In the years 1850-1851 All of North America had a severe Influenza outbreak 1851 had a bad bout of Cholera and 1852 had Nation wide epidemic of Yellow Fever. And there were also localized outbreaks of typhoid too during this time period. Sharon McCormack Joyce G. Reece, Kaye Buckner Presley, Sharon McCormack American Local History Network Web site co-hosts > A number of Matlock, Purcell and McPhail family members died during 1851 > and many of them are buried at the Matlock Cemetery near Niota in McMinn > County. Three or four members of one family died within a few weeks or > months of each other. I am wondering if there was some catastrophic > illness (cholera?) that swept through the county in 1851. > > Have other McMinn County researchers noted an unusual number of deaths > in their families which occurred in mid to late 1851? > > Doug Purcell > Sharon McCormack Joyce G. Reece, Kaye Buckner Presley, Sharon McCormack American Local History Network Web site co-hosts