Browsing through 19th-century death records reminds me of why I support universal childhood immunization. From one page of the Ontario civil registration of deaths for Huntley township, Carleton Co.:
6 deaths, all of them children; one from scarlet fever, five from diphtheria:
- David Henry Harmer, Laborer, died 7 April 1883, at age 3 years. Cause of death: Scarlet fever, duration of illness 2 weeks.
- Eliza Teevans, Blacksmith’s daughter, died 21 April 1883, at age 3 years and 6 months. Cause of death: Diphtheria, duration of illness 3 days.
- Mary Ann Teevans, Blacksmith’s daughter, died 23 April 1883, at age 4 years and 2 months. Cause of death: Diphtheria, duration of illness 4 days.
- Albert Alonson Barrows, Farmer, died 26 April 1883, at age 3 years and 11 months. Cause of death: Diphtheria, duration of illness 8 days.
- Daniel Teevans, Blacksmith’s son, died 26 April 1883, at age 6 years. Cause of death: Diphtheria, duration of illness 2 days.
- Sarah Rebecca Barrows, Farmer’s daughter, died 27 April 1883, at age 5 years and 7 months. Cause of death: Diphtheria, duration of illness 7 days.
(Click thumbnail to view larger image [database, Ancestry.ca, http://www.ancestry.ca, accessed 6 Feb 2011, Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1936 and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947]):
The three blacksmiths’ children listed above were very probably the son and daughters of Patrick Teevens and Mary Lowman. This couple lost another child a couple of weeks later, when Francis John Teevans, Blacksmith’s son, died 8 May 1883, at the age of 2 years. Cause of death: Diphtheria, duration of illness 6 days.