Lizzie Borden Society Forum

In 1892 a cholera epidemic swept through Europe and began to reach the shores of the U.S.A.

Ships upon arrival were quarantined and checked before passengers were allowed to get off.

One of those ships quarantined for a day was the Scythia, the same ship that Lizzie had made her 1890 voyage.

Thanks, Harry. I imagine when Lizzie traveled that there was no immunization shots to be had or that were required? Your post made me curious and I checked online as I wasn't quite sure what cholera was or how you got it. Apparently its contaminated food or water and you can't get it from casual contact with a person who has it.

Go here for more info:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseasei ... lera_g.htm

Thanks for the info link Susan!

Avoid ice, huh?..if traveling in infected countries.
Peel your own fruit, too.
I wonder if that pear tree outback the Borden's might have been a way that Abby and Andrew got sick?

President Taylor contracted cholera morbus in July of 1850, apparently after consuming a large quantity of iced milk and cherries at some point on the 4th, a blistering hot day. He suffered some five days with it, dying on the 9th.

It was rumored for more than 140 years that he had actually been a victim of poison because of the strongly Union stance he took on the question of slavery. (One story goes that he had threatened to hang every last one of the pro-slavery legislators in the Congress - and that he'd start with his former son-in-law - Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis.)

A modern forensic investigation was done in the early 1990s, the body exhumed and tested. Pathologists found no traces of foul play by poison, but concluded that the most likely cause of death was cholera, or perhaps typhoid fever, passed thru contaminated food.

http://www.politicalquest.org/index.php ... presidency

Thanks DougOh.
And no salads!

No ice, no salads. I would not tend to think of that!

ya all could get jobs on MSNBC, which I watch all
the time, Imus in the morning etc. All the news you
want to hear on the Runaway Bride for example.
I just love all that stuff.

Cholera was spread by contaminated water and other matter. It was endemic from the early 19th century until well into the 20th century.
One prevention was to wear gloves. Avoid ever touching your eyes, nose, or mouth without first washing your hands.
I won't go into the details.

The current threat is another influenza epidemic NOW!!! The same precautions apply.

Good Health, or else you may meet Arnold R. Brown in the next world and he can convince you of his theory. (ha-ha)

PS The rapid transportation of railroads and steamships spread the disease. In slower transportations the person would be too sick to travel. IMO

The peak of the summer heat wave was the week prior to the murders. The Evening Standard had numerous articles and concerns about spoiled milk causing cholera being a danger to children.

I always thought the stress on the milk as source played into Abby's belief the family had been poisoned.

While searching through the archives of the New York times awhile back I came across an article entitled "Deadly Poison in Milk." It was dated for December 24, 1892, which is after the murders, but I don't know when the 'recent discovery' was. I have it written down in my list of articles to copy. But I'm still working through the list and haven't made it there yet. All I do remember of the article is the few sentences I wrote down to remind me of what the article was about. This is all I have of it.

" The recent discovery of tuberculosis in a herd of cows in a farm in Worchester County shows that consumers do not buy safety by paying very high prices for milk that is supposed to be supplied under conditions that insure purity and prevent infection."

Your post got me searching. One relative in my family tree died in 1853 and her obituary listed cholera. She had 3 children die in a span of 12 days in November of 1847.
I found two listings of epidemics/pandemics that may prove helpful to others interested in the topic:

http://www.mrsci.com/Epidemiology/List_of_epidemics.php

http://hawkshome.net/misc_items/events/ ... meline.htm