1870 — Tuberculosis (consumption), esp. NY/11,578, PA/7,481, OH/5,255, MA/5157–>69,896
—>69,896 Blanchard. (See Census note below on significant undercounts–this is a minimum.)
— 69,896 U.S Census. Ninth Census [1870] – Volume II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, p. xvii.
— 764 Alabama US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 1 Arizona US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 431 Arkansas US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 1,246 California US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 32 Colorado US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 1,218 Connecticut US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 13 Dakota US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 296 Delaware US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 442 District of Columbia US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 131 Florida US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 875 Georgia US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 5 Idaho US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 3,641 Illinois US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 2,807 Indiana US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 1,313 Iowa. US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 413 Kansas. US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
– -2,506 Kentucky US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 1,409 Louisiana US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 1,991 Maine US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 1,678 Maryland US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 5,157 Massachusetts US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 1,844 Michigan US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 450 Minnesota US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 695 Mississippi US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 2,717 Missouri US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 87 Nebraska US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 30 Nevada US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 953 New Hampshire US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 1,822 New Jersey US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 45 New Mexico US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
–11,578 New York US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 1,236 North Carolina US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 5,255 Ohio US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 112 Oregon US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 7,481 Pennsylvania US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
–2,308 Philadelphia Jones. Contagious and Infectious Diseases. 1884, p. 196.[1]
— 532 Rhode Island US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 637 South Carolina US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 2,377 Tennessee US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 680 Texas US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 63 Utah US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 715 Vermont US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 2,005 Virginia US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 33 Washington US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 709 West Virginia US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 1,318 Wisconsin US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
— 4 Wyoming US Census. Ninth Census–Vol. II. The Vital Statistics… 1872, xx.
Narrative Information
U.S. Census Office on the 1870 Census: “If the value of the Statistics of Mortality in a census of the United States, taken under existing laws, depended upon the return of substantially the whole body of deaths occurring during the year covered by the enumeration, the results would not be worth the space occupied by publication, much less the expense of collection and compilation. At no one of the three censuses taken under the act of May 23, 1850, has the aggregate number of deaths returned by the assistant marshals risen above two-thirds of the number of deaths probably occurring during the year of enumeration, as that number is deduced from the experience of other countries, from the experience of sections of our own country having an established system of registration, and from the ascertained law of the national increase. With such wholesale omissions from the number of deaths, therefore, if the Statistics Mortality depended for their value on any assumed completeness in the returns of assistant marshals, the whole would deserve a contemptuous rejection at the outset, and not an elaborate and expensive compilation and publication; but as matter of fact, the value of the following statistics arises from the consideration that these tables distribute a body of deaths approaching half a million,[2] among the several periods of life, between the two sexes, according to cause of death and month of death, by race, by nationality, and by occupation. Deeply as it is to be regretted that the census of the United States does not afford the material for determining exactly the death-rate of States and sections, and of deducing the effect of the various conditions of life upon the duration of life, from statistics complete and accurate in every particular, the Tables of Mortality in the census have still their value….
“It is easy to explain the cause of the wholesale omissions from the return of deaths in the census, which have been referred to. To take the recent census as an example, the census law required the return of all deaths occurring in families, from the 1st of June, 1869, to the 31st of May, 1870; in all, twelve months. The enumeration if the course of which this was to be accomplished began on the 1st of June, 1870, and closed, nominally, on the 1st of October, but really about the 1st of January, 1871. Thus, the officers of the census were called upon to recover all the deaths occurring during the census year, at a distance in time ranging from one day to nineteen months from the dates at which such deaths severally occurred. The antecedent improbability of success in such an attempt would be of the strongest; while the actual experience of three censuses has shown that assistant marshals fall short of the true number of deaths by not far from 40 per cent., as a rule. In some cases assistant marshals fail to put the question; in others, heads of families, or persons answering for them, fail to recall the fact of a death occurring during the year, especially when ten or eleven months have already elapsed since the date of death, and the mind, not unnaturally, refers to the even as having taken place a year or longer before. In still another large number of cases, persons die out of families, which class of cases seems not to have been in contemplation of the census law, which makes the return of mortality a family return. In still other cases, deaths occur in families, but the very death itself breaks up the family and scatters the surviving members, leaving no one to report the death in the census. In still other cases, deaths occur in what are constructively families for the purposes of the census, i.e., boarding-houses, hotels, &c., but the common tie of membership or association is here so casual and so slight that the chances are altogether against the circumstance being retained in memory six or eight months after….” (United States Census Office. “Remarks Upon the Statistics of Mortality.” P. ix.)
[Blanchard note: Other Census reports also mention the problem of correctly identifying the cause of death as well as the various competing names in circulation in areas or regions for the country for the same disease.]
CDC: “Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal.
“TB bacteria are spread through the air from one person to another. The TB bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, speaks, or sings. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected.
“TB is NOT spread by:
Shaking someone’s hand.
Sharing food or drink.
Touching bed lines or toilet seats.
Sharing toothbrushes
Kissing.
“When a person breathes in TB bacteria, the bacteria can settle in the lungs and begin to grow. From there, they can move through the blood to other parts of the body, such as the kidney, spine, and brain.
“TB disease in the lungs or throat can be infectious. This means that the bacteria can be spread to other people. TB in other parts of the body, such as the kidney or spine, is usually not infectious.
“People with TB disease are most likely to spread it to people they spend time with every day. This includes family members, friends, and coworkers or schoolmates.” (CDC. Tuberculosis (TB). 3-20-2016 update.)
TN State Library and Archives: “Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease and was greatly feared well into the 20th century. Frequently called “consumption,” TB was often fatal…The “White Plague,” so named because of its strikingly pale victims, carried a social stigma similar to that of AIDS in recent years. …residents fought the location of a TB hospital in their neighborhood, claiming that property values would plummet.
“Tuberculosis is a contagious lung disease (though it can attack other parts of the body) spread through the air. It is highly controlled today with early detection and antibiotics. Around 1900, the average hospital stay for a TB patient was three years.
“…former President Andrew Jackson died of tuberculosis.” (Tennessee State Library and Archives. Disasters in Tennessee. “Epidemic Scourges in Tennessee.” Nashville.)
Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tuberculosis (TB). 3-20-2016 update. Accessed 10-16-2018 at: https://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/basics/default.htm
Jones, Joseph, M.D., President of the Board of Health of the State of Louisiana. Contagious and Infectious Diseases, Measures for Their Prevention and Arrest. Small Pox (Variola); Modified Small Pos (Varioloid); Chicken Pox (Varicella); Cow Pox (Variola Vaccinal): Vaccination, Spurious Vaccination Illustrated by Eight Colored Plates (Circular No. 2, Prepared for the Guidance of the Quarantine Officers and Sanitary Inspectors of the Board of Health of the State of Louisiana.). Baton Rouge: Leon Jastremski, State Printer, 1884. Accessed 2-12-2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=3VTboPycbBgC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Tennessee State Library and Archives. Disasters in Tennessee. “Epidemic Scourges in Tennessee.” Nashville. Accessed 10-18-2013 at: http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/exhibits/disasters/epidemics.htm
United States Census Office, Department of Interior. Ninth Census – Volume II. The Vital Statistics of the United States, Embracing The Tables of Deaths, Births, Sex, and Age. Washington: GPO, 1872. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=GssqAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[1] Table: “Total Deaths from Consumption, Typhoid Fever, Scarlet Fever and Small-pox in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during Twenty-one Years–1862-1882.
[2] Number of deaths noted as 492,263 on page xvii.