This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: FRENCH, BYRNES, ROACH/ROACHE/ROCHE, GILMORE, DANDY, SIMMONT, GRIMES, FELL, CONWAY, TRAVERS Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/AFB.2ACI/4719 Message Board Post: I came across this link while looking for something else. Sydenham in Baltimore was an infectious disease hospital before antibiotics were available. Apparently some patient records were saved and might be obtainable. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/manuscripts/ead/sydenham.html My mother believes she got diptheria as a youngster from the sewage discharge from Sydenham into Herring Run near her house. Of course we'll never know for sure, but it is an interesting theory.