YELLOW FEVER IN
JEFFERSON COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI
by Sue B. Moore
Rodney and surrounding Jefferson County endured
the ravages of yellow fever numerous times and in varying degrees of
severity in the nineteenth century. The Natchez area was struck in 1817
and 1819. Its visitation is recorded in Jefferson County as early as
1823, when it commenced on August 5. The Richmond Inquirer of
Sept. 26, 1823 recorded these deaths: “Mr. Seth Cocks, formerly of
Jefferson County; he was an industrious man and died regretted. In
Greenville, day before yesterday, of the yellow fever, Mr. Alfred Cocks,
son of the late Seth Cocks, aged almost 19 years.” There is little
information which remains on the effects of that particular year on the
county, although 90 died in nearby Natchez.
The first major epidemic
occurred in Rodney in 1843 and was so dire that its destruction made
national newspapers. The deaths began in early September. The
Cleveland Herald on Oct. 25, 1843, reported, “Up to the 12th
Inst., the yellow fever was on the increase at Vicksburg and was very
malignant with foreigners. It was also prevailing at Rodney.” The
Philadelphia Inquirer and National Gazette, Oct. 26, 1843, noted,
“The Fever at Rodney – The last New Orleans papers say that at Rodney,
Miss., the yellow fever continued to rage in its most fatal form. All
the physicians, without exception, have been taken down with the
disease. The death of Dr. J. H. Savage is reported, and Dr. Hulser, Dr.
Pickett, Dr. Williams, Dr. Todd, and Dr. Andrews were all down sick.”
According to the New England Historical and Genealogical Register,
Dr. John Towsell Hathorne Savage was the son of Ezekiel Savage and Ann
Hathorne. He was born Mar. 10, 1801, and died Oct. 6, 1843. He was
married to Elizabeth Griffin of Mississippi, and they had no children.
He attended the Salem,
Massachusetts, schools. About 1821 he went to Mississippi, and in 1831,
was living at Natchez. He became physician and was later appointed a
professor of chemistry at Oakland College. Evidently Dr. Williams and
Dr. Andrews listed as being ill with the fever survived because they
soon published “An Account of the Yellow Fever at Rodney in 1843” in
which they theorized that the disease did not originate from local
causes, but rather was introduced from New Orleans.
The Mississippi Free Trader
and Natchez Gazette of October 7, 1843, ran the following article:
“Rodney, Miss – This village, about 40 miles above Natchez, has been
visited by the yellow fever. A number of deaths, and a still greater
number of well marked cases have occurred – in consequence of which, we
are informed by a Natchez physician and another Natchez gentleman who
visited Rodney two days ago, the village is almost depopulated. Even
the only Apothecary’s shop in the place is closed, as are all the
stores. Of course, there will be no need of quarantining against a
village having no business and no inhabitants.” Evidently there was a
partial quarantine of Rodney, or at least on boats stopping there. Their
issue of Oct. 25, 1843, told of the Natchez quarantine being lifted. “We
learn that the quarantine will be remitted today or tomorrow, having
been in full force for two months upon boats coming from New Orleans,
and a part of that time against boats coming down the river and
connecting with Vicksburg and Rodney – in both of which places the fever
has prevailed. We shall no more hear the old Mississippi, that
watchdog of the bluff, howling the stern command to every passing
steamer to do obeisance to our quarantine laws.”
Marie T. Logan in
Mississippi-Louisiana Border Country, summarized the story told by
Horace Smith Fulkerson in his Random Recollections of Early Days in
Mississippi. Fulkerson survived the visit of the “demon king” in the
1843 epidemic in the town of Rodney.
Logan says, “When the fever
got well established, early in September, Fulkerson went by packet to
Rodney, to see how his friend John McGinty was faring, as Fulkerson had
had no response to his letter previously written him. He found McGinty
in bed, a victim of the fever just a few hours before Fulkerson’s
arrival. He had not seen a physician, so Fulkerson obtained one for
him.
“McGinty had organized a band
of faithful nurses and was, himself, constantly on duty. When the
people learned that McGinty was a victim of the dread disease, it seemed
to paralyze the whole town and panic resulted. Many of the well took
flight; a few shamelessly abandoned their sick friends. Still, the
country planters welcomed them into their homes; and though those
already infected fell ill, the disease did not spread on plantations
during the 1843 epidemic as it did in later years.
“Fulkerson, himself, never
conceived the idea of leaving his sick friend. However, conditions were
sufficient to panic anyone. There was a shortage of doctors, of nurses,
and of help of any kind; and sounds connected with the sick, dying or
dead, could be heard at all times.
“Fulkerson nursed his friend
for six days through high fever, delirium, and chills. On the ninth
day, Fulkerson, himself, fell ill and was nursed by Dr. Pickett of
Rodney, James W. Coleman, and McGinty, who had recovered.
“Fulkerson remembered the
frenzy, excruciating pain in his head and back, and the agonizing
cupping treatment in the region of his spine which was part of the
treatment for many years.
“When he could be moved,
Colonel Thomas Dobyns sent his carriage for Fulkerson, and he
recuperated at Dobyns’ beautiful home on the banks of Cole’s Creek; but
it was six months before his normal strength returned.
“The fever at Rodney ran its
accustomed course until frost, or until the victims were exhausted.”
An article in the Mississippi
Free Trader and Natchez Gazette of November 22, 1843, records some of
the deaths. “The Late Mortality in Rodney – The hand of the ‘yellow
tyrant of the tropics’ was sore and heavy upon our neighboring city of
Rodney, especially when it is considered that most of the inhabitants
fled, and that, during this mortality, the population of the village,
white and black, did not exceed one hundred souls. The following list
of the names of the victims was politely furnished us by Mr. A. G.
Carpenter, who volunteered, as Druggist, to accompany Dr. Benbrook, who
went up to Rodney in the darkest of the night of their peril, to risk
life in the fearful combat against a disease which has prostrated nearly
every physician in the place. Mr. Carpenter staid much longer than Dr.
Benbrook, and did not leave until every vestige of the epidemic had
vanished. These gentlemen deserve the highest commendation for their
self-sacrificing zeal in favor of suffering humanity. The only reward
they have yet obtained (as far as we know) is the approbation of their
own consciences and the applause of their fellow-citizens, who trembled
for their safety while they were absent on their perilous errand of
mercy.
“Mr. Carpenter derived the
following list of the dead from Mr. Thornsbury, the mechanic, who
assisted in making the coffins: it is probably as correct as the
disturbed and frightful state of affairs in the depopulated village
could permit anyone to furnish:
LIST OF THE DEAD
Dr. James Andrews’
daughter Mr. Wood, of the firm of Murray, Wood
& Co.
Mrs.
Montgomery James Ricks
Messers. Busk, Jeter,
Ira Harrison Logan
Mrs.
Skinner Robert Logan
William Ballentine
Mrs. Logan
Mrs. Ballentine
Mrs. Green T. Martin
John
Groves John Evans
Mrs.
Earls Dr. John H. Savage
Mrs.
Love James M. Berry
Anthony Cokelin
John Whitworth
Gertrude
Martin Charles Stewart
Mrs. Divine
Mr. Josiah Lawton
Four Negroes
Yellow fever revisited Rodney
in 1847, but it was less virulent than in 1843. This time, it began
around the first of October and was over by November 26th,
and consequently was of much shorter duration. The American Medical
Association in its 1848 Transactions stated, “The village of
Rodney was scourged by a severe epidemic of yellow fever, for the first
time, in 1843, and by a milder one in 1847. Grand Gulf (in Claiborne
County, but nearby Rodney on the Mississippi) has, so far, been entirely
exempt, excepting such cases as were brought there on steamboats, and
these have occurred every year when the disease prevailed in New
Orleans; but no instance is known of its having been communicated to the
inhabitants of the place. There has never been any quarantine either at
Rodney or Grand Gulf. As before stated, yellow fever has prevailed at
the former place, but never at the latter.” The Semi-Weekly Natchez
Courier of Nov. 12, 1847, carried this worrisome news after the
first frost and late in the yellow fever season: “In those communities
which were visited this summer by yellow fever as an epidemic,
especially, will they be rejoiced to taste the approach of his Honor,
JOHN FROST, as there certainly continued a fear on the minds of most of
the citizens who had returned to them that the new food for the
epidemic might renew its appetite. In Rodney, Miss., the yellow fever
broke out afresh, last week. Four or five cases were pronounced upon by
physicians there who decided them to be yellow fever. On the best
authority, however, we are happy to state that all those cases are doing
well, and that no new cases have broken out since Friday last – a week
ago this day.”
The next serious epidemic took
place in 1853. Hundreds died in the South. According to A History of
Yellow Fever by John M. Keating of the Howard Association, the total
number of cases was around 30,000, but the death rate was only about 1
in 3.58. The 1853 epidemic began in Rodney on August 9. No ending date
was given by Keating.
Many believed that the port of
New Orleans was the source of the killer disease, while others blamed
foreigners or their neighbors for spreading the fever. Doctors theorized
that it could be spread not only by infected people but also by well
people through their clothing. Ordinary citizens had their own ideas. As
late as 1874, Mark Twain’s magazine, The Galaxy, published the
following letter: “According to a correspondent of the ‘Scientific
American,’ who writes from Fayette, Mississippi, thunder and lightning
in that latitude accompany nearly every rain. But prior to outbreaks of
yellow fever he has observed a remarkable absence of such phenomena,
rain filling in abundance without any indication of electric
disturbance; a state of things which continues during the prevalence of
the epidemic, and which he thinks may have something to do with its
origin and continuance.”
In the Transactions of the American Medical
Association, Vol. 7, 1854, one doctor wrote, “I may remark that
Grand Gulf is a small town, immediately on the Mississippi river,
between Natchez and Vicksburg. It was severely scourged by the epidemic
of 1853, the first time yellow fever ever prevailed there. The town of
Rodney, about thirty miles below, was visited by epidemic yellow fever
in 1843 and 1847; but, strange to say, it escaped in 1853,
notwithstanding five or six cases of the disease were introduced. In the
country, about six miles back of Rodney, the epidemic broke out at the
house of Mr. Israel Coleman, from which it appeared to spread to the
neighboring plantations with terrific violence. I find in the New
Orleans Medical News and Hospital Gazette for June and July, 1854, a
very interesting account of the epidemic in that neighborhood, by Dr. A.
P. Jones (Jefferson County). The author seems to be decidedly of the
opinion that the disease was brought either from Port Gibson or Natchez
to Mr. Coleman's place, and from there spread through the neighborhood
by infectious communication. This is the leading idea intended to be
illustrated by Dr. Jones' narrative of the course of events; but, in his
efforts to establish its truth, he overdoes the thing completely, and
proves too much. He would make it appear that yellow fever is the most
highly infectious and communicable disease in the whole catalogue of
nosology. Take, for instance, the following:— ‘A Jew peddler, recently
from Port Gibson, was seized with fever while on his rounds, and
evidently infected three families. He was literally driven from one to
the other till he got to Heath's, where, being too ill to get back to
town, he was put in a back shed-room of the dwelling, and died of black
vomit on the 20th of September. So much were the people of the house
alarmed, that the corpse was hurried into a coffin without dressing; his
pocket-book of papers, purse of money, and everything on his person,
were buried with him. The weather- boarding and gable-end of the room
were knocked off to let in air and rain; the bedding and furniture were
burned, and only a few pieces of the latter were allowed to lie out one
or two hundred feet from the dwelling for two weeks; meantime, no one
sickened. At the end of two weeks, the bedclothes were brought in,
boiled, wrung out, and dried about the house, Mrs. Heath seeing to it.
Within eight days from that time, and about twenty from the burial of
the poor peddler, Mrs. Heath, her husband and son, the woman who washed
the clothes, and several other servants, sickened; the first two died,
and the others recovered." The peddler communicated the disease on
another plantation to a black boy, who was seized sixteen days after the
former had left. Sixteen days after the time of his death, his mistress
was attacked and died similarly.’”
The Hinds County Gazette reported on
October 12, 1853, the following: “Fever in Jefferson Co., Miss. – The
Fayette Watchtower of the 21st ult., reports about forty
cases of yellow fever, and six deaths, as having occurred in the
neighborhood of Cane Ridge, 10 or 15 miles from Fayette. It says there
is no yellow fever in that town (Fayette), and has not been for three
weeks.
In 1855, Susan Sillars Darden, of Jefferson
County, Mississippi, recorded almost matter-of-factly that year’s yellow
fever scourge as it took its toll among her friends and neighbors. (The
rest of the diary can be viewed elsewhere on this site.)
“Sept 11: Buckner wrote they are all
well. Had out 3225 bales packed. The yellow fever is in Rodney;
everybody has left that can do so.
“Sept 23: We went to church in
Fayette. Mr. McDonald preached a sermon on the Yellow Fever being sent
as a judgment to humble us.
“Sept. 24: Got a dispatch from
Natchez; there was 15 deaths in the city the two last days.
“Sept. 30: Mr. Darden & the
girls went to church in Fayette, Mr. Booth preached. There is 24 cases
fever in Rodney.
“Oct. 1: Mr. Darden went to Fayette. They had a dispatch that Mr. Fly,
the Methodist preacher in Natchez died this morning with yellow fever.
Good deal sickness in Fayette, Dr Fox had the fever today; his little
boy had fever last night.
“Oct. 3: The Rev. Mr. Williams that lived on Pine Ridge, but now pastor
of the Presbyterian Church in Vicksburg died last Wednesday with Yellow
Fever. I was so sorry to hear of his death; he was such a good
Christian, an excellent preacher.
“Oct. 9: John Fleming eat
dinner here; says they have all got well in Fayette. He met John
Collier, told him that Dr Baldwin’s wife was buried yesterday; died with
yellow fever.
“Oct 10: Mr. Darden went to
Fayette, got the Natchez paper. There is 30 deaths reported last week
with yellow fever.
“Oct. 13: Olivia got a letter from Virginia Torrey; they are well at
Jeff Briscoe’s, She wants the girls to go home with her to Bolivar.
There have been 6 deaths with yellow fever in Rodney this week.
“Oct. 14: ... Coz. Margaret Darden. She had two letters from Put. There
was plenty yellow fever on the boat he went on to Oxford.
“Oct 15: Mr. Darden sent Major to help clean off the yard at the new
church in Fayette. George Torrey, Prosper Montgomery & Blount Stuart
were the only persons sent hands to clean it off. There was a boy went
by at nine o'clock after Daniel Smith to see his sister, Aunt Patsy
Truly die. (Mrs. James Bennett Truly-nee Martha Smith) Major says she
was not dead when he left Fayette this evening. Mrs. Mundy had black
vomit yesterday; thought she would die, sent for Dr. Brandon. The
Baptist preacher (Vaughan) died with (yellow fever); took it from going
to Mrs. Mundy’s. They buried by torch light.
“Oct 16: Mrs. Truly is not dead but very low.
“Oct 17: Mr. Darden went to Fayette; Presbytery met there in the new
church. Rev. Mr. Price of Rodney preached the opening sermon. There was
but few ladies, good many gentlemen. The Presbytery adjourned till the
2nd Wednesday in Nov. on account of yellow fever. The preachers could
not attend. Mr. Darden went in to see Mrs. Truly; she is gradually
sinking. She is very much reduced. She was coughing, did not notice
anything, She is at Bradford Truly’s in Fayette. Dr. Sanderson of
Natches died with yellow fever.
“Oct. 18: Mrs. Truly died last night at 11 oc. They sent us a ticket.
Mr. Darden, Martha & Olivia went. She was buried at the grave yard in
Fayette; there was a very large procession. Rev. Mr. Baxter made some
remarks. She said a few weeks ago that she was perfectly resigned to
die. She does not leave any young children.
“Oct. 19: The yellow fever is on Mr. Batchelor’s place near Rodney.
“Nov 13: Mr. Darden & Olivia went to Fayette; they heard the fever has
been worse in Rodney. There is a case black vomit in St Joseph, La. They
have given out going. The fever has become worse in town. There has been
8 deaths in Port Gibson.
“Nov. 21: The girls & myself
spent the day with Mrs. George Baldwin. Belle Sillers was there, Coz.
Sarah & Mr. Stowers called in the evening. Coz. Sarah is to let the
girls know when she goes to Bolivar. Mr. Darden went to see Mr.
Montgomery; he has been sick a week, is worse this morning. Dr. Fox is
visiting him. Anne & Blount Stuart came at 3 o’clock this evening.
There has been 2 deaths of yellow fever in Rodney this week.”
Few years passed without some
deaths from yellow fever, but not all years were considered epidemic
years. A letter written by Mary Varnado Herlong, wife of David Herlong,
of Claiborne County to her daughter, dated October, 5, 1858, begins,
“Dear Daughter, I take this opportunity to drop a few lines to inform
you that our families are well at present. But Sarah Ann McGrew’s baby
is very sick. It has not been clear of the fever in 21 days & there in
not much likely now of it ever recovering. There has several of the
Negroes been sick. Millers family have all been sick but are better at
present. It has been very sickly here among our neighbors. Cuff Wells
buries one of his children today and Pack Wells, his only daughter. The
yellow fever is at Rodney, but it is not in P. G. (Port Gibson).”
The 1878 yellow fever epidemic was the most
devastating in the history of the South. However, not much is recorded
either in books or newspapers about its effects in Jefferson County.
Nearby cities and towns, such as Port Gibson and Vicksburg suffered
greatly, and there were many deaths. One who did die during this time of
yellow fever was George Boyer Vashon. He was a teacher, a poet, the
first African-American graduate of Oberlin College, and the first
African-American lawyer in New York, and later in the District of
Columbia. He served as a professor of language Avery College in
Pittsburg. When Dr. Hyram R. Revels resigned, Vashon acted as temporary
president of Alcorn College. He died in Rodney On Oct. 5, 1878.
In 1898, the plague returned once more to
Mississippi. This time, however, it produced only 84 deaths in the
entire state. In 1905, it struck the state, but feebly, again. This
time the fatality rate was about 8% and resulted in around 54 deaths.
Better understanding of the origins and treatment of the disease
banished the “Demon King” to the wings of the new century.
DIED IN THE
SEASON OF THE YELLOW FEVER
The yellow fever season in the
South was generally from August through November or until the first hard
frosts which killed the mosquitoes that carried the dread disease.
Using cemetery records, I have attempted to compile a list of those who
died during that period of time in epidemic years in Jefferson County.
Whether each individual listed below died of yellow fever is not known
anymore, but the probability is great, especially if more than one in a
family died during a given period.
taken from Ann B. Brown’s
Jefferson County, Mississippi, Cemeteries, etc., Vols. 1 & 2,
J&W Enterprises, Shreveport, LA, 1996.
|
Name |
Dates |
Cemetery |
Comment |
|
Engbarth, John |
1834 – 29 Sep 1878 |
Rodney |
|
|
Marthin, Henerick |
21 Nov 1855 |
Rodney |
34 years |
|
Marthin, Paulina |
12 Nov 1853 |
Rodney |
17 years |
|
Worthington --- |
20 Sep1815 – 29 Sep 1847
|
Rodney |
b. in Philadelphia
|
|
Vickers, Nathan N.,MD |
10 Feb 1811– 26 Nov 1847 |
Rodney |
b. Burke Co. GA
|
|
New, Sarah Nutt |
27 Apr 1819– 29 Aug 1853 |
Laurel Hill |
Wife of Charles |
|
New, Sophia E. |
25 Jul 1839 – 24 Oct
1853 |
Laurel Hill |
d.. C. B.& S. N. |
|
Griffing, Edwin F. |
21 Sept 1853 – 14 years
|
Griffing |
s. W.R.& M. A. |
|
Griffing, William B. |
27 Sept 1853
|
Griffing |
38 years |
|
Tullis, infant |
1843 |
Tullis |
Son of Martha |
|
Watkins, Oliver Perry |
2 Oct 1827 – 27 Nov 1853 |
ChinaGrove |
|
|
Wallace, Edward |
15 May 1811-12 Sep1853 |
Brasfield* |
|
|
Caldwell, Samuel |
23 Jun 1852 – 1 Sep 1853 |
Brasfield* |
|
|
Brown, Whitfield |
3 Sep 1803 – 24 Sep 1853 |
Brasfield* |
b. in S. C. |
|
Brown, George W. |
29 Jul 1833 – 24 Sep
1853 |
Brasfield* |
|
|
Green, S. C. |
8 May 1840– 20 Nov 1878 |
Cane Ridge |
In his 38th
year |
|
Miller, Sarah Steen |
29 Apr 1805 – 27 Oct
1843 |
Jefferies |
Wife of J. A. |
|
Gilchrist, Malcomb G. |
16 Oct. 1878 |
Stephens |
d. of yellow fever |
|
Green, Frank W. |
14 Oct 1851 – 30 Oct
1853 |
Green |
|
|
Steele, John |
Sep 1770 – Oct 1843 |
Christ Episc |
b. Maryland |
|
Wood, Robert |
27 Dec 1833- 20 Aug 1855 |
Wood |
s. James & Laura |
|
Woodward, Sarah R. |
1 Oct. 1847 42 years |
Harrison |
b. in S. C. |
|
Montgomery, Franklin
|
23 Aug. 1823 |
Greenwood |
|
|
Hoggett, James W. |
5 Aug. 1850 – 3 Sep 1855 |
Greenwood |
s. of S. J. & M.J. |
|
Chamberlain, Thos. J.
|
1809-1855 |
Chamberlain |
|
|
Hughes, Margaret |
18 Aug. 1853 |
Harmony |
|
|
McKey, Edwin M. |
21 Sep 1817 – 23 Oct
1853 |
Harmony |
|
|
Burch, Washington, Jr. |
21 Sep 1843 |
Burch |
35 years |
|
Dangerfield, Margaret |
21 Jun 1846 – 1 Sep 1853 |
Burch |
d. H. W. & M. A. |
|
Dangerfield, Mary F. |
25 Dec 1849 – 9 Sep 1853 |
Burch |
d. H. W. & M. A |
|
Dangerfield, H. W.
|
10 Jun 1806– 24 Aug 1853 |
Burch |
|
|
Folkes, James, Sr. |
1776 – 15 Sep 1823 |
Folkes I |
b. N. C. |
|
Folkes, Susan |
5 Oct. 1843 |
Folkes II |
3 years |
|
Doherty, Maria Z. |
9 Sep 1824 – 3 Oct. 1853 |
Stampley |
Wife of P. B. |
|
McCoy, Susan Cole K. |
18 Apr 1792– 12 Sep 1843 |
Salem |
Wife of Jas. H. |
|
Armstrong, Mary Cath. |
12 Jul 1845 – 28 Aug
1853 |
Armstrong |
d. Geo. C. & A. |
|
Griffing, Asa M. |
26 Sep 1853 |
Griffing |
27 years |
|
Carpenter, Ann E. |
3 Nov 1853 |
Fayette |
50 years |
|
Fleming, Elizabeth |
19 Aug 1804– 21 Oct 1853 |
Fayette |
Wife of H. M. |
|
McCoullum, Ella |
12 Jan 1846 – 4 Oct 1847 |
Fayette |
|
|
Farley, Cheston P. |
2 Apr 1840 – 15 Sep 1843 |
Fayette |
|
|
Eisenhart, Barbara |
25 Jul 1833 – 22 Oct
1853 |
Fayette |
b. in Prussia |
|
Schneider, Magdalena |
20 Mar 1809 – 4 Oct 1853 |
Fayette |
b. in Prussia |
|
Truly, Martha |
27 Oct 1855 |
Fayette |
59 years |
|
Archer, Pamela
|
16 Nov 1843 |
Calviton |
1 year |
|
Archer, Margaret F. |
13 Dec 1846– 18 Oct 1847 |
Calviton |
|
|
Darden, Walter |
13 Sep 1842 – 16 Oct
1843 |
Sillers |
|
|
Bedford, Mary E. |
25 Oct 1814 -27 Nov 1843 |
Williams |
Wife of John B. |
|
Buie, Nancy E. |
31 Jan 1852 – 28 Sep
1855 |
UnionChurch |
|
|
Chamberlain, Mary A. |
16 Nov 1844- 30 Sep 1853 |
U. Methodist |
d. of C.T. & P.H. |
|
Marble, Earl |
18 Oct. 1823 |
Marble |
Aged 23 years |
*Brasfield
is also called the Yellow Fever Cemetery. Many of those who died in Cane
Ridge in the 1853 epidemic are buried here. The burials took place
without a church service. Records at Millsaps College indicate that
services were held for the dead that winter and “recognized the
uncertainty of life.”
compiled and submitted by Sue
B. Moore
sbmoore@swbell.net
