Congressional Serial Set

Using Serial Set to Research
The U.S. Congressional Serial Set, filled with genealogical tips, hints, and treasures, is not getting its fair share of attention by genealogists or other historical researchers. I can’t think of one reason why this free-resource is not being perused on a regular basis. It’s full of what we love – gossip, scandal, court cases and names of both supportive and vile neighbors. It covers topics on women, African Americans, Native Americans, students, soldiers, sailors, pensioners, landowners, and inventors. Is this not the genealogists’ dream?  And,  it’s free (with a library card).

Family researchers with enslaved ancestors or those descendants from their enslavers will want to peruse the Congressional Serial Set Records. This collections hold a great part of the US history; much from the "everyday " citizen.

Accessing the U.S. Congressional Serial Set

If you aren’t familiar with the Serial Set, be sure to read U.S. Congressional Serial Set for Genealogists, Part I. The Serial Set is an online resource available via your local library that subscribes to HeritageQuest Online; and, it’s accessible remotely using your home computer with a library card.

Tied to Juneteenth?

Listen to the full podcast: Finding Ancestors in The Congressional Serial Set

If you use the keyword  “slaves,” there are 659 occurrences. Some of these documents give us social history and legal proceedings void of ancestors’ names and may be deemed less than helpful to the researcher. But the collection also includes claims for slaves killed in the military – especially useful if you are stuck in the War of 1812 era, pension appeals, land disputes, and even emancipation information like that of  Jane Hall (above).

Emancipation Papers: Francis Hall and Others.

Maryland slave Jane Hall, born 1799 ran away from her master in 1820 and subsequently was manumitted (as were her heirs) by Alexander Claxton in 1821. (Francis Hall, 55th Congress, 1st Session, Senate, Rpt No. 123).

Pension: Richard Jackson 22 Jul 1890 

Many pensions were settled at the congressional level and the US Serial Set has detailed accounts of the requests, proposals and appeals.  Richard Jackson, a slave and teamster for the Union Army was shot, captured and imprisoned, attempted an escape, shot again. The account is pretty detailed, and it also gives his slave master’s name as Dr. Charles J. Manning. (Serial Set-ID:2815 House of Representatives, Report No 2784, 51^st Congress, 1^st Session).

Land: On the Application of a Cherokee Indian Woman to Sell a Reservation of Land Which Was Made to Her Husband, Who was Adjudged to be a Runaway Slave. 

 A difficult research project is the intermarrying of Native Americans and African Americans residing in the southeast. A report dated 8 Feb 1831 documents Sally Johnson, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation in Jackson County, Alabama married a runaway slave Peter Johnson. Peter was “reclaimed by his master.” The legality of selling of Peter’s 650 acres of reservation land was in question. (Serial Set: A3P033 Publ. land No. 892, 21^st Congress, 2^nd Session). 

Runaway Slave Names: Benjamin Oden; 7 April 1834. 

Slave Frederick ran away from his master, Benjamin Oden in Maryland,1814. He enlisted in the military as alias William Williams. Military men were entitled to bounty land and the master wanted to claim the bounty land that would have been given to William Williams, as if he were a free man. This one report gave us the name of slave, freeman alias and master. (Serial Set-ID 262; Benjamin Oden, Rep No 392, 23^rd Congress, 1^st Session, House of Representative). 

 In Honor of Juneteenth 2026, this excerpt is from Jan 2013 blogpost: Using U. S. Congressional Serial Set, Part II. 

Draw A Direct Line: Virginia Revolutionary War Land Records to Ancestors

Virginia Bounty Lands 

Virginia Revolutionary War land records are among the most important genealogical resources for tracing early American families. One reason is simple: Virginia controlled one of the largest military bounty land reserves in the new nation.

After the American Revolutionary War, Virginia rewarded veterans with bounty land for military service. Much of this land was located in what later became Kentucky and the Ohio Valley frontier. Because Virginia’s military land reserve was so vast, thousands of veterans, heirs, speculators, and migrating families became connected through these records.

For genealogists, that created an extraordinary paper trail.

Virginia bounty land records often contain far more than acreage descriptions. Researchers may discover:
• Military service references
• Names of heirs and widows
• Assignments and transfers of land rights
• Survey maps and plats
• Frontier settlement locations
• Evidence of family relationships not found elsewhere

The importance of Virginia’s land system extends well beyond the state itself.

For many researchers, these records become the missing bridge between generations. Frontier families who later appeared in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri can often be traced first through Virginia military land claims. In many cases, the records help explain where a family went after disappearing from eastern county records.

Researchers should remember that Revolutionary War bounty land rights were frequently sold, inherited, reassigned, or claimed decades after the war itself. Because of this, a single land file may preserve multiple generations of family history within one chain of records.

Researchers should not stop with a single warrant or patent. The strongest genealogical evidence often appears across the full chain of records:
• Treasury warrants
• Surveys and plats
• Assignments and transfers
• Land patents
• County deed books
• Tax records

Within these records, researchers may uncover heirs, widows, neighboring families, migration routes, estate settlements, or evidence showing when a family moved westward. Survey plats may identify nearby relatives or longtime associates, while assignments and transfers can reveal inheritance patterns, financial hardship, or multiple generations connected to the same claim.

In some cases, Virginia bounty land records provide the only surviving paper trail linking a Revolutionary War veteran to descendants who later settled across the expanding American frontier.

This is why we are excited about the digitizing Virginia bounty land records, driven by VA250 (250th anniversary of American independence): Virginia Revolutionary War Service Records: Bounty Land

Read more at Journal of the American Revolution

Research Ancestors in the Civilian Conservation Corp

Did you know there was a National Youth Administration, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), through the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)? 

Your ancestor may have been reported as a “student” at any age. We've seen as late as 28, but the age was "fudged." Look for that also. Be sure to cross-reference your ancestor using multiple documents.
This program included a “Division of Negro Affairs” and was in existence until 1943; in later years, the program fell under the Federal Security Agency.

Where to start? 
>Census records
Most census records, especially those from 1940, include an embedded double-check process code denoting occupation. In our client's case, the ancestor worked in the nursing field as a “first aid” assistant in the forestry industry (not logging). This is one doc that agreed that 1) he was a worker in “Govt”. (1940 census). 2) he was “not employed for pay” but worked in the Public Emergency Work Program (received a stipend). 3) he worked for the C.C.C.
>Later military service papers confirmed this early CCC work history. 

Where are the records?
Personnel records are kept at the National Archives at St. Louis. You can request a search for an enrollee’s file to uncover their personal journey through the program.

Researchers can often find:

• Service records: Enrollment dates, discharge papers, and camp assignments.
• Camp life: Inspection reports and project descriptions.
• Personal details: Medical exams, pay records, and conduct reports.
• Visuals: Historic photographs of camp structures and daily work.
Pay: The pay was creative. Participants in these programs were to send home $22 of their $30 monthly pay.

To dig deeper

1) Look into Record Group 35 at the National Archives in College Park (Archives II) for administrative files, or ...

2) Check state archives for local camp newspapers and maps.

3) Into the Woods: The First Year of the Civilian Conservation Corps by Joseph Speakman, NARA

Westward Bound - Not Just California

Image: Bureau of Land Management

Tracing Your Ancestors Going West
We know there were wagon trains. Families packed their belongings, and carried their personal wealth overland to reach the newly opened west lands. Sometimes, families were left behind, as the pioneer travelled with a wagon train.  This westward migration wasn't just for those panning for gold.  There were the Mormon's escaping persecution, the future vintner wanting rich soil, and those who made a living in transport. 

Three Key Resources

Researchers may wish to begin their ancestors’ westward migration by perusing the following: 

1) National Frontier Trails -  Independence, MO. A partner of the Oregon - California Trails Association. This repository holds over forty-eight thousand (48,000) pioneers in their database,

2) Merrill J. Mattes Collection - The Merrill J. Mattes Research Library is believed to be the largest public research library in the nation focused on the overland trails,
3)  State Historical Society of Missouri manuscript collection holds includes personal papers, maps, and photographic records of westward expansion and local trails.
Be sure to scour the E.B. Trail Collection (C2071) for steamboat memorabilia and various diary/map collections documenting historic routes like the Santa Fe Trail and Missouri River journeys, also.

Research Tips / Hints

America Mathews Overland Diary, 1857 (SHSMO)

Not every family researcher will find Great-Grandpa's passage recorded in diaries, or even his name.  But, by narrowing his year, and month of travel, you may find his experience recorded through the eyes of his neighbors and friends:  

• Analyze diaries from his hometown.
• Follow the path and his final settlement to determine his passage.
• Track Military Forts' activities along the route. The military controlled the trails, and would detain small groups travel for safety.  This may have delayed your pioneers trip.

Remember others traveled by water. The trip from Louisiana up the Mississippi River was still arduous, but may have been your ancestor’s best option if they were not travelling with a large wagon train through hostile territories. Newspaper accounts are a great resource of those who arrived west.

9 More Resources and Database

a3Genealogy researchers proved that a religious "group," Bethel Community, occupied settlements in both Missouri and Oregon by locating the letters that leader, William Kiel, wrote to his congregation back home in Missouri from 1855-1870.  He even threatened to excommunicate ("bar them from the Bethel Community") a few Missourians for raising the Union flag, and endangering the community. Interestingly enough, he was writing from his new Bethel Community in Oregon.  The letters were filled with historical data, names of members and religious practices.[1]

1. One of our favorite websites: Oregon - California Trails Association holds over 48 thousand pioneers in their database.
2. The Oregon Genealogical Society and Idaho Genealogical Society have a listing of names in their Pioneer Certificate programs.
3. For FAQs, visit the Bureau of Land Management Website
4. For a list of Oregon Trail Historic Sites visit Legends of America http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-oregontrail.html
5. The Oregon Territory and Its Pioneers
6. Oregon Trail Histories
7. Oregon State Archives. This can be most helpful when looking for land records.
8. The ancestry.com California, Pioneer and Immigrant Files, 1790-1950 database holds 10,000 records with biographical information about pioneers who arrived in California before 1860.
9. Find A Grave, Along The Oregon Trail Cemetery Tombstone project.

African Americans Headed West

The overland journeys were before the Civil War.  Free-coloreds, as many as 3000 by 1850, found their way to California from the onset of the gold rush, but rarely settled in the unwelcoming Oregon. Review the Black Laws of Oregon 1844-1857

Even though many enslavers carried enslaved people on their westward trek. This same westward path was integral to successful escape plans. If you need to refresh your history of the role African Americans played during this westward movement, you may wish to read Blacks in Gold Rush California, by Rudolph M. Lapp.  

Another great resource is the Negro Trail Blazers of California by Delilah L. Beasley; original 1818; reprinted 1969.

 [1] Kiel, Wm., Letters 1855-1870; Bethel Community to Oregon 24 Jun 1855; microfilm, Western Historical Manuscript Collection, UMKC

Kathleen Brandt

How to Research Pre-Revolutionary War Ancestors

Excerpt: How to Research Pre-Revolutionary War Ancestors, 2016

Finding Family Before 1776
When genealogists hit the colonial period, many suddenly feel the trail goes cold. There is no 1easy civil registration. Few family stories survive. Records may be scattered, damaged, or hidden in places researchers never think to look. But your ancestor did not appear in America in 1776.

They lived, worked, married, bought land, went to court, paid taxes, served apprenticeships, worshipped, migrated, and sometimes got into trouble long before the Revolutionary War. The key is learning where early lives were documented.

So where were they documented?
For pre-Revolutionary ancestors, success often comes from looking beyond birth, marriage, and death records. Here are 12 record sets, the basics that should be reviewed if extant:

1. land grants and deeds
2. tax lists
3. church registers
4. probate files
5. petitions
6. militia lists
7. shipping records
8. indenture contracts
9. apprenticeship records
10. court minutes
11. merchant account books
12. newspapers
13. cemetery and churchyard records

Was Your Ancestor a Sailor, Pirate, Merchant, or Convict?

When genealogists hit the colonial period, many suddenly feel the trail goes cold. Have you considered that your ancestor may have gotten into trouble long before the Revolutionary War?

One overlooked source for colonial-era research is maritime court records. If your ancestor worked at sea, traded goods, was accused of piracy, transported cargo, or arrived as a convict laborer, records may appear in British Admiralty or colonial Vice-Admiralty courts.

Check out the Proceedings of Vice-Admiralty courts in North America, the West Indies and Africa.

These courts handled maritime disputes, seizures, wages, smuggling, and other sea-related matters across the colonies. Colonial vice-admiralty courts existed in several regions, and jurisdiction sometimes crossed colony lines.

That means an ancestor living in one colony may appear in records held elsewhere.

Unexpected Women
Don't forget the women. They were not so squeaky clean. Women appear in colonial records more often than many assume.

Check out these 9 record sets:

1. widow petitions
2. dower claims
3. probate distributions
4. church discipline cases
5. guardianship records
6. poor relief requests
7. newspaper notices
8. runaway servant advertisements
9. court complaints and testimony

Reminder: A woman may be the key to proving an entire family line.

Smart Tip: 

Remember that podcast on One Place Studies? This is a perfect chance to research by the community, not just name. If records are sparse, study the community.

Ask:

• Who were the neighbors?
• Who witnessed deeds?
• Who appeared in the same tax district?
• Who married into the family?
• What church served the area?
• What migration route did families use?

Sometimes your ancestor is hiding inside the records of relatives, neighbors, or associates.

7 Smart Places to Search Pre-1776 Ancestors
1. State Archives
Many colonial court, land, and legislative records are preserved at the state level.

2. County Courthouses
Especially for deeds, probate, and local court minutes.

 
3. Historical Societies

Local collections may contain manuscripts, family papers, maps, and cemetery transcriptions.

 
4. University Libraries
Many hold digitized colonial collections and regional papers.

 
5. British Repositories
Especially for emigrants, convicts, merchants, and military matters.

 
6. Church Archives

Baptisms, marriages, burials, pew lists, and vestry records can be gold.

 
7. Digitized Databases
Search modern collections repeatedly. New material appears all the time.

Lost Records
Some colonial records were destroyed by war, fire, weather, and time. However, a burned courthouse does not always mean a dead end. Search for the following in your state archives and repositories: 

• tax rolls
• neighboring county records
• church records
• newspapers
• land transfers
• probate heirs
• militia lists
• court references in later cases

The trail may be faint, but it is often still there.

5 Definite Reasons to Use School Records

School records follow our ancestors from as early as five years old. Sure we an see them in their first census but the information is limited. Name, age, parents, some or all of the siblings depending on the birth order. Early census also share their education level. But, census do not reveal the whole story, and we can't be sure the informant to the Census Taker was accurate. Except in 1940 Census, we aren't even sure who provided the information. 

Collaborating Data
Since genealogists use collaboration to uncover facts, and to uncover mistakes in records, I wonder why so few ferret out vital School Records.  These are primary records, contemporary records, that shares your ancestor from abt 5/6 years old to 18.  

1.  Need a birth date?

2.  Need parents' names and siblings?

1939 School Enrollment, Kemper MS. 

Put Norms Aside

All research is not clean. It's complicated and the researcher must think out of the box. Ask "would that be possible."  The answer is probably YES, regardless of the seemingly absurdity of the question.

3.  Need to Identify An Abandoned Child 

Was this abandoned child Helen, my mother?  That's what a client asked. He knew his mother was raised by the Cannon family, but no one knew her birth name until we turned to school records. These school records married with court records solved this mystery. 

Helen went to second grade using the Cannon surname. However, she was never legally adopted. 

Of course, the question then was "How did the Cannon's get Helen?"  Yes, we turned to the following

1) research on the children's orphanage/institution

2) research on the Cannon's

3) research on the court records and the judge's practices

Bracing Helen further, we uncovered her legal name when she registered earlier for Kindergarten while in a children's institution. 

4.  Need to Release A Historical "Untruth Assumption"
Sure, I could have just said a false assumption, but the assumption that all schools were segregated before Brown vs. Topeka is an argument I refuse to have anymore.  My entire paternal grandfather's family integrated schools in Kansas, as did my mother's family, as seen below in 1890.  Aunt Pearl, as known to the family, had perfect attendance in 1890, Coldwater, Kansas. And she kept all of her school records.

5.  Need to Prove African Americans Attended Non-HBCU Schools

This is just one more Untruth Assumption. It is assumed that since Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) were in America as early as 1837,  Cheyney University, PA , that black students were compelled to attend them.  Yet, extant records prove this assumption to be false.

African Americans were attending non-segragated schools and since at least 1799 when John Chavis is on record of attending Liberty Hall Academy in VA. Alexander Twilight, though, is the first African American to be awarded a bachelor's degree in 1823 - Middleburg College, VT. 
***Just a Name Dropping Note: Kathleen Brandt also took 9 hours toward her Master's Degree at Middleburg in the 1980's. 

Early emancipated African Americans may have been educated in free state schools. The Moseley children of Jackson, Mississippi, were emancipated by their white father William O. Moseley. They were sent to Ohio, a free state, to be privately educated and to attend Oberlin Prep School (1870-1872).

(Moseley family has been DNA and papertrail proven.)

School record research is your homework for this Holiday Season! 

a3Genealogy blog is now under TracingAncestors.org (501c3)

Podcast

   

To Us: 1787 More Than Signing Constitution

Happy Signing Constitution Day and Citizenship Day
Yes, signing the Constitution was "cool" on 17 Sep 1787. It also honors all U.S. citizens, whether native-born or naturalized, and promotes understanding of the Constitution's role in American democracy.

Yes, signing the Constitution was "cool" on 17 Sept of that year. But this year has a lot of significance to genealogical researchers. It's also the year that saved the day for reconstructing lost early records, especially, in VA. I often choose to show this process using VA, because the 1790 census are not available. 

Ok...I'm sure this is confusing but there was a Virginia "census" (actually a Tax List) in 1787, not a federal or state census. It was actually a compilation of personal property lists from the 1780s, often called the 1787 Census of Virginia by genealogists.

Did you know?

familysearch.org

The 1787 "Virginia Census" isn’t just a headcount, it’s a treasure for genealogists! This is great news since the 1790 Census were destroyed presumably in the War of 1812. The 1787 Virginia Census lists households, taxable property, and enslaved people, offering a snapshot of families between the Revolution and the first U.S. Census of 1790.  For researchers, it bridges a critical gap, helping trace ancestors, land ownership, and community ties in early Virginia. Although I'm talking VA here, this technique can be used to reconstruct other lost census records. 

Outline of the information that can be extracted:

• Names/~Ages White Males:
  Names of white males over 21 years of age and white males between 16 and 21 years old.
• Slave Population:
  
  Information on the number of slaves; regardless of age (over or under age of 16).
• Livestock and Carriages:
  
  Listings of horses, cattle, and carriages.
• Tavern Keepers:
  
  Names of individuals who held tavern licenses

Most women were left out of the 1787 Virginia “census” (tax lists). But widows or unmarried women who headed households could appear! For example, “Widow Johnson” was listed as a taxpayer in Mecklenburg County. These rare entries are golden clues for tracing female ancestors in early Virginia because white females were never considered tithables themselves (i.e., taxed as a tithable person). But if they were head of household (widows or unmarried), or owned taxable property, their names show up as the “person chargeable.”

In some cases Virginia's “Personal Property Tax Lists” (beginning 1782‐) named female heads of households.

Case Study: How to Use these Records
The following is a sample case study to understand what can be uncovered. Let's see if you can duplicate these results, or try it on your own ancestor. And, it doesn't have to be Virginia. 

Virginia. Court Records 

Happy Signing Constitution Day and Citizenship Day

Promises and Pitfalls of Oral History

  Evening Star, Oct 08, 1881 ·Page 3

Keep Oral History in Perspective
After posting our podcast, Tell Me A Story Program, we had lots of questions on the accuracy, reliability, and/or storytellers' liberal remembrances. So we thought we should make sure our readers and listeners keep oral history in perspective.

Every family has that one storyteller. Maybe it’s your grandmother at the kitchen table, weaving tales about “the old country.” Or an uncle who swears he remembers a long-lost cousin who “headed west and struck it rich.” These voices pull us in. They don’t just hand us names and dates; they hand us a heartbeat. That’s the magic of oral history for genealogists and family historians.

But, like every treasure, oral history comes with its cracks.

Why We Treasure Stories

The Waynesburg Republican

Think back to the first time you heard a family story that made you lean in closer. Maybe it was about a soldier who never came home, a farm washed away in a flood, or an ancestor who could “cure a fever with nothing but herbs.” These stories paint pictures no census record ever could. They give us personality, emotion, and a glimpse of who our people really were.

For communities whose histories weren’t always written down, oral tradition was often the only way to keep memories alive. Without those stories, whole chapters of our shared past might have vanished.

And let’s be honest: sometimes oral history gives us the breadcrumb trail we need. A half-remembered name, the mention of a town, or the memory of a neighbor can open the door to records we’d never have thought to search. 

But Stories Have Shadows

The trouble is, memory is slippery. Ask three siblings about the same childhood event, and you’ll likely get three different stories. Dates blur. Names shift. Sometimes tales grow taller with each retelling, passed down like a family heirloom polished until it barely resembles the original.

And then there’s silence.

The Sun, Feb 15, 1880 ·Page 3

Families often leave certain things unsaid. Topics like illegitimacy, lost children, mental illness, or conflicts are often swept under the rug. What we don’t hear in oral history can be just as telling as what we do.

The hardest part? Once a storyteller passes, those memories go with them. Unless we’ve taken the time to record, transcribe, or preserve the stories, the voices fade. That’s a loss we can’t recover.

How We Can Honor the Stories

So what do we do, as family historians? We listen carefully, but we also question kindly. We record, not just on paper, but with our phones, with audio or video, so future generations hear the voices themselves. We ask open-ended questions: “Tell me what it was like…” instead of “Was it 1937 or 1938?”

And we remember that oral history is a guide, not a guarantee. It’s the spark that leads us to deeds, obituaries, or immigration records where we can confirm, or sometimes correct the information with facts proven by data.

A Final Word

Oral history is like sitting by the fire with your ancestors. It warms, it illuminates, and sometimes it even crackles with surprises. It doesn’t replace the paper trail, but it makes the trail worth following.

So, next time you’re at a family gathering, lean in. Ask the questions. Capture the laughter, the tears, the pauses. Because someday, someone will thank you for preserving not just the facts—but the voices behind them.

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