Smallpox

I know I am suppose to be moving on to researching my Torrey ancestors in Weymouth, MA; but I have been interested in writing about one more aspect of the John Adams miniseries I am watching. One of the more interesting scenes for me so far as I watch this miniseries is when Abigail Adams inoculates herself and her children to the smallpox virus so that they may have a higher probability of surviving the disease.

I wanted to look into the history of the smallpox for that time period. Obviously; at that time, the vaccine had not been discovered (not until about 1796), but it was found to be less dangerous to have part of the live smallpox virus ground up and inserted through a cut of the person being inoculated (a process called variolation) than getting smallpox from another sick person. A smaller percentage of these inoculated people died compared to those that developed the smallpox through exposure. These inoculated people did develop symptoms however, and it was still considered dangerous.

I thought next I would look into the letters that Abigail wrote to John to see if she did mention the smallpox and their exposure to the disease. In the miniseries, she had a doctor come to the house with an infected patient (who is outside lying very ill in a wagon). The doctor is the one who seems most concerned about the procedure and with Abigail for not having spoken to her husband about the decision. The movie also shows the eldest girl getting the most sick.

In the letters (Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 13 - 14 July 1776 and Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 21 - 22 July 1776 ) to her husband, Abigail does speak of these inoculations. The family goes to Boston to an Uncle's house to receive the doctor. Abigail states she did not bother to write John earlier about the decision to inoculate, as she knows his opinion on the matter. I would imagine; though, that it was a difficult decision to make, and a worry that was always on their minds. Abigail states in her letter, "I had many dissagreable Sensations at the Thoughts of comeing myself, but to see my children thro it I thought my duty, and all those feelings vanished as soon as I was innoculated and I trust a kind providence will carry me safely thro." (I often wonder what parents thought about these illnesses in that time period as I go through many death records of children who die from diseases that we no longer have to worry about. I have anxiety over less serious illnesses, I cannot imagine their fear!) Another interesting aspect of the letters is she states one of the children, Tommy, did not get many symptoms at all from the virus, so the doctor decides to inoculate him again. Everyone else in the family; however, does get the other symptoms associated with the disease, such as vomiting, fever, and postules. Abigail also writes about going to hear the Declaration of Independence read during this time that she has been "carrying" the virus. I was surprised by this as she would be risking exposure to other people by being in the crowd. It seems unlikely that she would not know she could pass the virus on to others.

To Do
1. Search for families in my ancestry living around 1770s to identify those that lived during the times of these letters, as they would have faced similar decisions as Abigail and John Adams.

Links on Topic
1. Encarta Encyclopedia article on smallpox
2. Boston 1775 : blog on the "history, analysis, and unabashed gossip about the start of the American Revolution in Massachusetts" - searched for entries on smallpox - link here