1,457

lornajarrettblanchard January 1, 1903

–>1,457 Blanchard tally from State and local breakouts below. [See Blanchard note below.]
— 1,382 U.S. Bureau of the Census. Special Reports. Mortality Statistics 1900 to 1904. p. XXV.
— 752 Kohn. “U.S. Smallpox Epidemic of 1901-03.” Encyclopedia of Plague… 2008, p 368-369.

Summary Breakout of Smallpox Fatalities by State and/or Locality

4 California (Fresno/1, San Francisco/2, San Jose/1)
1 Colorado (Pueblo/1)
1 Connecticut
1 Delaware (Wilmington/1)
2 District of Columbia
6 Georgia (Atlanta)
135 Illinois (Chicago/47, Quincy/1)
195 Indiana (Daviess county rural/10, Indianapolis/103, Washington/12))
2 Iowa (Muscatine/2)
2 Kansas (Leavenworth/1, Wichita/1)
19 Kentucky (Covington/1, Louisville/17, Paducah/1)
4 Louisiana (New Orleans/4)
7 Maine
2 Maryland (Baltimore/2)
22 Massachusetts (Boston/13)
30 Michigan (Detroit/11)
28 Minnesota (Minneapolis/9, St. Paul/16, Winona/3)
13 Missouri (Kansas City/8, St. Joseph/1, St. Louis/4)
—- New Hampshire
17 New Jersey (Burlington county rural/5, Camden/6, Newark/3)
41 New York (Buffalo/4, NYC/5, Rochester/24, Utica/1, Warren county rural/1)
134 Ohio (Ashtabula/1, Bellaire/9, Cincinnati/14, Cleveland/23, Columbus/50,
Dayton/6, Findlay/1, Hamilton/2, Ironton/5, Marietta/7, Middletown/1,
Newark/3, Portsmouth/8, Toledo/3, Youngstown/2)
2 Oregon (Portland/2)
747 Pennsylvania (Allegheny/122, Allentown/8, Erie/4, Harrisburg/1, Johnstown/11,
Lancaster/1, McKeesport/4, Philadelphia/282, Pittsburgh/315,Scranton/2)
3 Rhode Island
9 South Carolina (Charleston/9)
2 Tennessee (Memphis/2)
2 Utah (Salt Lake City/2)
3 Vermont
2 Virginia (Lynchburg/1, Richmond/1)
10 Washington (Seattle/3, Spokane/7)
9 West Virginia (Wheeling/9)
2 Wisconsin (Appleton/1, Milwaukee/1)

Blanchard Note on 10-3 Smallpox Fatalities: If one goes to the actual Census Bureau document for 1901-1904, it is obvious that the data the Bureau was able to collect from States and localities was very limited. There were only ten “registration” States reporting data (presumably statewide) to the Census Bureau. The case of Illinois, where we have a State of Illinois number (135) whereas the Census Bureau shows only 48 (Chicago with 47) clearly makes this point. Thus the number we show of 1,457 is clearly an indication that there were at least (>) 1,447 smallpox deaths in the U.S. in 1903. Undoubtedly there were other smallpox deaths.

Narrative Information

Bureau of the Census: “Smallpox. – The deaths from smallpox in the registration area, 1900 to 1904, numbered 5,898, the average annual death rate from this disease being 3.7 per 100,000. There were 611 deaths in 1900; 1,085 in 1901; 2,111 in 1902; 1,382 in 1903; and 709 in 1904….

“The following table shows the average annual and the yearly death rates from smallpox in the registration area and its principal subdivisions, and in the registration states and the cities of 100,000 or more population: [We excerpt from the Table for the year 1903.]

The registration area 4.3
Registration cities 5.4
Registration states 1.5
Cities in registration states 1.8
Rural part of registration states 1.2
Registration cities in other states 9.2

Registration states Rate Deaths
Connecticut 0.1 1 p. 514
District of Columbia 0.7 2 “
Indiana 7.5 195 “
Maine 1.0 7 “
Massachusetts 0.7 22 “
Michigan 1.2 30 “
New Hampshire —- —- “
New Jersey 0.8 17 “
New York 0.5 41 “
Rhode Island 0.7 3 “
Vermont 0.9 3 “

Registration cities of 100,000 population or over: We add in brackets towns less than 100K.
[Adams county, Ind. Rural 4.4 1 p. 522]
Allegheny, Pa. 88.4 122 p. 514
[Albany, N.Y. 2.1 2 p. 514]
[Allentown, Pa. 8 p. 514]
[Altoona, Pa. 19.1]
[Androscoggin co., Me. 10.8 6 p. 524]
[Appleton, Wis. 6.2] 1 p. 514]
[Ashtabula, Ohio 7.0 1 p. 514]
[Atlanta, Ga. 6.2 6 p. 514]
[Augusta, Me. 8.3 1 p. 514]
Baltimore, Md. 0.4 2 p. 514
[Barnstable county, Mass. Rural 1 p. 526]
[Bartholomew co., In. rural 12.3 2 p. 522]
[Bellaire, Ohio 90.8 9 p. 514]
Belleville, Ill. 33.1 6 p. 514
[Bergen county, N.J. rural 1 P. 528]
[Boone count, Ind. rural 7.6 1 p. 522]
Boston, Mass. 2.2 13 p. 514
[Branch county, Mich. rural 1 p. 526]
Buffalo, N.Y. 1.0 4 p. 514
[Burlington county, NJ rural 8.5 5 p. 528]
[Camden, N.J. 7.5 6 p. 514]
Central Falls, R.I. 5.1 1 p. 514]
[Charleston, S.C. 16.1 9 p. 514]
Chicago, Ill. 2.5 47 p. 514
Cincinnati, Ohio 4.2 14 p. 514
[Clark county, Ind., rural 1 p. 522]
[Clay county, Ind., rural 2 p. 522]
Cleveland, Ohio 5.5 23 p. 514
[Clinton county Mich. rural 7.9 1 p. 522]
Columbus, Ohio 36.9 50 p. 516
[Covington, Ky. 2.2 1 p. 516]
[Crawford county, Ind. rural 3 p. 522]
[Daviess county, Ind, rural 10 p. 522]
[Dayton, Ohio 6.5 6 p. 516]
[Delaware county, Ind. rural 2 p. 522]
[Delta county, Mich. rural 6.4 1 p. 526]
Denver, Colo. —-
Detroit, Mich. 3.6 11 p. 516
[Dubois county, Ind. rural 1 p. 522]
[Erie, Pa. 7.1 4 p. 516]
[Essex county, Mass. Rural 1 p. 526]
[Evansville, Ind. 1 p. 516]
[Fairfield county, Ct. rural 1 p. 522]
Fall River, Mass. 0.9 1 p. 516
[Findlay, Ohio 4.8 1 p. 516]
[Fort Wayne, Ind. 4.2 2 p. 516]
[Franklin county, Ind. rural 3 p. 522]
[Fresno, Cal. 7.7 1 p. 516]
[Grand Rapids, Mich. 1 p. 516
[Grant county, Ind. rural 7.4 3 p. 524]
[Greene county Ind. rural 10.1 3 p. 524]
[Hampden county, Mass. Rural 1 p. 526]
[Hamilton, Ohio 7.8 2 p. 516]
[Hammond, Ind. 14.0 2 p. 516]
[Harrisburg, Pa. 3.8]
[Haverhill, Mass. 1 p. 516]
[Hillsdale county, Mich. rural 1 p. 526]
[Howard county, Ind. rural 5.6 1 p. 522]
[Houghton county, Mich. rural 1 p. 526]
[Hudson county, N.J. rural 1 p. 528]
[Huron county, Mich. rural 5.7 2 p. 526]
Indianapolis, Ind. 52.1 103 p. 516
[Iosco county, Mich. rural 9.6 1 p. 526]
[Ironton, Ohio 41.6 5 p. 516]
[Jasper county, Ind. rural 6.6 1 p. 524]
[Jefferson county, N.Y. rural 1 p. 530]
Jersey City, N.J. 0.5 1 p. 516
[Johnstown, Pa. 27.5 11 p. 516]
Kansas City, Mo. 4.6 8 p. 516
[Kent County, R.I. rural 1 p. 530]
[Lafayette, Ind. 5.3 1 p. 516]
[Lancaster, Pa. 2.3 1 p. 516]
[Lawrence, Mass. 1 p. 518]
[Leavenworth, Kans. 4.3 1 p. 518]
[Logansport, Ind. 11.7 2 p. 518]
Louisville, Ky. 7.9 17 p. 518
[Lynchburg, Va. 4.7 1 p. 518]
[Lynn, Mass. 2 p. 518]
[McKeesport, Pa. 10.5 4 p. 518]
[Mackinac co., Mich. rural 12.3 1 p. 526]
[Macomb county, Mich. rural 1 p. 526]
[Madison county, Ind. rural 4.8 2 p. 524]
[Marquette co., Mich. rural 5.6 1 p. 526]
[Marietta, Ohio 14.0 7 p. 518]
[Marion county, Ind. rural 18.2 3 p. 524]
Memphis, Tenn. 1.8 2 p. 518
[Michigan City, Ind. 6.2 1 p. 518]
[Middletown, Ohio 10.8 1 p. 518]
Milwaukee, Wis 0.3 1 p. 518
Minneapolis, Minn. 4.2 9 p. 518
[Morgan county, Ind. rural 4.8 1 p. 524]
[Muscatine, Iowa 13.5 2 p. 518]
New Haven, Conn. —-
New Orleans, La. 1.3 4 p. 518
New York, N.Y. 0.1 5 p. 518
Bronx borough 1.3 3
Brooklyn borough 0.2 2
Manhattan borough —-
Queens borough —-
Richmond borough —-
Newark, N.J. 1.1 3 p. 518
[Newark, Ohio 15.5 3 p. 518]
[Norfolk county, Mass. rural 1 p. 526]
Omaha, Nebr. —-
[Oneida county, N.Y. rural 1 p. 528]
[Orleans county, Ver. rural 9.1 2 p. 530]
[Ottawa county, Mich. rural 1 p. 528]
[Owen county, Ind. rural 19.8 3 p. 524]
[Paducah, Ky. 4.8 1 p. 520]
[Parke county Ind. rural 1 p. 524]
Paterson, N.J. —-
[Perry county, Ind. rural 15.8 3 p. 524]
Philadelphia, Pa. 20.6 282 p. 520
Pittsburgh, Pa. 91.3 315 p. 520
[Pontiac, Mich. 9.4] 1 p. 520
[Portland, Oreg. 2 p. 520
[Portsmouth, Ohio 41.5] 8 p. 520
Providence, R.I. —-
[Providence county, R.I. rural 1 p. 530]
Pueblo, Co. 1 p. 520
[Putnam county, Ind. rural 9.4 2 p. 524]
[Quincy, Ill. 1 p. 520]
[Randolph county, In. rural 24.3 7 p. 524]
[Richmond, VA 1 p. 520]
[Ripley county, Ind. rural 5.0 1 p. 524]
Rochester, N.Y. 14.1 24 p. 520
[Rutland, Vt. 1 p. 520]
St. Joseph, Mo . 0.9 1 p. 520
St. Louis, Mo. 0.6 4 p. 520
St. Paul, Minn. 9.3 16 p. 520
[Salt Lake City, Utah 3.5 2 p. 520]
San Francisco, Cal. 0.6 2 p. 520
San Jose, Cal. 4.4 1 p. 520
Sanilac county, Mich. rural 1 p. 528]
Scranton, Pa. 1.8 2 p. 520
[Seattle, Wash. 3 p. 520]
Spokane, Wash. 16.7 7 p. 520
[Springfield, Ill.. 1 p. 520]
[Sullivan county, Ind. rural 7.3 2 p. 524]
Syracuse, N.Y. —
[Tippecanoe co., Ind. rural 4.7 1 p. 524]
Toledo, Ohio 2.1 3 p. 522
[Utica, N.Y. 1 p. 522]
[Vanderburg co., Ind. rural 14.4 2 p. 524]
[Vermillion co., Ind. rural 18.9 3 p. 524]
[Vigo county, Ind. rural 11.1 3 p. 524]
[Warren county, Ind. rural 8.7 1 p. 524]
[Warren county, NY rural 5.9 1 p. 530]
[Washington, Ind. 129.1 12 p. 522]
[Wayne county, Mich. rural 4.4 3 p. 528]
[Westchester county, N.Y. rural 2 p. 530]
[Wheeling, W. Va. 22.4 9 p. 522]
[Wichita, Kans. 1 p. 522]
[Wilmington, Del. 1 p. 522]
[Winona, Minn. 14.9 3 p. 522]
Worcester, Mass. —-
Youngstown, Ohio 4.1 2 p. 522

“The average annual mortality from smallpox was greatest in the cities in the nonregistration states (5.8), and least in the rural part of the registration states (1.5). In the registration states it was greatest in New Jersey (6.2)….

“In the minor cities also the mortality from smallpox shows wide variations. It was excessively high in some places, exceeding 40 per 100,000 in Bellaire, Ohio, in 1903 (90.8); Ironton, Ohio, in 1903 (41.6)…Marietta, Ohio, in 1903 (47.1)…Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1903 (41.5)…Washington, Ind., in 1903 (129.1)….” (pp. xxv-xxvi.)

Kohn: “U.S. Smallpox Epidemic of 1901-03

“Series of intense smallpox outbreaks that occurred principally in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, as well as in New Jersey and Ohio. America’s second-to-last significant epidemic of variola major (the severe form of smallpox), it raged even as variola minor (the milder form of the disease that often escaped detection) was rampant throughout the midwestern sections of the country….

“A total of 5,332 smallpox cases and 980 deaths (18.4 percent case-fatality rate) were reported in the United States in 1901, 10,334 cases and 1,841 deaths (17.8 percent case-fatality rate) in 1902, and 6,113 cases and 752 deaths (12.3 percent case-fatality rate) in 1903. Thereafter the incidence of smallpox steadily declined until the 1920s, when it briefly surged again.

“Further reading: Duffy, A History of Public Health in New York City, 1866-1966; Fenner et al., Smallpox and Its Eradication.”

Sources

City of Philadelphia. First Annual Message of John E. Reyburn, Mayor of the City of Philadelphia with the Annual Reports of the Departments of Public Health and Charities, Supplies, Public Education, Law, City Controller, City Treasurer, Commissioners of the Sinking Funds, Receiver of Taxes, and Board of Revision of Taxes for the Year Ending December 31, 1907 (Vol. III). Philadelphia: Dunlap Printing Co., 1908. Google digitized. Assessed 12-5-2012: http://books.google.com/books?id=0ihNAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Illinois Department of Public Health. “Illinois Smallpox Cases and Deaths by Year 1869 – Present [2004].” Accessed 4-9-2021 at: http://www.dph.illinois.gov/sites/default/files/publications/illinois-smallpox-cases-050316.pdf

Kohn, George Childs. Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence, Third Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Accessed 9-11-2013 at: http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp

New Jersey Board of Health. Thirty-First Annual Report of the Board of Health of the State of New Jersey, 1907, and Annual Report of the Bureau of Vital Statistics. Trenton: John L. Murphy Publishing Co., 1908. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=XDAcX3uIVssC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

United States Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce and Labor. Special Reports. Mortality Statistics 1900 to 1904. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1906. Accessed 4-8-2021 at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsushistorical/mortstatsh_1900-1904.pdf