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.

1831-1832

YEAR	LOCALITY	EPIDEMIC
1657	Boston	Measles
1687	Boston	Measles
1690	New York	Yellow Fever
1713	Boston	Measles
1729	Boston	Measles
1729	Boston	Measles
1732-33	Worldwide	Influenza
1738	South Carolina	Smallpox
1739-40	Boston	Measles
1747	Conn, NY, PA & SC	Measles
1759	North America (areas inhabited by white people)	Measles
1761	North America & West Indies	Influenza
1772	North America	Measles
1775	North America (especially hard in New England)	Epidemic (unknown)
1775-76	Worldwide:	Influenza (one of worst flu epidemics)
1788/b>	Philadelphia & NY	Measles
1793	Vermont	Influenza and a "putrid fever"
1793	Virginia	Influenza (killed 500 people in 5 counties in 4 weeks)
1783*	Delaware (Dover)	"extremely fatal" bilious disorder
1793	Pennsylvania (Harrisburg & Middletown)	many unexplained deaths
1794	Philadelphia	Yellow Fever
1796-97	Philadelphia	Yellow Fever
1798	Philadelphia	Yellow Fever (one of worst)
1803	New York	Yellow Fever
1820-23	Nationwide	"fever" (starts on Schuylkill River, PA & spreads.
Nationwide	Asiatic Cholera (brought by English emigrants)
1832	New York & other major cities	Cholera
1837	Philadelphia	Typhus
1841	Nationwide	Yellow Fever (especially severe in South)
1847	New Orleans	Yellow Fever
1847-48	Worldwide	Influenza
1848-49	North America	Cholera
1850	Nationwide	Yellow Fever
1850-51	North America	Influenza
1852	Nationwide	Yellow Fever (New Orleans 8,000 die in summer)
1855	Nationwide (many parts)	Yellow Fever
1867	Fayette Co. TX, at least 1/4 of county died	yellow fever
1860-61	Pennsylvania	Smallpox
1865-73	Memphis & Philadelphia, NY, Boston, New Orleans, Baltimore, Washington DC	A series of recurring epidemics of Smallpox, Cholera, Typhus, Typhoid, Scarlet Fever & Yellow Fever
1873-75	North America & Europe	Influenza
1878	New Orleans	Yellow Fever (last great epidemic of disease)
1885	Plymouth, PA	Typhoid
1886	Jacksonville, FL	Yellow Fever
1918	Worldwide	Influenza (high point year) More people hospitalized in World War I from Influenza than wounds. US Army training camps became death camps - with 80% death rate in some camps.
1833	Columbus, OH	cholera
1834	New York City	cholera
1849	New York	cholera
1851	Coles Co, IL	cholera
1851	The Great Plains	cholera
1851	Missouri	cholera

One cannot read this list without being especially
thankful for penicillin and other great medical advances
including simple hygiene.

Copyright 2000-2005 by Bobbie Ross