Measles & More: Researching Disease (1657-1963)

Reported by USA and Canadian Outlets: Polio (with vaccine) vs Measles in USA, 1958 - 1959

Tracing measles isn’t just about death; it’s uncovering how the disease shaped family decisions, movements, and emotional legacies. 

1. Did Measles Appear on a Death Certificate?

2. Were There Local Epidemics That Affected My Family?

3. Were Multiple Children Died within a Short Time from One Another?

4. Were Local Institutions Affected by Measles? (asylum, orphanage, military barrack, etc)

5. Did the family move to avoid an epidemic?

Measles Are Back,  Cases in 2025

Note: For comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported during 2024.

1657 - 1963: They Died from Measles
Some believe tracking measles is new.  It isn’t! It has been tracked for over a century. In American colonial records, the word “measles” appears by the 17th century. Early U.S. medical writings from the late 1700s and early 1800s refer to measles by name, especially in the context of smallpox and scarlet fever as childhood illnesses. Researchers will also see “rubeola.”

The first recorded epidemic of measles in what would become the United States occurred in 1657 in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was described in colonial diaries and town records. This was among the earliest documented community outbreaks of measles in North America.

Before federal tracking, disease statistics were local or state-led.

Washington (D.C.) Gazette, Jul 19, 1823

Cities like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia began keeping vital statistics in the mid-to-late 1800s, mostly focused on deaths. Some State Boards of Health (like Massachusetts in 1869) published reports mentioning outbreaks

1912. The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) formed from the Marine Hospital Service, began requiring state and city health departments to report weekly data on ten communicable diseases, including measles. This marked the start of national infectious disease surveillance in the United States. 

By 1912, over 30 states participated in reporting to the Weekly Morbidity Reports, later known as the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Measles was responsible for 6,063 deaths in registration states the first year of 1912. This information was found in the Vital Statistics of the United States, 1912;" published by the Bureau of the Census;" published by the Bureau of the Census. This annual report includes mortality tables by cause of death  By 1933, all states were included in national death statistics.

11 Diseases reported in 1912 on the Ancestors

1. Measles
2. Smallpox
3. Typhoid fever
4. Diphtheria
5. Tuberculosis
6. Scarlet fever
7. Pertussis (whooping cough)
8. Poliomyelitis
9. Meningitis
10. Cholera
11. Influenza (1918)

Across the Pond: England. The USA was late. England had begun reporting the statistics of this disease as early as 1895. 

The Weekly Standard and Express, Blackburn, Lancashire, England, 16 Jun 1900

 In 1962, 408 children in the USA died of measles.  This was the year before the vaccine. 

 The Daily Democrat, May 08, 1965

1963. The measles vaccine was licensed in the U.S. in 1963. There was a national campaign to stop the deaths; 

    

Figure 2 The Daily Democrat, May 08, 1965, Lamar, MO

2000. By the year 2000, measles was declared eliminated (no continuous transmission) in the U.S., though outbreaks have occurred due to imported cases and vaccine hesitancy.

7 Resources for Measles Research

1. Coroner records
2. Death certificates
3. Obituaries printed in local newspapers,
4. Journals / Diaries,
5. Doctor notes that allow us to identify not only epidemics but also which of our ancestors died from Measles Check out State Archives for historical medical records
6. 1880 Federal Census, "Sick" column; confirmed by one of the above
7. 1850 -1880 Mortality Schedules. I will write later how these records can also be used for researching enslaved persons

1870 Plaquemines, Louisianam Mulatto, Des Roches Family

These schedules listed those who had died in the year preceding the census. There were also some state censuses in 1885 that included mortality schedules, specifically in Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota

Communicable diseases aren't reported as a grouping in the Federal Census, but researchers may uncover 1880 Federal Census "Sick" notes. 

1880 United States Federal Census, Kentucky

Sisters: Chella and Lydia Smith

Researchers may also find their ancestors listed in the 1850 or 1860 Mortality Schedules. 

 

After 28 days, Larkin Smith succumbed to Measles, 1850 Bledsoe, TN

Today, if not yet defunded, infectious disease epidemics in the U.S. are reported through a multi-level system involving local, state, and federal public health agencies, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at the national level. Historical reports for the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Archives go back to 1912. The archives of Mortality Statistics may assist with analyzing epidemics in your ancestor's town / city. 

 

Stop them Mid-Sentence
When you are told that there is  no way to know how many died of measles in the past, I hope these easily accessible CDC reports come to mind: Visit the MMWR Weekly Reports Archive CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Archives

Mortality Statistics, 1914

6 Places to Stumble Upon Ancestor's "Blindness"

Family historians and researchers know some of the Federal censuses noted Blindness and Partial Blindness of our ancestors, but how can we learn more about their vision problems? This is a response to the #1 question generated from the 2 Jul 2025 Linkedin Article titled :

Our Ancestors: Eye Health & Vision  Loss

6 Places to Stumble Upon "Blindness"

1. Death Records, In addition to seeing your ancestor's death notice as "Place of death" an Asylum or listed as an inmate in an institution for the blind, or a poorhouse record that states they were blind you may find them in the early census records. 

2.  Chuch and Community Financial Records. One of the early records that noted a church caring for the blind was that for "Blind Birdle."  This record was in the Pennsylvania Quaker books of 1777. The church was guaranteeing her care. We also see these types of records in Community Outreach Societies and and City and County Financial Records.

3. Asylums for the Poor, Blind, Indigent Records. There were also those early asylum like this one seen in the 1872 Westchester, NY map.

This was expected, since NY suffered more than most states with tuberculosis epidemics.  Scrofula tuberculosis [aka consumption] was often the cause of blindness. It is a form of tuberculosis affecting lymph nodes, primarily in the neck.

4. Obituaries. We may also learn of an ancestor's blindness in an obituary. The cause of the blindness or the event that caused it may be stated as it was in the 1927 obituary for Blind Boone. 

5. Wills and Probates. We also see information about our blind ancestors in Wills and Probates, where the family provided for their care. I have to say, these are my favorites.

Botetourt County, Virginia, 1858

6. The Blind Censuses. If you aren't familiar with the early census, you may wish to listen in to Off The Wall: Making Sense of the U.S.Census:

Although the early census, as early as 1830 had questions about blindness, some provide us with additional information. These early censuses held separate accounts of the “colored people,” Check out 1830-1840 below.

 1830 Census

Figure 8 1830 Federal Census

1840 Census

 

Figure 9 Total for County, Rutherford, NC

 These censuses were used for citizenry analysis and tax appropriations but were not as useful for individual family analysis.

 1850 Census

 

Figure 10 1850 Census

 1880 Census

The 1880 Federal Census, Column 16 allowed the census taker to place a tick on Blind, as done below for Maier Martin prior to analyzing the associated Questionnaire Supplemental Schedule.

 

Figure 11 Maier Martin Blind, Column 16

 The object of the 1880 Supplemental Schedule was to furnish material not only for a complete enumeration of the blind, but for an account of their condition. It was important that every inquiry regarding each case be answered. “Enumerators will, therefore, after making the proper entries upon the Population Schedule (No. 1), transfer the name (with Schedule page and number) of every blind person found, from Schedule No. 1 to this Special Schedule, in order to ask the additional questions indicated below.”

 “In this enumeration will be included not only the totally blind, but also the semi-blind. No person will be carried on this Schedule, however, who can see sufficiently well to read. For the distinction between the totally blind and the semi-blind see Note E; it is of the greatest importance to note this distinction with care, by making the proper entry in columns 10 or 11.”

 

Figure 12 Instructions for 1880

The Maier’s 1880 Defective Dependent Schedule, above example, was not completed properly, which seems to be common for African Americans' enumerations, but here is an example of a correctly completed schedule with useful or requested information:

Figure 13 Example for 1880 results for blind

In some cases, eye infections caused various inflammatory conditions in both eyes. Whooping cough is an example:

 

 In the example below, multiple family members, like the Morris family below, may have been named due to an infectious disease like tuberculosis.

Figure 14 U.S., 1880 Brown County, KS, Supplemental Schedule for Blind

In 1880 Brown County Kansas, like across the country, scrofula tuberculosis [aka consumption] was often the cause of blindness. “Scrofula is a form of tuberculosis affecting lymph nodes, primarily in the neck.

 1910 Census

Instructions:

If noted as blind, then there was further instruction under Education: