Showing results 1 through 10 of 311
- The Death of John H. Crease
December 15, 1872
PULASKI, Arkansas
Church/Religious-Activity, Health/Death, EducationNews traveled slowly in the late nineteenth-century South, but on occasions such as a death in the family, news traveled faster by way of telegram. John Crease's daughter received a letter from her grandmother expressing her condolences. The grandmother had written the letter on December 15, 1872, when she had received a telegram notifying her of Crease's death. The grandmother assured Crease's daughter...
- Poisoning in the Hyde Family
July 21, 1841 to July 22, 1841 TERRITORY, Territory African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Health/Death, Race-Relations, Slavery, Women
The entire Hyde family lay sick in bed and hoped that it was not their last hour. They had drunk their coffee and eaten breakfast as usual that morning, but began to feel ill soon afterwards. The shared pain made them wonder if someone had poisoned them. As it turned out, someone had slipped poisonous Jameson weed into their coffee. But who would do such a thing? That evening as the family recovered,...
- The Effects of a Drought
February 19, 1898 CHARLESTON, South Carolina African-Americans, Health/Death, Urban-Life/Boosterism
During the winter of 1897-1898, a severe drought hit the city of Charleston. There was no rain for over a month and the city's wells and cisterns began to run dry. For Charleston's white population, who understood the principles of hygiene and clean water, this resulted in only two fatalities. For the poor, uneducated African Americans of Charleston, the drought caused a great deal of illness and twenty...
- Limbs for Sale
March 29, 1876 YAZOO, Mississippi Health/Death, War
In a March edition of The Weekly Clarion in 1876, there was an advertisement for artificial limbs. Chas M. Evans was the supposed manufacturer of artificial limbs of the best quality. He had just recently lowered the prices of the limbs along with other enticements to show his southern patronage to former Confederate soldiers and citizens. Evans claimed that he would allow each customer to have the...
- Long slave days
1855 to 1870 RUSK, Texas African-Americans, Agriculture, Health/Death, Race-Relations, War
Due to warm and stable weather, Texas proved unique in that crops could be planted throughout the year. In fact, the work never ended because plowing would start in January, planting of corn and cotton in February and March, hoeing in June, shucking of corn in June and July, picking of cotton from August to December, and then preparation for the new growing season again in January. Many times when...
- Yellow Fever Hits New Orleans
May 1, 1853 to November 1, 1853 ORLEANS, Louisiana Health/Death, Government, Migration/Transportation
Nearly every summer, as the heat rose in New Orleans, so did the death toll. Most of the people who expired were victims of the same mysterious affliction: high fever, muscle aches, vomiting and an eventual yellowish tint to the skin that preceded death. Baffled physicians prescribed everything from doses of quinine to sponge-baths to calomel, with no telling what the results would be from patient...
- Disease Ravages Pulaski County
April 22, 1870 PULASKI, Virginia Health/Death, Migration/Transportation, Women
When Typhoid fever and other diseases hit Appalachia, they hit hard. In 1870, Ella Painter wrote her Aunt Lena many letters from Dublin, Virginia, with updates and inquiries about Lena's new husband and children. On her fourteenth birthday, Ella wrote her Aunt a lengthy letter which she felt was long overdue. Ella's love and admiration for her Aunt is clear as she nearly begs her to come back and visit....
- Capital Punishment in Lee County
May 15, 1884 to 1884 LEE, Virginia Crime/Violence, Health/Death, Law
The eyes of justice were not colorblind in the South before or after Civil War. White criminals faced one set of rules while blacks faced another. Southern justice did not favor the death penalty unless the accused was black, in which case there was hardly a hesitation in its authorization. On March 15, 1884 in Jonesville, Virginia, Absalom Russell, a white man, was hanged for the murder of Ira Dean....
- Charleston Suffers a Cold Spell
February, 1895 to March, 1895 CHARLESTON, South Carolina African-Americans, Agriculture, Health/Death
In February of 1895, Charleston experienced the coldest winter ever on record up to that date. It reached a low of twelve degrees Fahrenheit. Entire crops of strawberries, cabbage, lettuce, and peas were destroyed both within the city and across the state. The cold weather decimated both the city's food supply and its ability to export food products. While the account of the cold spell focuses on...
- Advancement of Health and Sanitation in Central Virginia
July 23, 1891 to 1891 NORFOLK CITY, Virginia Health/Death, Law, Migration/Transportation, Urban-Life/Boosterism
In the city of Norfolk on July 21, 1891, Dr. Morgan Health officer of Norfolk County, examined the dairies and livestock in the city. The Norfolk Virginian reported on the results and also wrote about other issues the Board of Health addressed. According to the newspaper, he examined 475 animals with an output of 768 gallons. Dr. Morgan's examination yielded results of 15 dairies in good condition...