Knowing when an epidemic occurred will help us understand why people moved on, and help us to know where and when to look for certain kinds of records.. Here is a list of epidemics, extracted from a Wayne Co., PA mail list posting.
| Year(s) | Region, Area, City or State | Disease |
|---|---|---|
| 1657 | Boston | Measles |
| 1687 | Boston | Measles |
| 1690 | New York | Yellow Fever |
| 1713 | Boston | Measles |
| 1729 | Boston | Measles |
| 1732-1733 | Worldwide | Influenza |
| 1738 | South Carolina | Smallpox |
| 1739-1740 | Boston | Measles |
| 1747 | Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina | Smallpox |
| 1759 | North America | Measles |
| 1761 | North America and West Indies | Influenza |
| 1772 | North America | Measles |
| 1775 | North America (especially in North East) | Unknown |
| 1775-1776 | Worldwide | Influenza |
| 1783 | Dover, Delaware (was extremely fatal) | Bilious Disorder |
| 1788 | Philadelphia and New York | Measles |
| 1793 | Vermont | (a "putrid" fever) and Influenza |
| 1793 | Virginia (killed 500 in 5 counties in 4 weeks) | Influenza |
| 1793 | Philadelphia | Yellow Fever |
| 1793 | Harrisburg, PA (many unexplained deaths) | Unknown |
| 1793 | Middletown, Pennsylvania (many mysterious deaths) | Unknown |
| 1794 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Yellow Fever |
| 1796-1797 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Yellow Fever |
| 1798 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (one of the worst) | Yellow Fever |
| 1803 | New York | Yellow Fever |
| 1820-1823 | Nationwide (started at Schuylkill River & spread) | "Fever" |
| 1831-1832 | Nationwide (brought in by English Immigrants) | Asiatic Cholera |
| 1832 | New York and other major cities | Cholera |
| 1833 | Columbus, Ohio | Cholera |
| 1833-34 | Kentucky | Cholera |
| 1834 | New York City, New York | Cholera |
| 1837 | Philadelphia | Typhus |
| 1841 | Nationwide (especially severe in the South) | Yellow Fever |
| 1847 | New Orleans | Yellow Fever |
| 1847-1848 | Worldwide | Influenza |
| 1848-1849 | North America | Cholera |
| 1849 | New York | Cholera |
| 1850 | Nationwide | Yellow Fever |
| 1850-1851 | North America | Influenza |
| 1851 | Coles County, Illinois, The Great Plains, and Missouri | Cholera |
| 1852 | Nationwide (New Orleans 8,000 died that summer) | Yellow Fever |
| 1855 | Nationwide | Yellow Fever |
| 1857-1859 | Worldwide (one of the largest epidemics) | Influenza |
| 1860-1861 | Pennsylvania | Smallpox |
| 1865-1873 | Philadelphia, New York, Boston, New Orleans, Baltimore, Memphis, Washington DC | A series of recurring epidemics of Smallpox, Cholera, Typhus, Typhoid, Scarlet Fever, Yellow Fever, and Influenza |
| 1873-1875 | North America & Europe | Influenza |
| 1878 | New Orleans (last great epidemic) | Yellow Fever |
| 1885 | Plymouth, Pennsylvania | Typhoid |
| 1886 | Jacksonville, Florida | Yellow Fever |
| 1918 | Worldwide (high point year) more people were hospitalized in WWI from this epidemic than wounds. US Army training camps became death camps, with 80% death rate in some camps. | Influenza or Spanish Flu |
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