Neighbors feel blight of epidemic

The ‘sick list’ was a common occurrence in the pages of the Gazette before privacy laws were put into place. This sick list is from the Jan. 14, 1899 edition of the Galena Gazette.

Epidemics didn’t only impact those in Galena. Epidemics hit every corner of Jo Daviess County and the surrounding area during the turn of the century.

For example, August 1887, was an interesting month for many in the area as a cholera epidemic spread in the communities of Hazel Green and Council Hill.

The Aug. 10, 1887 Galena Daily Gazette informed readers of a cholera epidemic in the village of Hazel Green. In one household, seven people were ill. The Gazette’s informant told the paper eight farmers were sick at Dr. Jenck’s office waiting for his return from visiting other patients.

“The epidemic is confined to those living on high lands in what are generally very healthy localities, while those living on low lands have escaped it,” the Gazette reported. “It is undoubtedly caused by the extreme hot, dry weather and impure water from cisterns and wells that are nearly dry and that are reeking with the germs of disease.

One week later, Council Hill saw a death of Annie Temperly one week after the death of another of Vickers Temperly’s children. The fears of a typhoid epidemic in Council Hill soon swelled. The Temperly’s youngest child was also not expected to recover. Once again, Dr. Jenck of Hazel Green was called to attend as well as Dr. Kittoe from Galena.

Two years later, during the winter of 1892, the flu “seized” the village of Elizabeth. According to reports, few of the people in Elizabeth were not affected by the disease. Schools and churches in Elizabeth and vicinity saw decreasing and irregular attendance.

On Jan. 3, 1898, James Chase, the Gazette’s “esteemed correspondent at Hanover” was on the sick list with diphtheria as Hanover was on the back end of a diphtheria epidemic. Ironically, the same day that the esteemed correspondent had diphtheria, Hanover decided to open a new gymnasium at the Firemen Hall.

On Nov. 23, 1898, an epidemic of measles was reported in Shullsburg, Wis., as a large number of cases were reported among the children of the community.

Two months later, Pleasant Valley Township caught its own case of the measles. Also reported was a mumps epidemic in the township at the same time, a not so pleasant valley in January 1899.

Stockton was ravaged with diphtheria in December 1905. On December 12 four or five cases were prevalent and a rigid quarantine was being forced with discussion about the closure of the community’s schools.

That discussion came to an end on Dec. 22 of that year as Stockton High School received an order to close.

However, Dr. George Palmer of the state board of health stated that the situation in Stockton was better than he thought and said that a rigid quarantine was not necessary.

“(He) advised a strict personal quarantine of all cases to prevent the spreading of the terrible disease,” reported the Galena Gazette on Dec. 22, 1905.

Epidemics were a way of life for residents of Jo Daviess County 120 years ago. Readers of the Gazette regularly learned about epidemics in their community and neighboring towns. Unlike today, where an epidemic is startling, Galena’s past is littered with epidemics of every kind.

The information provided in the past four columns is all from digitized bound volumes of The Galena Gazette. Papers can be found in the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection as many newspapers have been digitized thanks to funding from The Galena Foundation and other donors.

Check out old copies of the Galena Gazette for yourself at idnc.library.illinois.edu.