I thought this was interesting and might be useful to other researchers. Please excuse cross-listing. ----- Original Message ----- From: <CageyCat@aol.com> To: <BRETHREN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2004 1:43 AM Subject: [BRE] Epidemic years > In case you ever wondered why a large number of your ancestors > disappeared during a certain period in history, this might help. > > Epidemics have always had a great influence on people - and thus > influencing, as well, the genealogists trying to trace them. Many > cases of people disappearing from records can be traced to dying > during an epidemic or moving away from the affected area. Some > of the major epidemics in the United States are listed below: > > 1657 Boston Measles > 1687 Boston Measles > 1690 New York Yellow Fever > 1713 Boston Measles > 1729 Boston Measles > 1732-3 Worldwide Influenza > 1738 South Carolina Smallpox > 1739-40 Boston Measles > 1747 CT,NY,PA,SC Measles > 1759 N. Amer [areas inhabited by white people] Measles > 1761 N. Amer and West Indies Influenza > 1772 N. America Measles > 1775 N. Amer [especially hard in NE] epidemic Unknown > 1775-6 Worldwide [one of the worst epidemics] Influenza > 1783 Dover, DE ["extremely fatal"] Bilious Disorder > 1788 Philadelphia and New York Measles > 1793 Vermont [a "putrid" fever] and Influenza > 1793 VA [killed 500 in 5 counties in 4 weeks] Influenza > 1793 Philadelphia [one of the worst epidemics] Yellow Fever > 1793 Harrisburg, PA [many unexplained deaths] Unknown > 1793 Middletown, PA [many mysterious deaths] Unknown > 1794 Philadelphia, PA Yellow Fever > 1796-7 Philadelphia, PA Yellow Fever > 1798 Philadelphia, PA [one of the worst] Yellow Fever > 1803 New York Yellow Fever > 1820-3 Nationwide [starts-Schuylkill River and spreads] "Fever" > 1831-2 Nationwide [brought by English emigrants] Asiatic Cholera > 1832 NY City and other major cities Cholera > 1837 Philadelphia Typhus > 1841 Nationwide [especially severe in the south] Yellow Fever > 1847 New Orleans Yellow Fever > 1847-8 Worldwide Influenza > 1848-9 North America Cholera > 1850 Nationwide Yellow Fever > 1850-1 North America Influenza > 1852 Nationwide [New Orleans-8,000 die in summer] Yellow Fever > 1855 Nationwide [many parts] Yellow Fever > 1857-9 Worldwide [one of the greated epidemics] Influenza > 1860-1 Pennsylvania Smallpox > 1865-73 Philadelphia, NY, Boston, New Orleans} {Smallpox > Baltimore, Memphis, Washington DC} {Cholera > [A series of recurring epidemics of:} {Typhus > {Typhoid > {Scarlet Fever > {Yellow Fever > 1873-5 N. America and Europe Influenza > 1878 New Orleans [last great epidemic] Yellow Fever > 1885 Plymouth, PA Typhoid > 1886 Jacksonville, FL Yellow Fever > 1918 Worldwide[high point yr] more people were {Influenza > hospitalized in WWI from this epidemic than > wounds. US Army training camps became > death camps, with 80% death rate in some > camps > Finally, these specific instances of cholera were mentioned: > > 1833 Columbus, OH > 1834 New York City > 1849 New York > 1851 Coles Co., IL, The Great Plains, and Missouri > > (from Kansas mailing list) > > > Other smaller localities had their own years of epidemics also, from yellow > fever, measles (and complications), consumption, & flu. Washington PA is one > example. > > A point to remember also is that complications often set in from lowered > immune system from the 1st illness and the lack of medications we have today. > Often the person died from the complications that arose. > > > > > > ==== BRETHREN Mailing List ==== > 9 ------------------------ > This is the Brethren Genealogy and History Discussion List > You can unsubscribe by clicking below for the regular list: > mailto:BRETHREN-L-request@rootsweb.com > Click below for the digest list: > mailto:BRETHREN-D-request@rootsweb.com > In the BODY include only one word: unsubscribe > ------------------------ >