifty-three dead and more than 200 prostrated is the record for yesterday to 6 p.m., and this notwithstanding it was Labor day and business was practically suspended. During the heated period 250 lives have been snuffed out in the Greater New York, and upward of 1,000 persons have been prostrated.” (Quincy Journal, IL. “250 Lives.” 9-6-1898, p. 3, col. 2.)
Sep 6, The World: “Six consecutive days of abnormal heat had passed when yesterday’s sun set [Aug 31-Sep 5] in a crimsoned sky….The day was not quite so oppressive as the five preceding days, although the temperature was just about as high. There was a material decrease in the humidity, it being 7 per cent lower than on Sunday at daybreak and dropping to 66 per cent as the noon hour approached. At the same time there was a light but cooling breeze blowing. But the people sweltered and were stricken down unconscious in the streets just the same, for it is going to take more than a drop in the humidity, a little breeze or a thunder storm to relieve the people of this sun-baked city….Hundreds of persons have been stricken down by the heat in the streets of this city during the past four days. Rich and poor alike, their condition has demanded immediate medical treatment…” (The World, NYC. “Heat Killed 39.” 9-6-1898, p. 7.)
Sep 7, The World: “The temperature reached the same maximum yesterday as on Monday, 85 degrees. The maximum occurred four hours earlier in the day, however, or at 2 P.M. The minimum of the day was also the same as on Monday – 74 degrees, at which force [unclear] the mercury recorded it at 6 A.M. The humidity was 67 per cent at 8 A.M. and 88 [unclear] per cent at 8 P.M….
“The mortality of the past week in consequence of th hot wave was especially heavy among babies. A report has been issued by the Board of Health giving the number of deaths of children under two years for the first five days of the week closing Sept. 3 as 240…
“There was an encouraging falling off yesterday in the number of deaths and prostrations from heat in this city and vicinity. In the Boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx ten deaths and twenty-eight prostrations were reported.” (NYT. “Ten Deaths From Heat.” 9-7-1898, p. 2.)
Sep 7, The World: “….The abatement of the killing heat and humidity began early yesterday morning…The amount of humidity in the air, local Forecaster Emery said, was 9 per cent less than on Monday.” (The World, NYC. “Hot Wave Receding, Cool Weather Due.” 9-7-1898, 12.)
Sep 8, The World: “Deaths [listing of 11 fatalities].
“It came at last, the cool wave which had been so long promised…but not before there were many victims on the eighth day of the excessively heated term. The temperature was not very high at any time yesterday, but the day started with high humidity, and this coupled with the devitalized condition of those who had suffered from the torrid wave, caused many deaths and prostrations. The cumulative effect resulted in four persons being driven insane….There were about forty prostrations from heat during the day, or rather up to 3 o’clock, when the change came….” (The World, NYC. “Deaths From The Heat.” 9-8-1898, p. 12.)
Pennsylvania:
Sep 2, NYT: “Reading, Penn., Sept. 2. – The heat in some sections of Pennsylvania to-day was most intense, and unequaled in September for many years. At most of the rolling mills and other iron establishments the thermometer registered above the 100 mark, and operations were suspended until the coming of cooler weather, throwing hundreds of men out of work temporarily. There were a number of cases of heat prostration in Reading this afternoon.” (NYT. “Twenty-One Die of Heat.” 9-3-1898, p. 12.)
Sep 3: “Philadelphia, Sept. 3. There was one death and over 50 prostrations from the heat yesterday in this city. The death was Ernest Horn, aged 45, of 2149 Dove street. Several of the other cases are not expected to live. The thermometer registered 94 at its maximum, and while this was several degrees below that of Thursday, the humidity exceeded that of Thursday. The weather bureau states that yesterday was the hottest Sept. 2 since the bureau was established.” (Tyrone Daily Herald, PA. “Fatal Prostrations in Philadelphia.” 9-3-1898, p. 1.)
Sep 4: “Philadelphia, Sept. 4. – There were five deaths from the heat today and twenty-five prostrations. Today, for the first time since the present hot spell came on, the thermometer registered below 95. Tonight there are Indications of local showers with a probability of cooler weather tomorrow.” (Titusville Herald, PA. “Five Deaths from Heat.” 9-5-1898, p. 1.)
Sep 6: “Philadelphia, Sept. 7. – There were five deaths and many prostrations from the heat yesterday in this city. The dead are…[listing – all adults, 20-48 years old]. All day long people sweltered with the thermometer hovering around 99 degrees…” (Tyrone Daily Herald, PA. “Five Deaths From Heat.” 9-7-1898, p. 1.)
Vermont
Sep 4: Boston Daily Globe. “Sweltering at Bennington.” 9-5-1898, p. 2, col. 7:
“Bennington, Vt., Sept. 4 – This has been the fourth consecutive day that the thermometer has risen above 92⁰, with no prospect of a cool wave. At 8 this morning the mercury showed 89⁰, but about noon a shower cooled the atmosphere a little, but it was at 90⁰ at 4 o’clock. Such heat in September has never been known here before.”
Sources
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Altoona Mirror, PA. “Died From The Heat.” 9-5-1898, p. 4. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=69878396
Baltimore Sun. “Again It Was Hot…One Death Due to the Heat.” 9-7-1898, p. 7, col. 2. Accessed 1-31-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/baltimore-sun-sep-07-1898-p-7/
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Baltimore Sun. “Heat Brought Death. Two Persons Die From Its Effects…” 9-2-1898, p. 10, col. 4. Accessed 1-31-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/baltimore-sun-sep-02-1898-p-10/
Baltimore Sun. “More Relief Promised.” 9-6-1898, p. 10, col. 6. Accessed 1-31-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/baltimore-sun-sep-06-1898-p-10/
Baltimore Sun. “Relief Promised. Weather Officials Say The Backbone of the Hot Spell is Broken.” 9-5-1898, p.12. Accessed 1-31-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/baltimore-sun-sep-05-1898-p-10/
Baltimore Sun. “September Weather. Records Fail to Show Such a Hot Commencement of the Month.” 9-3-1898, p. 7, col. 4. Accessed 1-31-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/baltimore-sun-sep-03-1898-p-7/
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Boston Daily Globe. “Daniel Kane a Heat Victim.” 9-4-1898, p. 4. Accessed 1-31-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-sunday-globe-sep-04-1898-p-4/
Boston Daily Globe. “Killed By Heat. Thirty-One Deaths in New York Yesterday.” 9-3-1898, 12. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=161090782
Boston Daily Globe. “Sweltering at Bennington.” 9-5-1898, p. 2, col. 7. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-daily-globe-sep-05-1898-p-2/
Boston Sunday Post. “Killed By The Heat.” 9-4-1898, p. 6, col. 1. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-sunday-post-sep-04-1898-p-6/
Boston Sunday Post. “Result of Intense Heat Wave in Boston Yesterday. Thermometer Reached 92.” 9-4-1898, p. 6, col. 1. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-sunday-post-sep-04-1898-p-6/
Centralia Daily Sentinel, IL. “Thunderstorm Brought Relief.” 9-5-1898, p. 4, col. 5. Accessed 1-31-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/centralia-daily-sentinel-sep-05-1898-p-4/
Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. “Deaths in Chicago.” 9-4-1898, p. 7. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cincinnati-commercial-tribune-sep-04-1898-p-13/
Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. “Died From the Heat.” 9-4-1898, section II, p. 9. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cincinnati-commercial-tribune-sep-04-1898-p-17/
Daily Journal, Freeport, IL. “Murderous Heat at Chicago.” 9-2-1898, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=131033598
Daily Times, New Brunswick, NJ. “Heat Caused Death.” 9-6-1898, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=137792098
Elgin Echo, IA. “Suffers From Heat.” 9-1-1898, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com
Hagerstown Mail, MD. “Death’s Doings.” 9-2-1898, p. 8, col.2. Accessed 1-31-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hagerstown-mail-sep-02-1898-p-8/
Hagerstown Mail, MD. “Some Well Known People Dead….Jacob Mullendore.” 9-9-1898, p. 2, col. 5. Accessed 1-31-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hagerstown-mail-sep-09-1898-p-2/
Jersey City News, NJ. “Casualties in Hoboken.” 9-3-1898, p. 1, col. 7. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/jersey-city-news-sep-03-1898-p-1/
Jersey City News, NJ. “Fatal Hot Wave.” 9-6-1898, p. 1, col. 6. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/jersey-city-news-sep-06-1898-p-1/
Massillon Independent, OH. “Died From The Heat.” 9-5-1898, p. 3. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/massillon-independent-sep-05-1898-p-3/
New York Times. “Elizabeth Factories Closed.”9-4-1898, p. 10, col. 2. Accessed 1-31-2024 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1898/09/04/issue.html
New York Times. “Hottest First of September.” 9-2-1898, p. 5. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=11073606
New York Times. “Intense Heat in Chicago.” 9-4-1898, p. 10. Accessed 1-312024 at: https://www.nytimes.com/1898/09/04/archives/intense-heat-in-chicago-all-records-promise-to-be-broken-one-death.html
New York Times. “More Deaths From Heat. Forty-Six. Forty-six Persons in Manhattan and Bronx Lost Their Lives Yesterday.” 9-5-1898, 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=11075194
New York Times. “Policeman Gilligan Dead.” 9-13-1898, p. 11. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com
New York Times. “Scores Felled by Heat. Sixty Deaths are Reported Besides 116 Cases of Prostration.” 9-4-1898, p. 10. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=11074610
New York Times. “Ten Deaths From Heat.” 9-7-1898, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=11075672
New York Times. “The News Condensed.” 9-2-1898, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com
New York Times. “Twenty-One Die of Heat…More Than Three Score Were Prostrated in Manhattan Island.” 9-3-1898, p. 12. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=11074115
New York Times. “Two Deaths in Newark.” 9-4-1898, p. 10. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/
Philadelphia Inquirer. “Death and Suffering in Furnace-Like Heat…Two Deaths Yesterday.” 9-4-1898, p. 1. Accessed 2-1-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/philadelphia-inquirer-sep-04-1898-p-1/
Philadelphia Inquirer. “Three Dead, Thirty-Six Prostrated.” 9-2-1898, p. 1. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/philadelphia-inquirer-sep-02-1898-p-1/
Philadelphia Inquirer. “The Hot Wave At Last Broken.” 9-8-1898, p. 3. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/philadelphia-inquirer-sep-08-1898-p-3/
Philadelphia Inquirer. “The Hot Wave…Several Deaths Resulted Yesterday…” 9-7-1898, 1. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/philadelphia-inquirer-sep-07-1898-p-1/
Philadelphia Times. “Plenty of Work at the Coroner’s Office.” 9-6-1898, p. 8. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/philadelphia-times-sep-06-1898-p-8/
Philadelphia Times. “Showers and Cool Weather. Clearing Rains May Bring Relief From 90 Degree Days. Nine Deaths Yesterday…” 9-5-1898, p. 1. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/philadelphia-times-sep-05-1898-p-1/
Piqua Daily Call, OH. “Heat Fatalities in Cincinnati.” 9-3-1898, p. 1. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/piqua-daily-call-sep-03-1898-p-1/
Piqua Daily Call, OH. “Pittsburg Architect Found Dead in Cleveland.” 9-3-1898, p. 1. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/piqua-daily-call-sep-03-1898-p-1/
Portsmouth Daily Times, OH. “Two Deaths.” 9-2-1898, p. 1, col. 6. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/portsmouth-daily-times-sep-02-1898-p-1/
Quincy Journal, IL. “250 Lives.” 9-6-1898, p. 3, col. 2. Accessed 1-31-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/quincy-journal-sep-06-1898-p-3/
Sandusky Daily Register, OH. “Heat Affecting the Troops.” 9-4-1898, p. 2. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/sandusky-daily-register-sep-04-1898-p-2/
The World, NYC. “Deaths From The Heat.” 9-8-1898, p. 12. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=137353532
The World, NYC. “Great Extent of the Hot Wave.” 9-3-1898, p. 12. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=137353507
The World, NYC. “Heat Killed 39.” 9-6-1898, p. 7. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=141501154
The World, NYC. “Heat Kills Two at Bayonne, N.J.” 9-6-1898, p. 7. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/
The World, NYC. “Hot Wave Receding, Cool Weather Due.” 9-7-1898, p. 12. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=137353525
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Titusville Herald, PA. “Five Deaths from Heat [Philadelphia].” 9-5-1898, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=104687131
Trenton Evening Times, NJ. “Died From the Heat.” 9-6-1898, p. 5, col. 5. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/trenton-evening-times-sep-06-1898-p-5/
Tyrone Daily Herald, PA. “Fatal Prostrations in Philadelphia.” 9-3-1898, p. 1. Accessed 2-1-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/tyrone-daily-herald-sep-03-1898-p-1/
Tyrone Daily Herald, PA. “Five Deaths From Heat [Philadelphia].” 9-7-1898, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=103521605
[1] Boston Sunday Post. “Killed By The Heat.” 9-4-1898, p. 6, col. 1.
[2] Baltimore Sun. “Heat Brought Death. Two Persons Die From Its Effects…” 9-2-1898, p. 10, col. 4.
[3] Baltimore Sun. “Heat Brought Death. Two Persons Die From Its Effects…” 9-2-1898, p. 10, col. 4.
[4] Baltimore Sun. “Relief Promised. Weather Officials Say The Backbone of the Hot Spell is Broken.” 9-5-1898, p12.
[5] Baltimore Sun. “September Weather. Records Fail to Show Such a Hot Commencement…” 9-3-1898, p. 7, col. 4.
[6] Baltimore Sun. “Relief Promised. Weather Officials Say The Backbone of the Hot Spell is Broken.” 9-5-1898, p12.
[7] Baltimore Sun. “Relief Promised. Weather Officials Say The Backbone of the Hot Spell is Broken.” 9-5-1898, p12.
[8] Baltimore Sun. “Relief Promised. Weather Officials Say The Backbone of the Hot Spell is Broken.” 9-5-1898, p12.
[9] Baltimore Sun. “More Relief Promised.” 9-6-1898, p. 10, col. 6.
[10] Baltimore Sun. “Sudden Death of George Ingalls.” 9-5-1898, p. 6.
[11] Baltimore Sun. “Again It Was Hot…One Death Due to the Heat.” 9-7-1898, p. 7, col. 2.
[12] Baltimore Sun. “Death of George T. Harcastle.” 9-5-1898, p. 8, col. 2.
[13] Hagerstown Mail, MD. “Death’s Doings.” 9-2-1898, p. 8, col.2.
[14] Hagerstown Mail, MD. “Some Well Known People Dead….Jacob Mullendore.” 9-9-1898, p. 2, col. 5.
[15] Not used in that I have not been able to corroborate via Boston papers.
[16] Jersey City News, NJ. “Casualties in Hoboken.” 9-3-1898, p. 1, col. 7.
[17] Trenton Evening Times, NJ. “Died From the Heat.” 9-6-1898, p. 5, col. 5.
[18] Not counting infant mortality, which is known to have been great. See the NYT article of the 6th, noting Health Dept. report for the period Aug 28-Sep 3 noting a rise in infant mortality (up to two-years-old) to 240 fatalities. Those directly attributable to the heat, however, was not broken out. We have not reproduced here the daily listings of deaths directly related to the heat. A reading of these listings, however, shows that the listings, when ages are shown, the great majority are of adults.
[19] “New Yori, Sept. 3. – The hot weather is increasing the death rate among the sick soldiers in the hospitals at Camp Wikoff to an alarming degree, besides prostrating many men who heretofore have not been on the sick list. There were 18 deaths Friday and more have occurred since midnight.” (Sandusky Daily Register, OH. “Heat Affecting the Troops.” 9-4-1898, p. 2.)
[20] 21 in Manhattan and 3 in Brooklyn. This may well explain the difference in fatality figures between this article and the Boston Daily Globe article of Sep 2 noted herein.
[21] Just the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
[22] Portsmouth Daily Times, OH. “Two Deaths.” 9-2-1898, 1.
[23] Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. “Died From the Heat.” 9-4-1898, section II, p. 9.
[24] Piqua Daily Call, OH. “Pittsburg Architect Found Dead in Cleveland.” 9-3-1898, p. 1.
[25] Portsmouth Daily Times, OH. “Two Deaths.” 9-2-1898, 1.
[26] Tyrone Daily Herald, PA. “Fatal Prostrations in Philadelphia.” 9-3-1898, p. 1.
[27] Philadelphia Inquirer. “Death and Suffering in Furnace-Like Heat…Two Deaths Yesterday.” 9-4-1898, p. 1.
[28] Philadelphia Inquirer. “Death and Suffering in Furnace-Like Heat…Two Deaths Yesterday.” 9-4-1898, p. 1.