In addition to the contaminated-water diseases referred to by Harold, are and were no few derived from livestock, such as undulant fever, equine encephalitis and trichinosis; persistent insect-borne diseases such as yellow fever and malaria. Accidents were common rural life such as by firearms and entanglement in farming equipment or injury by horse or bull or cow; not to mention being run over by trains. There is just no generalization unless you should find some newspaper or local-history description of a particular flu, diphtheria, measles, cholera or other epidemic -- Harold's suggestion for a look in newspapers is quite sound. But even then you'd have to guess if you don't find announcement of a particular death and its cause. Good hunting, Judy Michele writes: When you see a bunch of babies/children die in the same family (but not at the same time like an illness wiping out several at once) what do you think? Coincidental deaths? All died of the same thing? Something wrong with the children genetically or hereditarily?