19th Century

— >500  Carrigan. The Saffron Scourge. 1961, p. 54.[1]

 

Narrative Information

 

Barton: “”The next most extensive yellow fever epidemic occurred during the cleaning out the same canal in 1811.”[2] (p.100)

 

Carrigan: “Although the records of yellow fever’s visits in the early 1800’s are rather sketchy and sometimes contradictory, during the first two decades of the century New Orleans experienced at least five major outbreaks of the disease: 1804, 1809, 1811, 1817, and 1819.” [p. 40]

 

“The next major epidemic of the early nineteenth century occurred in 1811. In mid-August Governor Claiborne noted that the ‘Fevers of New-Orleans’ had already commenced with ‘Symptoms which forbode much mortality.[3] ….

 

“In a letter of October 8 the Governor informed President Madison that New Orleans continued under the influence of ‘that dreadful Scourge, the Yellow Fever,’ and, as usual, the newcomers suffered the greatest losses, although the old settlers were not entirely exempt from attack. To the Secretary of the Navy in late October he wrote that the fever, still raging, had proved highly destructive to the Marine Corps, having carried off two valuable officers and more than a third of the privates.[4]….

 

“Reports from the Protestant sexton, the manager of Charity Hospital, and Father Antoine added up to a total mortality of 210 in August and 262 in September, and the city recorder listed 241 deaths during the month of October. Of the 713 fatalities during the three-month epidemic period of 1811, probably 500 or more represent yellow fever deaths.” [pp. 51-54]

 

Sources

 

Barton, Edward H., MD. The Cause and Prevention of Yellow Fever at New Orleans and other Cities in America (Third Edition, with a Supplement). New York: H. Bailliere; London and Paris, 1857. Google preview accessed 3-14-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=yEJZDrCO-ZkC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Carrigan, Jo Ann. The Saffron Scourge: A History of Yellow Fever in Louisiana, 1796-1905 (Doctoral Dissertation). Louisiana State University, LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses, 1961. Accessed 3-11-2018 at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1665&context=gradschool_disstheses

 

 

[1] Citing, in footnote 47: New Orleans Louisiana Courier, Oct 2, Nov 6, 1811; Louisiana Gazette, Nov 5, 1811.

[2] Preceding paragraph dealt with “The first epidemic yellow fever that is recorded her, is that simultaneous with excavating the earth, in digging the Canal Carondelet, and more especially its basin in 1797.”

[3] Claiborne to Gallatin, August 19, 1811, Carter (ed.). Territory of Orleans, p. 944.

[4] Carrigan, in footnote 45, cites: Claiborne to Madison, October 8, 1811, Carter (ed.), Territory of Orleans, p. 948; Claiborne to Paul Hamilton, October 28, 1811, Rowland (ed.), Claiborne Letter Books, V, p. 369.

–10 Marshall, Don. Oregon Shipwrecks. Portland, OR: Binford & Mort Pubs., 1984, p. 133.
— 8 Nisbet, Jack and Claire. “The ship Tonquin…sights the mouth of the Columbia River…”
— 8 Wikipedia (Tonquin (1807). 1-15-2020 update.

Narrative Information

Gibbs: “”….The ten-gun Tonquin, under command of Captain Jonathan Thorn, sailed from New York on September 8, 1810, loaded with supplies for the establishment of the new Astor colony, and carrying a thirty-three-man crew made up of Scots Highlanders, gentlemen’s sons and rough Canadian voyageurs….

“Thorn, a naval officer on leave from his regular commission, wore no velvet gloves to soften his iron-handed rule…

“Then the Tonquin and her surly crew finally arrived at the Columbia River entrance, March 22, 1811, the bar was rough with breakers from a strong south-west wind. A less headstrong commander would have waited for milder weather, but not Captain Thorn. He ordered William Fox, his first officer, along with several others, to man the whaleboat and take soundings.

“Knowing the whaleboat was in need of repair and justly fearful of the angry seas, Fox protested bitterly. Thorn merely taunted his cowardice: ‘If you are afraid of the sea, Mr. Fox, you should never have left Boston.’

“So the damaged whaleboat, with Fox at the tiller went over the side of the Tonquin into the raging waters – soon to disappear in the heaving swells. Neither craft nor crew was ever seen thereafter.

“Night came on and the ship rolled violently in the sea. The following day the wind subsided and the Tonquin found anchorage in fourteen fathoms [68 feet] near the north entrance of the river – but she had yet to cross the bar.

“….Because the ship lay in a dangerous position, it was decided that Alexander McKay and David Stuart of the Astor party should man the pinnace and sound the bar channel. The boat was lowered, but within a few minutes it swamped in the surg, the two men narrowly escaping with their lives.

“….As the Tonquin was slowly being carried toward shore, Captain Thorn found his position growing more perilous…Among the cargo carried on the vessel was the frame of a small schooner which was to have been assembled at the new establishment. All hands set to work; shortly they had the craft fitted together. John Aiken was put in charge, assisted by the ship’s sailmaker and the ship’s armorer. When the work was completed, the vessel was manned for one final attempt to guide the Tonquin into safe waters.

“The schooner proved to be more successful than the smaller boats; it eventually located the safe channel. After carefully marking the area, the crew headed back to join the Tonquin, but the currents swept their craft broadside into a curling breaker, tossing her on her beam ends and spilling the crew into the chilling water.

“Thorn would not risk sending aid to the struggling men, as he needed every hand to save the ship from being carried onto the spit. Suddenly the Tonquin struck. Water surged over her decks, and loose gear floated free of its fittings. Shrouds and halyards snapped as the vessel kept poking her prow on the shoal. Foundering seemed imminent…

“Then…the Tonquin drifted free with the tide and was carried over the bar after having struck it repeatedly without sustaining serious damage to her hull….” (pp. 65-68.)

Marshall: “Tonquin 3/22/1811 Ship, American 260 tons….Eight men drowned trying to sound the bar; the following day, two more met with the same fate…”

Sources

Gibbs, James A. Pacific Graveyard. A Narrative of Shipwrecks Where the Columbia River Meets the Pacific Ocean. Portland, OR: Binford & Mort Publishing, 1993.

Marshall, Don. Oregon Shipwrecks. Portland, OR: Binford & Mort Publishing, 1984.

Nisbet, Jack and Claire. “The ship Tonquin out of New York City sights the mouth of the Columbia River on March 22, 1811.” HistoryLing.org Essay 8673. 7-1-2008. Accessed 4-18-2020 at: https://www.historylink.org/File/8673

Wikipedia (Tonquin (1807). 1-15-2020 update. Accessed 4-17-2020 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonquin_(1807)

—>103-108  Blanchard tally of State and local breakouts below.

 

New Hampshire         (>10)

–>1  Bath, Grafton Co. Jackson. History of Littleton, NH (Vol. II of III). 1905, p. 134.[1]

—  7  Rindge, Cheshire County. Blanchard tally of sources below.

—  6  Rindge, Cheshire County. Capnken. “Spotted Fever Outbreak. Find A Grave.

—  Isaac Gibson, 55, Dec 6. Buried at Meeting House Cemetery, Rindge, NH.

—  Elvira Jewett, ~18 months, Dec 27. Buried at Meeting House Cemetery, Rindge, NH.

—  Harriet Jewett, 5 years, Dec 1. Buried at Meeting House Cemetery, Rindge, NH.

—  Jeremiah Norcross, ~67, Dec 1. Buried at Meeting House Cemetery, Rindge, NH.

—  Jeremiah Norcross, Jr., ~20, Nov 25. Buried at Meeting House Cemetery, Rindge, NH.

—  Steele, Samuel, ~20, Dec 13. Buried at Meeting House Cemetery, Rindge, NH.

—  1  Rindge. Emerson Hubbard, ~8, Dec 18. Stearns. History of the Town of Rindge, NH. p. 560.

–>2  Windham, Rockingham County. Percy McAdams, 5-yrs, March 19.[2]

 

Vermont                     (93-98)

—        ?  Barre, Washington County. “The disease was severe in…Barre, and vicinity…”[3]

—    >19  Barnet, Caledonia County, as of March 1 when it was “still raging.”[4]

—      >5  Derby, Orleans County. (Five Kendall family members, one was 7, another 9.[5]

—        0  Greensborough, Orleans County, starting March 19, several dozen cases, no deaths.[6]

—        0  Hardwick, Caledonia County, starting March 19, several dozen cases, no deaths.[7]

—        ?  Randolph, Orange County. “The disease was severe in Randolph…”[8]

—        8  Reading, Windsor County, Feb (3 deaths) & Dec (5 deaths).[9]

—        1  Sherburne (Killington), Rutland County. Nathan Whitney, about 30 years old.[10]

–60-70  Woodstock, 1811. Thompson. History of Vermont. 1842, p. 221.[11]

–60-65  Woodstock area, Jan-Apr. Gallup. Sketches of Epidemic Diseases…Vermont. 1815, 65.

 

Narrative Information

 

Gallup: “1811. The disease called spotted fever, made its first appearance in this town [Woodstock] and vicinity this year, in the month of January….This disease appeared in a decided form about the 23d of January, although some cases happened a few weeks previous, showing a petechial[12] character….” [p. 63]

 

“….the month of April was rather milder than usual. The spotted fever continued very severe through this month.

 

“For about two months the greatest proportion of cases were confined to the village where it began; after about the 20^th of March, the greatest proportion were in the more distant neighbourhoods. The adjoining towns suffered most severely the following year [1812].

 

“The number of new cases were about the same each week until about the 23d of March; perhaps thirty-five each week, in the neighbourhood and vicinity. As no correct account was kept, and as this village is situated near the corner of several towns, no exact limits are set.

 

“The week previous to the 23d was attended with the greatest number of deaths….” [p. 64]

 

“I have no means of giving the number of cases, only as a matter of opinion. Perhaps there might be five hundred and fifty, or six hundred, reckoning five miles each way from the court house. The number of deaths by this disease in five months, was between sixty and sixty-five in the above limits. About eight of this number died before medical assistance could be procured….

 

“The disease, in the course of the winter, appeared in a great proportion of the towns in the state, particularly in the eastern part extending to the line of Canada, and even very considerably into that province. From information, which I believe to be correct, from twenty to thirty perished in most of the towns in that region. In the town of Barnet [Caledonia County, VT] as published in the newspapers of the 1^st of March, out of thirty cases, nineteen proved fatal, and the disease was still raging. The deaths were generally sudden, and caused great alarm and consternation among the people.

 

“The disease was severe in Randolph, Barre, and vicinity. Many fatal cases occurred in that region, but I am not favored with any statement from physicians in that quarter. Many cattle are said to have died in this region about this time. I have been credibly informed, that the spotted fever prevailed in the new settlements of Lower Canada, in the summer of this year, and the following spring; and also, that blood-letting was very useful. [end of p. 65]

 

“The attacks and progress of this disease were generally sudden. Children sometimes went to school apparently in perfect health, who would return home distressed, and, in some instances, be corpses in three or four hours. More often, they would awake in the morning in a comatose and distressed state, with a very quick pulse, and die in a few hours. It was not confined to children. Many cases occurred in men and women, possessing every appearance of the most firm and athletic habits, being prostrated before it in a few days, and sometimes in a few hours, with apparent symptoms of debility or asthenia.[13] They would often be incapable of describing their feelings, from an imbecility or aberration of intellect, and commonly expire in a comatose state.

 

“Dr. Ware mentions, that in Pomfret, this year a number of foxes were found dead; and that some were killed at mid-day by children, near dwelling houses, to the amount of about a dozen. What their disease was he could not determine. Also squirrels, about this time, were seldom seen, and are not yet so plenty, as before. They were supposed to be destroyed by pestilence. Disease appeared also among sheep and geese.

 

“Spotted fever appeared in Reading, the latter part of February; about 35 cases; only 10 or 12 severe; three deaths. In December, 20 cases, five deaths. He bled from one to five times, sweated, gave also Vol. Tinet. Gum Guaiac. Ether, &c. He places [end of p. 66] no reliance on pukes and purges, at this time and place. In other places he used them, but the result is not given.

 

“It is a common observation, and I believe just, that the greatest number of severe and fatal cases of spotted fever, occurred in families most destitute of the common necessaries and comforts of life. Although many cases happened under circumstances the reverse of this, yet the cases could, for the mot part, be referred to some unusual fatigue, or particularly exposure. In families more destitute, not only the liability to have the disease excited, is greater, but also, when attacked, the means necessary for opposing its rapid and fatal tendency, are not usually at hand; neither are they applied with that solicitude and attention, which is characteristic of the more provident….”

(Gallup. Sketches of Epidemic Diseases in the State of Vermont. 1815, pp. 63-67.)

 

Gallup in Chapter VI on History and Symptoms: “….Whatever may be considered the cause, we find the subject which is attacked, possessed of an unusual degree of nervous mobility, or oscillatory state of action. This condition is manifested to exist in the living moveable powers of the system, by the great variety of symptoms; in the uncertain duration of the disease; and in [end of p. 225] the rapid changes, which take place from one kind and degree of action to another. These circumstances obtain so effectually, that the disease an be said to possess a great versatility of character; and we are at a loss for a set of discriminating symptoms to distinguish it by, unless we resort to the method taken by some of considering its eccentricity of character as pathognomonic of the disease. This, however, is acknowledged to be too vague. It will be suggested in the shortest manner, that the disease may be distinguished more satisfactorily by a peculiar derangement in the physiognomy generally, than by any invariable internal diagnostic symptoms. To a person a little conversant with the disease, and taking all circumstances into consideration, there will be no great difficulty in naming the disease, if any one is anxious about it, especially in the epidemic season.

 

“The most constant symptom, that has occurred to our observation, is a pain in the forehead between the eyes, similar to the pain that accompanies angina epidemica. A great part of patients, that have the use of their reason, will either complain of this, or answer that they have it, in a short time after the attack; or as soon as the fugitive nervous symptoms have a little subsided….

 

“The first symptoms generally are extreme lassitude and desire for rest; at the same time a sense of faintness [end of p. 226] at the stomach, with desire for food, which is often called for with impatience. A coldness to the touch is immediately discovered in the skin, and this last has sometimes a purplish color; more commonly, however, the skin, at the attack, looks clear….” [p. 227]

 

“The eruption, which has given name to this disease, is not a constant attendant, and has as great mutability in its appearance, as can be attached to the pathological character of the disease. The proportion of cases, which had distinct eruptions, may be estimated at about one sixth. Notwithstanding a considerable part of the remainder had some kind or other of cutaneous affection, greater or less, denoting them to be of the same family; but this gives not discriminating character to the disease, as many cases occurred, in which not the least vestige of eruption could be traced….The actual appearance of the eruption gives no relief….The eruptions appeared at different periods of the disease; perhaps most commonly on the second day. They sometimes resemble petechiae, or flea bites…of a dark hue; sometimes of a brighter red colour. They are very numerous; of the size of a pin’s head, or less. The red colour is most favourable. When numerous and of a darkened colour, along with a dusky appearance in the skin, they exhibit a very forbidding aspect. The eruption sometimes appears in blotches and patches of a red colour, and undefined in size…” [pp. 232-233 from 223-280.] (Gallup. Sketches of Epidemic Diseases in the State of Vermont. 1815.)

 

Jackson: “Spotted fever (cerebro-spinal meningitis) was first observed in this country, in 1806, in Medfield, Mass., although it had been known in Europe in 1505, where it prevailed to an alarming extent. In April, 1807, it appeared in Connecticut, and continued to prevail in different towns in the State, through the years 1808 and 1809. It is said to have appeared in Deerfield, N.H., as early as 1807, but did not prevail as an epidemic throughout the State until two or three years later, and remained as late as 1815 or 1816. In 1809, 1810, and 1811 it prevailed quite generally throughout Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Canada. Its march was very erratic, as may be seen from the fact that the disease prevailed in Bath in 1811, in Walpole, Bethlehem, and Littleton [all NH] in 1812, In Gilmanton and Croydon in 1813, in Boscawen in 1814, while Warren was not reached till 1815, when it prevailed in that place with fearful malignancy. During the period named, it prevailed in the State in other localities than the towns above mentioned, but these instances are give to show the peculiarities of its progress.” (Jackson. History of Littleton, New Hampshire (Vol. II of III). 1905, p. 134.)

 

New York Courier and Enquirer, June 22, 1832, Letter to the Editor: “Gentlemen…. In the spotted fever, or cold plague, as it is called, which prevailed in Vermont, New Hampshire, &c. in 1811….because a hideous disease appeared in a new form, it therefore was thought to require a new, or unheard-of treatment. At that period, too, we had the advisers and that the advocates of opium, camphor, wine, brandy, and all the family of stimulants. Bleeding was recommended by some — sweating by others. Under this mode of treating, the disease proved fatal in three to six cases our of ten, where medical aid could be procured; but in those parts of the country, particularly in the western part of the state where the population was too scattered to enable the sick to obtain medical aid, the mortality was not half so great…” (Reprinted in Cobbett. Cobbett’s Weekly Political Register, Vol. 77, No. 9, London, England, 9-1-1832, p. 526.)

 

Sources

 

Capnken. “Spotted Fever Outbreak. Find A Grave. Accessed 2-15-2018 at: https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/291708?page=1#sr-88029202

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meningitis. 4-10-2017. Accessed 2-15-2018 at: https://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/index.html

 

Cobbett, William. Cobbett’s Weekly Political Register, Vol. 77, No. 9, London, England, 9-1-1832. Google preview accessed 2-15-2018 at:

https://books.google.com/books?id=UM47AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Farmer, John, and Jacob B. Moore. A Gazetteer of the State of New-Hampshire. Concord: Jacob B. Moore, 1823. Google preview accessed 2-15-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=45Y-AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

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

 

Jackson, James Robert. History of Littleton, New Hampshire (Vol. II of III). Cambridge, MA: University Press, Cambridge. 1905. Google preview accessed 2-15-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=zck1AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Mayo Clinic. Meningitis. 12-23-2017. Accessed 2-15-2018 at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/meningitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350508

 

Newenglandkendalls.com. “Twelfth Generation.” Accessed 2-15-2018 at: http://www.newenglandkendalls.com/TTWL/Kendall12011/Kendall12022/b805.htm

 

Osler, William, M.D. (Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore). “Lecture: The Arthritis of Cerebro-Spinal Fever.” Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. Vol. CXXXIX (139), No. 26, pp. 641-643, 12-29-1898. Accessed 2-15-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=grI1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA641&lpg=PA641&dq=1811+new+england+%22spotted+fever%22&source=bl&ots=8GHf55k9P9&sig=eL9hgqE4ddC5ba0f_rYEpqzVVaw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwit6YHpzKjZAhVPGt8KHUY1DgAQ6AEIVzAN#v=onepage&q=1811%20new%20england%20%22spotted%20fever%22&f=false

 

Stearns, Ezra S. History of the Town of Rindge, New Hampshire…1736-1874, with a Genealogical Register of the Rindge Families. Boston: Press of George H. Ellis, 1875. Google preview accessed 2-15-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=hCNAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Stone, M.T. Historical Sketch of the Town of Troy, New Hampshire, and her Inhabitants…1764-1897. Keene, NH: Press of Sentinel Printing Company, 1897. Google preview accessed 2-15-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=NioTAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Thompson, Zadock. History of Vermont, Natural, Civil, and Statistical, In Three Parts, With a new Map of the State, and 200 Engravings. Burlington, VT: Chauncey Goodrich, 1842. Google preview accessed 2-7-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=8BUzAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Worster-Drought, C. “The Diagnosis of Cerebrospinal Fever (Meningococcal Meningitis): Incorporating the Differential Diagnosis of Meningitis.” Post-Graduate Medical News, April, 1944, pp. 99-107. Accessed 2-15-2018 at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2478081/?page=1

[1] Notes it “prevailed in Bath in 1811.” Farmer and Moore note in Gazetteer of the State of New Hampshire that (p. 77-78) “In 1811, the spotted fever visited this pace [Bath], but did not prove very fatal.” We assume that the notation that it was not very fatal presumes at least one death, or else the note should have been “did not prove fatal.”

[2] We note “at least” 2 deaths in that of note that “She was the first person in Windham who d. of the spotted fever.”

[3] Gallup. Sketches of Epidemic Diseases…Vermont. 1815, 65.

[4] Gallup. Sketches of Epidemic Diseases…Vermont. 1815, p. 65.

[5] Newenglandkendalls.com. “Twelfth Generation.” Accessed 2-15-2018.

[6] Gallup. Sketches of Epidemic Diseases…Vermont. 1815, 66.

[7] Gallup. Sketches of Epidemic Diseases…Vermont. 1815, 66.

[8] Gallup. Sketches of Epidemic Diseases…Vermont. 1815, 65.

[9] Gallup. Sketches of Epidemic Diseases…Vermont. 1815, 66.

[10] Stone, M.T. Historical Sketch of the Town of Troy, New Hampshire, and…Inhabitants…1764-1897.  1897, p. 555.

[11] Highlighted in yellow to denote not including in our tally in that Thompson is basically a rewrite of Gallup, and we do not know why death toll was changed from 60-65 to 60-70.

[12] Small red, purple, or brown spots on the skin that commonly appear in clusters and may look like a rash. (Mayo Clinic. “Petechiae.” Accessed 2-13-2018 at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/petechiae/basics/definition/sym-20050724

[13] Abnormal physical weakness or lack of energy.

–59 Marvin. History of the Town of Winchendon. 1868, p. 360.
–45 children. May 29-Dec 30, 1810.
–14 children. Feb 17-Dec 10, 1811.
–54 Hyde. History of the Town of Winchendon. 1849, p. 60.

Narrative Information

Hyde: “Seasons of great Mortality, Sudden Deaths, &c…. In 1810, the canker-rash prevailed here: the whole number of deaths that year, was 54; 45 of which were of children.” (Hyde. History of the Town of Winchendon. 1849, p. 60.)

Marvin: “In 1810-11, there was a fearful malady among the children. From May 29, 1810, to December 30, forty-five children fell victims, nearly all of whom died of the same disease. In the Church records kept by Mr. Pillsbury, ‘Quinsy,’ or ‘Canker,’ is written against their names. It is thought by aged persons, who remember this sickness, that it was the same form as that now known by the name of ‘diptheria [sic].’ Between February 17, 1811, and December 10, of the same year, fourteen children died, mostly of the same complaint, making fifty-nine deaths of children in about twenty months. Some families lost all their children. In August, 1810, seven died; in September, twelve; in October, fourteen. The sickness prevailed in different parts of the town, but raged with special virulence in the south part, extending from Capt. Whitcomb’s, on the south-east, to Mr. Thos. Wyman’s on the west, nearly four miles. The former lost two, and the latter four children. Capt. Stoddard lost three; Mr. Gideon Balcom, three; Mr. James McElwain, three. The seventh district lost more than half of the children within its limits. In other districts, Lieut. Isaac Morse lost two; Mr. Hapgood, four; Mr. Seth Tucker, Sen., two, and Mr. Jacob Hale, two. There has been no year since when so many children have died, although the population has been more than doubled. Nor has there been a year when so large a proportion of persons of all ages have died; not even during the late war. Indeed there has been no prevailing sickness since, unless perhaps in one year. In 1849 there were eight cases of death by scarlet fever….” (Marvin. History of the Town of Winchendon. 1868, p. 360.)

Sources

Hyde, Ezra. History of the Town of Winchendon, from the Grant of the Township by the Legislature of Massachusetts in 1735, to the Present Time. Worcester: Henry J. Howland, 1849. Google preview accessed 2-1-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=-WJZAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Marvin, Abijah Perkins (Rev.). History of the Town of Winchendon (Worcester County, Mass.,) From the Grant of Ipswich Canada in 1735, to the Present Time. Winchendon: By author, 1868. Google preview accessed 2-27-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=v2CuIDaPtaIC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

–850  Blanchard tally from State and locality breakouts below.

 

Brooklyn, NY            (    42)

–42  Brooklyn & NYC          Keating 1879, p. 83.[1]

–40  Brooklyn                        US Marine-Hospital Service. Annual Rpt…FY 1895. 1896, p. 433.[2]

 

Charleston, SC          (     8)

–8  Charleston                                    Porter. 1855, p. 97, citing Dr. Samuel Wilson letter of 8-31-1809.[3]

–?  Sporadic cases.                 Dowler. Tableau of the Yellow Fever of 1853. 1854, p. 14.

 

New Orleans, LA      (~800)

–~800  All military deaths.    Carrigan. The Saffron Scourge. 1961, p. 50.[4]

 

Philadelphia, PA       (      ?)

–?                                            US Marine-Hospital Service. Annual Rpt…FY 1895. 1896, p. 433.[5]

 

Narrative Information

 

Carrigan: “Although the records of yellow fever’s visits in the early 1800’s are rather sketchy and sometimes contradictory, during the first two decades of the century New Orleans experienced at least five major outbreaks of the disease: 1804, 1809, 1811, 1817, and 1819.” [p.40]

 

“In early December of 1809 a New Orleans resident wrote that ‘people die here this year without almost any warning,’ and he mentioned several persons who had fallen prey to yellow fever.[6] Of some 2,000 United States troops concentrated in New Orleans in 1809, nearly 800 died, probably a large proportion from the yellow pestilence. Possibly the disease was introduced that year by French refugees from Cuba, Jamaica, and other West Indian islands whence they poured into New Orleans by the hundreds in June and July.[7] [pp. 49-50] ….

 

“Indicating further the extent of the disease in 1808, another New Orleanian wrote in mid-November: ‘I wish I was out of town–for its very sickly–people are running into the Country very fast.’ As late as November 20 he remarked again that ‘the Yellow fever is raging much in town.’[8]” [p.51]  (Carrigan. The Saffron Scourge, 1961, p. 40, 49-51.)

 

Sources

 

Carrigan, Jo Ann. The Saffron Scourge: A History of Yellow Fever in Louisiana, 1796-1905 (Doctoral Dissertation). Louisiana State University, LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses, 1961. Accessed 3-11-2018 at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1665&context=gradschool_disstheses

 

Dowler, Bennet, MD. Tableau of the Yellow Fever of 1853, with Topographical, Chronological, and Historical Sketches of The Epidemics of New Orleans Since Their Origin in 1796, Illustrative of the Quarantine Question. New Orleans: The Office of the Picayune, 1854, 76 pages. Accessed 3-16-2018 at: https://ia600300.us.archive.org/18/items/65020990R.nlm.nih.gov/65020990R.pdf

 

Keating, J. M. A History of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878 in Memphis, Tenn. Memphis, TN: Howard Association, 1879. Google preview accessed 3-16-2018 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=WEIJAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Porter, John B, MD (Surgeon, USA). “On the Climate and Salubrity of Fort Moultrie and Sullivan’s Island, Charleston Harbour, S.C., with Incidental Remarks on the Yellow Fever of the City of Charleston.” Art. V., pp. 86-101 in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (Isaac Hays, Editor), New Series, Vol. 29. Philadelphia: Blanchard & Lea, Jan 1855. Accessed 3-18-2018 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=wfRGAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

United States Marine-Hospital Service, Treasury Department. Annual Report of the Supervising Surgeon-General of the Marine-Hospital Service of the United States for the Fiscal Year 1895 (Document No. 1811). Washington, DC: GPO, 1896. Google preview accessed 3-16-2018 at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=aTnxAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

[1] The US Marine Hospital Service Annual Report states that the NYC cases were introduced by the ship Concord from Havana. Cites: “Ed. N.Y.J.M., 1856, p. 284. (Toner.)”

[2] Cites: Ed. N.Y.J.M., 1856, p. 278. (Toner.)

[3] “….we…were flattering ourselves with the hopes of an exemption from the yellow fever, but this has unfortunately not been the case, for about eight cases have occurred among strangers, and, as is usually the case, the whole have terminated fatally…”

[4] We use this number in that it is the only number we have seen that indicates a level of mortality. (1) The number for 800 U.S. Military fatalities undoubtedly includes military deaths from other causes. (2) We have no estimate of the deaths from yellow fever which was “raging” as an epidemic in New Orleans. (3) We, thus, conclude, for purposes of recognition that there was an epidemic and to contribute to a tally, that it is not inappropriate to use the number 800 as the death toll, until more information is acquired.

[5] Does not provide fatality information. Cites: B. Dowler, Tableau of Yellow Fever, 1853, p. 14. (Toner).

[6] Carrigan, in footnote 39, cites: Sterrett to Nathaniel Evans, December 2, 1809, Nathaniel Evans Family Papers.

[7] Carrigan, in footnote 40, cites: Gayarré, History of Louisiana, IV, 214-20, 222.

[8] Carrigan, in footnote 42, cites: Samuel Philips to John M. Pintard, November 13, 20, 1808, John M. Pintard Papers (Louisiana State University Archives, Baton Rouge).

New York City

–29  Jones. Contagious and Infectious Diseases. 1884, p. 193.[1]

 

Philadelphia

–32  City of Philadelphia. First Annual Message…(Vol. III), 1907, p. 99.[2]

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

[1] Table: “Introduction of Vaccination into New York. Total Deaths from all Causes, and from Small-Pox, Measles, Scarlet Fever and Phthisis-Pulmonalis in the City of New York during a Period of Fifty Years, 1804-1853.”

[2] Table entitled “Deaths from Smallpox from 1807 to 1907, inclusive, and Rate per 1,000 of Population.” Notes death rate of .28 per 1,000.

 

–42  Rappaport and Partagas. The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492-1994. 1995, p. 24.

 

New Jersey                 (21)

–21  Rose In Bloom, 20 miles off Barnegat Inlet, NJ. [27 people survived.] Hairr 2008, p. 35.

–21  Rose in Bloom, ~Barnegat Inlet NJ.  NWS FO, Philly/Mt. Holly. “Hist. Weather Facts…,”

–21           “                                “               Nash.  Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 678.

North Carolina          (~5)

—>10  Wilmington and vicinity and coastal waters. (Blanchard.)[1]

—    1  Core Banks near Portsmouth (Outer Banks). Body washed ashore.

—  >5  Wilmington and vicinity. Hairr 2008, p. 33, citing a Wilmington newspaper.[2]

 

Narrative Information

 

Hairr: “The Twin Hurricanes of 1806.

 

“The year 1806 was an active one along the Carolina coast. Two powerful hurricanes came ashore, ravaging the area between Charleston and the Outer Banks. Ships were wrecked, buildings damaged and crops ruined. Lighthouses at Hatteras and Shell Castle were temporarily put out of commission, while the lighthouse at Georgetown was totally destroyed.

 

“The first hurricane to affect the coast that year made its presence felt in South Carolina on August 21, 1806. The storm passed by offshore, giving Charleston only a glancing blow, so damage was not particularly catastrophic. Several ships were wrecked or driven ashore in the harbor, including a United States Revenue Service Cutter. Farther up the coast, at the mouth of Winyah Bay, the storm’s winds blew down the wooden Georgetown Lighthouse.

 

“One observer in Georgetown noted the conditions of the damage near his town left in the storm’s wake. ‘The crops on [end of p. 31] the upland have been considerable damaged, and the roads rendered almost impassable from the number of trees blown across them. Our town suffered but little damage.’

 

“The storm continued north and made landfall on the North Carolina coast on August 22, 1806, near the mouth [end of p. 32] of the Cape Fear River. At Smithville, several ships were damaged and much property destroyed, including the wharves lining the riverbank. One eyewitness in this town reported: ‘Happily no lives were lost, but we fear much damage has happened along the coasts and to the crops, it being allowed to be the severest hurricane and longest storm ever known here.’

 

“Upriver at Wilmington, the slow-moving storm caused widespread destruction. The winds began blowing at hurricane force on Friday morning, August 22, and continued until finally subsiding on Saturday afternoon. ‘We have witnessed the most violent and destructive storm of wind and rain ever before known here,’ a writer for the Wilmington newspaper wrote…. [p. 33.]

 

“One of the casualties of this storm was the Governor Williams, a U.S. Revenue cutter that was dismasted and driven ashore near Bald Head Island during the hurricane. Thomas Coles and Jonathon Price were using the vessel as they mapped the coast, and were at the time charting the Frying Pan Shoals. The other cutter, Diligence, was in port in Wilmington and suffered no damage. The Governor Williams was soon thereafter refloated, and the party continued their work, heading north up the coast to work in the vicinity of Ocracoke.

 

“The center of the storm passed over New Bern, as an account of the storm written there notes that the winds began blowing Friday out of the northeast and ‘shifted about to every point of the compass. Damage at this city, however, was not extensive.’ Most of the fierce winds and rains apparently stayed east and south of the city.

 

“The hurricane emerged back over the water between Cape Henry and Cape Hatteras, headed northeast up the coast. Norfolk, Virginia, reported damaging winds and heavy rains. Farther north, on the Massachusetts coast, it was estimated that the storm dumped over thirty inches of rain at Edgartown, on Martha’s Vineyard.

 

“The most notable casualty from this storm was the ship Rose In Bloom, which was buffeted by the heavy seas and winds while en route from Charleston to New York. It had safely passed the treacherous waters of the Outer Banks, but on Sunday, August 24, 1806, twenty miles off [end of p. 34] Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey, the ship was struck by a wave that ‘threw her on her beam ends.’ Twenty-one of the forty-eight people on board perished….

 

“After the storm moved on, many vessels were discovered wrecked upon the sandy shores of North Carolina. The identities of most were unknown, as they were ‘broken in pieces’ and their remains had been deposited on the beach. Among those identified on the Bogue Banks were the Adolphus and the Atlantic….Folks on the Core Banks near Portsmouth [Outer Banks] made some interesting finds: ‘The corpse of a man who perished in the storm has drifted ashore, but so much eaten by the fishes that he cannot be known.’….” [p. 36] (Hairr 2008)

 

NWS FO, Philly/Mt. Holly: “Aug 23 …1806…A hurricane of great size and destructive power raged along the Atlantic coast from the 21st to the 24th. As the slow moving storm gained forward speed, shipping suffered severely. The coastal ship “Rose in Bloom” upset during the morning in the NE gales off Barnegat Inlet, NJ, with the loss of 21 of the 49 persons aboard. This disaster received wide national publicity. (EAH).” (NWS FO, Philly/Mt. Holly. “Hist. Weather Facts…,”  10-17-2005.)

 

Rappaport and Partagas: “Appendix 1. Atlantic tropical cyclones causing at least 25 deaths.

“[No.] 202. Offshore US E coast  23 Aug 1806  42.”[3]

 

Rubillo: “The coastal hurricanes of 1806….This storm made landfall near Cape Fear in North Carolina. A local newspaper there described it as the ‘most violent and destructive storm of wind and rain ever known here.’[4] That is a powerful assertion coming, as it did, from someone living near the ‘graveyard of ships’ — the point along the coast where the Gulf Stream (which nurtures and drives hurricanes) collides with the cold waters of the Labrador Current flowing from the opposite direction. This hurricane ‘blew with utmost violence’ for over twenty-four hours before abating. ‘The tide rose to a height hitherto unknown and ‘when the wind shifted to southwest it seemed to threaten universal destruction’.’[5] ….” (Rubillo 2006, pp. 54-55.)

 

Sources

 

Hairr, John. The Great Hurricanes of North Carolina. Charleston: History Press, 2008.

 

Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters from Ancient Times to the Present. New York: Pocket Books, Wallaby, 1977, 792 pages.

 

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, Philadelphia/Mount Holly. “Historical Weather Facts for the Philadelphia/Mt. Holly, NJ Forecast Area.” Mount Holly, NJ: NWS FO, Oct 17, 2005 update. Accessed at: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/hist_phi.html#0311

 

Rappaport, Edward N. and Jose Fernandez-Partagas. The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492-1994 (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC-47). Coral Gables, FL: National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, January 1995, 42 pages. Accessed 8-20-2017 at:  http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NWS-NHC-1995-47.pdf

 

Rubillo, Tom. Hurricane Destruction in South Carolina: Hell and High Water. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2006.

 

 

[1] We surmise that at least ten people must have died based on statements that (1) five died in Wilmington and vicinity, (2) one body washed ashore on Core Banks, and (3) after the storm passed “many vessels were discovered wrecked upon the sandy shores of North Carolina.” (We make assumption that at least four lives were thus lost). In addition, it should be noted that Rappaport and Partagas note 42 deaths while identifying only 21 (Rose In Bloom).

[2] “….Mr. Isaac Baldwin was killed by the falling of an old burnt wall, and we hear that several Negroes have been killed and one drowned on plantations in the vicinity.” [Blanchard note: in order to add to the tabulation we convert “several” to >3.

[3] Cites: Chapman, D. J. “Our southern summer storm.” Report from National Weather Service, Norfolk, Virginia.

[4] Cites: Wilmington Gazette, (Wilmington, NC), August 26, 1806.

[5] Cites: Ludlum, Early American Hurricanes, p. 56.

— 169  Blanchard tally based on breakouts below.

Alabama                     (   1)

—    1  Greensboro                               Augustin.  History of Yellow Fever, 1909, 442.

New York                   (   3)

—    3  NYC at Marine Hospital.         US MHS 1896, 433.

Pennsylvania              (   3)

—    3  Philadelphia                              US MHS 1896, 433.

South Carolina          (162)

–162  Charleston                                Keating 1879, 82; Sternberg 1908, 719; USMHS 1896, 433

–162   “  NYT. “Yellow Fever. Epidemics in Charleston, S.C. – Statistics from 1700.” 9-18-1871

–162  Ramsay. “Medical History From 1670-1808,” Ramsay’s History of SC, 1858, p. 47.

 

Narrative Information

 

Ramsay: “For forty-four years after 1748, there was no epidemic attack of this disease [yellow fever], though there were occasionally in different summers a few sporadic cases of it. In the year 1792 a new era of the yellow fever commenced. It raged in Charlestown in that year, and in 1794, 1795, 1796, 1797, 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1804, and 1807. The number of deaths from it in these, its worst years, were…In 1799, 239; in 1800, 184; in 1802, 96; in 1804, 148; in 1807, 162.”

 

Sources

 

Augustin, George. History of Yellow Fever. New Orleans: Published for the Author by Search & Pfaff Ltd., 1909; General Books reprint, Memphis, TN, 2010. 1909 copy digitized at: http://archive.org/stream/historyofyellowf00auguuoft#page/n4/mode/1up

 

Keating, J. M. A History of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878 in Memphis, Tenn. Memphis, TN: Howard Association, 1879. Google digitized at: http://books.google.com/books?id=WEIJAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

New York Times. “Yellow Fever. Epidemics in Charleston, S.C. – Statistics from 1700.” 9-18-1871. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FB0C13F938541A7493CAA81782D85F458784F9

 

Ramsay, David (M.D.). Ramsay’s History of South Carolina, From its First Settlement in 1670 to the Year 1808. Published by W. J. Duffie, Newberry, SC, printed in Charleston by Walker, Evans & Co., 1858. Digitized by archive.org and accessed 9-11-2016 at: https://archive.org/stream/ramsayshistorys00ramsgoog#page/n4/mode/2up

 

Sternberg, George M. (US Public Health Service, US Marine Hospital Service). “Yellow Fever,” pp. 39-72 in A Reference Handbook of the Medical Sciences (Vol. 8), Albert Henry Buck, (Ed.). NY: William Wood & Co., 1894. Google digitized: http://books.google.com/books?id=Jr00AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

United States Marine-Hospital Service, Treasury Department. Annual Report of the Supervising Surgeon-General of the Marine-Hospital Service of the United States for the Fiscal Year 1895 (Document No. 1811). Washington, DC:  GPO, 1896.  Digitized by Google and accessed at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=aTnxAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

 

 

–354  Jones. Contagious and Infectious Diseases. 1884, p. 193.[1]

Blanchard note: The first US Census to show State mortality data was not until 1850.

Narrative Information

Tuberculosis: “Tuberculosis (TB)[2] 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….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… 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.)

 

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, Louisiana Board of Health. Contagious and Infectious Diseases, Measures for Their Prevention and Arrest. Small Pox (Variola)… (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

 

Wikipedia. “Tuberculosis.” Accessed 6-27-2019 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis

[1] Table: “Introduction of Vaccination into New York. Total Deaths from all Causes, and from Small-Pox, Measles, Scarlet Fever and Phthisis-Pulmonalis in the City of New York during a Period of Fifty Years, 1804-1853.”

[2] The term “tuberculosis,” according to Wikipedia, was coined by J. L. Schönlein in 1839. Notes other names used were phthisis, phthisis pulmonalis, and consumption (deriving from weight loss).

–48  Jones. Contagious and Infectious Diseases. 1884, p. 193.[1]

Source

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

 

 

[1] Table: “Introduction of Vaccination into New York. Total Deaths from all Causes, and from Small-Pox, Measles, Scarlet Fever and Phthisis-Pulmonalis in the City of New York during a Period of Fifty Years, 1804-1853.”