In case you ever wondered why a large number of your ancestors disappeared during a certain period in history,
this might help. Epidemics have always had a great influence on people - and thus influencing, as well, the genealogists trying to trace them. Many cases of people disappearing from records can be traced to dying during an epidemic or moving away from the affected area. Some of the major epidemics in the United States are listed below:

1657      Boston Measles
1687      Boston Measles
1690      New York Yellow Fever
1713      Boston Measles
1729      Boston Measles
1732-3   Worldwide Influenza
1738      South Carolina Smallpox
1739-40  Boston Measles
1747      CT,NY,PA,SC Measles
1759      N. Amer [areas inhabited by white people] Measles
1761      North America and West Indies Influenza
1772      North America Measles
1775      N. Amer [especially hard in NE] epidemic Unknown
1775-6    Worldwide [one of the worst epidemics] Influenza
1783       Dover, DE ["extremely fatal"] Bilious Disorder
1788       Philadelphia and New York Measles
1793       Vermont [a "putrid" fever] and Influenza
1793       VA [killed 500 in 5 counties in 4 weeks] Influenza
1793       Philadelphia [one of the worst epidemics] Yellow Fever
1793       Harrisburg, PA [many unexplained deaths]       Unknown
1793       Middletown, PA [many mysterious deaths] Unknown
1794       Philadelphia, PA Yellow Fever
1796-7    Philadelphia, PA Yellow Fever
1798       Philadelphia, PA [one of the worst] Yellow Fever
1803       New York Yellow Fever
1820-3    Nationwide [starts Schuylkill River and spreads] "Fever"
1831-2    Nationwide [brought by English emigrants] Asiatic Cholera
1832       NY City and other major cities Cholera
1837       Philadelphia Typhus
1841       Nationwide [especially severe in the south] Yellow Fever
1847       New Orleans Yellow Fever
1847-8    Worldwide Influenza
1848-9    North America Cholera
1850       Nationwide Yellow Fever
1850-1    North America Influenza
1852       Nationwide [New Orleans-8,000 die in summer] Yellow Fever
1855       Nationwide [many parts] Yellow Fever
1857-9    Worldwide [one of the greeted epidemics]       Influenza
1860-1    Pennsylvania Smallpox
1865-73  Philadelphia, NY, Boston, New Orleans} {Smallpox
              Baltimore, Memphis, Washington DC} {Cholera
              [A series of recurring epidemics of:
             Typhus, Typhoid, Scarlet Fever, Yellow       Fever)
1873-5    North America and Europe Influenza
1878       New Orleans [last great epidemic] Yellow Fever
1885       Plymouth, PA Typhoid
1886       Jacksonville, FL Yellow Fever
1918       Worldwide [high point yr] more people were {Influenza)
              hospitalized in WWI from this epidemic than wounds. US Army training camps
              became death camps, with 80% death rate in some camps
              Finally, these specific instances of cholera were mentioned:
1833      Columbus, OH
1834      New York City
1849      New York
1851      Coles Co., IL, The Great Plains, and Missouri

      Old Occupations Explained

Accomptant -- Accountant
Almoner -- Giver of charity to the needy
Amanuensis -- Secretary or stenographer
Artificer -- A soldier mechanic who does repairs
Bailie -- Bailiff
Baxter -- Baker
Bluestocking -- Female writer
Boniface -- Keeper of an inn
Brazier -- One who works with brass
Brewster -- Beer manufacturer
Brightsmith -- Metal Worker
Burgonmaster -- Mayor
Caulker -- One who filled up cracks (in ships or windows or seems to them watertight by using tar or oakum-hemp fiber produced by taking old ropes apart
Chaisemaker -- Carriage maker
Chandler -- Dealer or trader; one who makes or sells candles; retailer of groceries
Chiffonnier -- Wig maker
Clark -- Clerk
Clerk -- Clergyman, cleric
Clicker -- The servant of a salesman who stood at the door to invite customers; one who received the matter in the galley from the compositors and arranged it in due form ready for printing; one who makes eyelet holes in boots using a machine which clicked.
Cohen -- Priest
Collier -- Coal miner
Colporteur -- Peddler of books
Cooper -- One who makes or repairs vessels made of staves and hoops, such as casks, barrels, tubs, etc.
Cordwainer -- Shoemaker, originally any leather worker using leather from Cordova/Cordoba in Spain
Costermonger -- Peddler of fruits and vegetables
Crocker -- Potter
Crowner -- Coroner
Currier -- One who dresses the coat of a horse with a currycomb; one who tanned leather by incorporating oil or grease
Docker Stevedore, dock worker who loads and unloads cargo
Dowser -- One who finds water using a rod or witching stick
Draper -- A dealer in dry goods
Drayman -- One who drives a long strong cart without fixed sides for carrying heavy loads
Dresser -- A surgeon's assistant in a hospital
Drover -- One who drives cattle, sheep, etc. to market; a dealer in cattle
Duffer -- Peddler
Factor -- Agent, commission merchant; one who acts or transacts business for another; Scottish steward or bailiff of an estate Farrier A blacksmith, one who shoes horses
Faulkner -- Falconer
Fell monger -- One who removes hair or wool from hides in preparation for leather making
Fletcher -- One who made bows and arrows
Fuller -- One who fulls cloth;one who shrinks and thickens woolen cloth by moistening, heating, and pressing; one who cleans and finishes cloth
Gaoler -- A keeper of the goal, a jailer
Glazier -- Window glassman
Hacker -- Maker of hoes
Hatcheler -- One who combed out or carded flax
Haymonger -- Dealer in hay
Hayward -- Keeper of fences
Higgler -- Itinerant peddler
Hillier -- Roof tiler
Hind -- A farm laborer
Hostler -- A groom who took care of horses, often at an inn
Hooker -- Reaper
Hooper -- One who made hoops for casks and barrels
Huckster -- Sells small wares
Husbandman -- A farmer who cultivated the land
Jagger -- Fish peddler
Journeyman -- One who had served his apprenticeship and mastered his craft, not bound to serve a master, but hired by the day
Joyner / Joiner A skilled carpenter
Keeler -- Bargeman
Kempster -- Wool comber
Lardner -- Keeper of the cupboard
Lavender -- Washer woman
Lederer -- Leather maker
Leech -- Physician
Longshoreman -- Stevedore
Lormer -- Maker of horse gear
Malender -- Farmer
Maltster -- Brewer
Manciple -- A steward
Mason -- Bricklayer
Mintmaster -- One who issued local currency
Monger -- Seller of goods (ale, fish)
Muleskinner -- Teamster
Neatherder -- Herds cows
Ordinary Keeper -- Innkeeper with fixed prices
Pattern Maker -- A maker of a clog shod with an iron ring. A clog was a wooden pole with a pattern cut into the end
Peregrinator Itinerant wanderer
Peruker -- A wig maker
Pettifogger -- A shyster lawyer
Pigman -- Crockery dealer
Plumber -- One who applied sheet lead for roofing and set lead frames for plain or stained glass windows.
Porter -- Door keeper
Puddler -- Wrought iron worker
Quarrier -- Quarry worker
Rigger -- Hoist tackle worker
Ripper -- Seller of fish
Roper -- Maker of rope or nets
Saddler -- One who makes, repairs or sells saddles or other furnishings for horses
Sawbones -- Physician
Sawyer -- One who saws; carpenter
Schumacker -- Shoemaker
Scribler -- A minor or worthless author
Scrivener -- Professional or public copyist or writer; notary public
Scrutiner -- Election judge
Shrieve -- Sheriff
Slater -- Roofer
Slopseller -- Seller of ready-made clothes in a slop shop
Snobscat/Snob -- One who repaired shoes
Sorter -- Tailor
Spinster -- A woman who spins or an unmarried woman
Spurrer -- Maker of spurs
Squire -- Country gentleman; farm owner; justice of peace
Stuff gown -- Junior barrister
Stuff gownsman -- Junior barrister
Supercargo -- Officer on merchant ship who is in charge of cargo and the commercial concerns of the ship
Tanner -- One who tans (cures) animal hides into leather
Tapley -- One who puts the tap in an ale cask
Tasker -- Reaper
Teamster -- One who drives a team for hauling
Thatcher -- Roofer
Tide waiter -- Customs inspector
Tinker -- An itinerant tin pot and pan seller and repairman
Tipstaff -- Policeman
Travers -- Toll bridge collection
Tucker -- Cleaner of cloth goods
Turner -- A person who turns wood on a lathe into spindles
Victualer -- A tavern keeper, or one who provides an army, navy, or ship with food
Vulcan -- Blacksmith
Wagoner -- Teamster not for hire
Wainwright -- Wagon maker
Waiter -- Customs officer or tide waiter; one who waited on the tide to collect duty on goods brought in
Waterman -- Boatman who plies for hire
Webster -- Operator of looms
Wharfinger -- Owner of a wharf
Wheelwright -- One who made or repaired wheels; wheeled carriages, etc.
Whitesmith -- Tinsmith; worker of iron who finishes or polishes the work
Whitewing -- Street sweeper
Whitster -- Bleach of cloth
Wright -- Workman, especially a construction worker
Yeoman -- Farmer who owns his own land

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Calling Cards (for Gentlemen) from Harper's Bazaar (C.1868)

"Visiting cards for the coming season are of unglazed card board, large and almost square. Tinted cards, especially buff, are fashionable. The lettering is in old English text, or in script. The expense of fifty cards is $3.50.

One corner of the card is turned down to denote the object of the visit. In different cities a different signification is attached to these broken cards. We give the custom of New York society. On the left hand upper corner the word Visite is engraved on the reverse side. This corner is turned downed, displaying the word on the front of the card to signify that an ordinary call is made. On the right hand corner is Felicitation, to be used when making a visit of congratulation on some happy event, such as a marriage, or the birth of a child. On the left lower side is Conge, or Good-by. The remaining corner is marked Condolence."

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Medieval And Obsolete English Trade And Professional Terms

Aquarius (Ewer) ~~ Waterman
Aurifaber ~~ Goldsmith.
Avenator (Plantifene) ~~ Hay and Forage Merchant.
Barker ~~ Tanner.
Baxter ~~ Baker
Belhoste ~~ Tavern keeper.
Belleyetere ~~ Bellfounder.
Bowyer ~~ Bowmaker.
Brasiler ~~ Dyer.
Burneman ~~ Carrier of barm or water for brewers.
Cancellarius ~~ Chancellor.
Cardmaker ~~ Maker ~~ of cards or instrumets for combing wool.
Carnifex ~~ Butcher.
Carpentarius ~~ Carpenter.
Chaloner ~~ Dealer in shalloon, a material made in Chƒlons.
Chapman ~~ Merchant.
Chirugion ~~ Apothecary or Surgeon.
Cissor ~~ Tailor.
Clericus ~~ Clerk
Cocus (Keu) ~~ Cook
Combere ~~ Woolcomber
Corvisor (Cordewanarius, Cordwainer) ~~ Shoemaker, originally a worker in Cordovan leather.
Cotiler ~~ Cutler
Cuhreur (Cunreur) ~~ Currier.
Cuper ~~ Cooper; a barrel maker.
Dexter ~~ Dyer.
Dubbere ~~ Cloth dubber, i.e., one who raises the nap of cloth.
Dudder ~~ Probably a maker of coarse cloaks.
Daunsel ~~ Gentleman in waiting, groom or squire.
Dysshere ~~ Probably a ditcher, or in some cases a disher.
Elymaker ~~ Oilmaker.
Faber ~~ Smith.
Ferur (Ferator) ~~ Farrier or blacksmith.
Fisher (Fishdryver) ~~ Victualler.
Flauner ~~ Confectioner.
Fleshewer ~~ Butcher.
Fletcher ~~ Arrowmaker.
Forestarius ~~ Forester.
Frereman ~~ Servant of the Friars.
Fuller ~~ One who trampled cloth. See alsoWalker.
Furber (Furbour) ~~ Furbisher of armour.
Furner ~~ Baker.
Garcifer (Garcio) ~~ Groom, attendant.
Garlekmonger ~~ Dealer in gaarlic.
Glassewryght ~~ Maker and mender of glassware.
Gynour ~~ Engineer.
Hamberghmaker (Hamberow) ~~ Horse collar maker.
Harper ~~ Musician (?).
Hetheleder ~~ Provider of heather for fuel.
Hosteler ~~ Innkeeper.
Husbandman ~~ Tenant farmer .
Kepegest ~~ Innkeeper.
Latouner ~~ Worker in latten, a metal resembling brass.
Limner ~~ Draughtsman or Artist.
Lokeer ~~ Locksmith.
Lorimer ~~ Bridlemaker.
Macun ~~ Mason.
Marescallus ~~ Marshall.
Medicus ~~ Leech, Doctor.
Mercator ~~ Merchant.
Molendinarius ~~ (Muner) ~~ Miller.
Mustarder ~~ Grower and grinder ofmustard.
Nedder ~~ Needle-maker.
Palmer ~~ A Pilgrim, one who had been, or pretended to have been, to the Holy Land.
Paneler ~~ Saddler.
Pannarius ~~ Clothier and Draper.
Pannebeter ~~ Pan-hammerer, or perhaps clothdriver.
Pardoner ~~ One licensed to sell Papal Indulgences.
Parmentor ~~ Probably a parchment maker, or tailor.
Parcheminer ~~ Parchment maker.
Pattenmaker ~~ Maker of iron-rimmed pattens for footwear.
Pelliparius (Peltarius ~~ Skinner.
Perukemaker ~~ Wigmaker.
Pictor ~~ Painter.
Pinder ~~ Keeper of the Pound or Pinfold.
Piscarius ~~ Fishmonger.
Piscator ~~ Fisherman.
Pistor ~~ Miller or Baker.
Plantifene (see Avernator).
Plomer ~~ Plumber.
Pynner ~~ Pin-maker.
Roper ~~ Ropemaker.
Rotarius ~~ Wheelwright.
Safernman ~~ Grower of Saffron.
Samitere (Samite) ~~ Maker of a kind of heavy silk suff.
Sauntere ~~ Probaby Salt maker.
Sausere ~~ Salter.
Seinter ~~ Girdlemaker.
Seler (Sellarius) ~~ Sadder.
Serviens ~~ Sergeant.
Servus ~~ Servant.
Sherman (Shearman) ~~ One who raised the surface of woolen cloth and then sheared it to a smooth surface.
Shether ~~ (See Vaginarius).
Sifker ~~ Sievemaker.
Sissor (Cissor) ~~ Tailor.
Sleymaker ~~ Maker of instruments to part threads in weaving.
Soper ~~ Soapmaker.
Spittleman ~~ Hospital Attendant.
Spicer ~~ Grocer.
Spurrier ~~ Spurmaker.
Stabler ~~ Ostler.
Stasyon (Stawsun) ~~ Probably a Stationer.
Sugarer ~~ Dealer in sugar. (Grocer ?)
Sumner ~~ Summoner or Apparitor.
Sutor ~~ Shoemaker or cobbler.
Tabernarius ~~ Taverner, Innkeeper.
Tannator ~~ Tanner.
Teinter ~~ Dyer.
Textor ~~ Weaver.
Tinctor ~~ Dyer or possibly a painter.
Upholder ~~ Upholsterer; also a cheapjack and seller of secondhand goods.
Vaginarius, Sheather ~~ Scabbard maker.
Venator (Venur) ~~ Huntsman.
Vintner ~~ Wine Merchant.
Walker (Same as Fuller) ~~ Cloth trampler or cleaner.
Webster ~~ Weaver.
Whittawer ~~ Preparer of white leather.
Yeoman ~~ Freehold farmer.

Thanks to Evelyn Cataldi for transcribing these professions from "First Settlers of South Carolina 1670-1700" by Agnes Leland Baldwin.

Bever ~~ Beverage maker
Blockmaker ~~ One who crafted pulleys
Castor ~~ Hat maker
Felmonger ~~ Hide dealer forges
Nailor ~~ Nail maker
Sempster ~~ Seamstress
Sil kmaker spinster ~~ Female spinner
Silkmaker throster ~~ Male spinner
Simpler ~~ Agriculturist that we would call herbalist today
Swordcutter ~~ Smith who fashioned swords
Vineroon ~~ Wine grower
Whitesmith ~~ Tinsmith; or one who finishes & polishes after the Smith

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Colonial Occupations

ALMONER Giver of charity
ANANUENSIS Secretary or Stenographer
BLUESTOCKING Female writer
BONIFACE Keeper of an inn
BURGOMASTER Mayor
CHANDLER Candlemaker
CHIFFONIER Ragpicker
COLPORTEUR Peddler of books
CORDWAINER Made shoes
COSTERMONGER Peddler of fruits and vegetables
CROWNER Coroner
DOCKER Stevedore
DOWSER Water finder
FLETCHER Made bows and arrows
FULLER Cleaned and finished cloth
GAOLER Jailer
GLAZIER Window glassman
HATCHELER Combed or carded flax
HOOPER Made hoops for casks
HOSTLER (or Ostler) Groomed horses
LEECH or SAWBONES Physician
MANCIPLE Steward
MINTMASTER Issued local currency
PEREGRINATOR Itinerant wanderer
PERUKER Wigmaker
PETTIFOGGER Shyster lawyer
PUMBUM WORKER Plumber
RATTLEWATCH Town watchman
SCRUTINEER Election judge
SHRIEVE Sheriff
SNOBSCAT Repaired shoes
SORTOR Tailor
STUFFGOWNSMAN Junior barrister
TIDE WAITER Customs inspector
TIPSTAFF Policeman
VULCAN Blacksmith
WEBSTER Operated looms
WHARFINGER Owner of a wharf
WHITEWING Streetsweeper

This information from "Old Farmer's Almanac," reprinted in Dec. 1986
by "Roots Digest," Ronald A. Bremer, Publisher

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Glossary of Diseases

Abcpsia - blindness
Ablepsy - Blindness
Addison's Disease - Anemic condition caused by kidney disease
Aegrotantem - sickness
Ague - Malarial Fever
American plague - Yellow fever
Anasarca - Generalized massive edema
Aphonia - Laryngitis
Aphtha - The infant disease "thrush"
Apoplexy - Paralysis due to stroke
Ascites - Dropsy of the abdomen
Asphycsia/Asphicsia - Cyanotic and lack of oxygen
Atrophy - Wasting away or diminishing in size.
Bad Blood - Syphilis
Bilious fever - Typhoid, malaria, hepatitis or
levated temperature and bile emesis
Biliousness - Jaundice associated with liver disease
Black fever - Acute infection with high temperature and dark red skin lesions and high mortality rate
Black Lung - disease from breathing coal dust
Black plague or death - Bubonic plague
Black pox - Black Small pox
Black vomit - Vomiting old black blood due to ulcers or   yellow fever
Blackwater fever - Dark urine associated with high temperature
Bladder in throat - Diphtheria (Seen on death certificates)
Blood poisoning - Bacterial infection; septicemia
Bloody flux - Bloody stools; dysentery
Bloody sweat - Sweating sickness
Bone shave - Sciatica
Brain fever - Meningitis
Breakbone - Dengue fever
Bright's disease - Chronic inflammatory disease of kidneys
Bronze John - Yellow fever
Bule - Boil, tumor or swelling
Cachexy - Malnutrition
Cacogastric - Upset stomach
Cacospysy - Irregular pulse
Caduceus   - Subject to falling sickness or epilepsy
Camp fever - Typhus; aka Camp diarrhea
Canine madness - Rabies, hydrophobia
Canker - Ulceration of mouth or lips or herpes simplex
Catalepsy - Seizures / trances
Catarrhal - Nose and throat discharge from cold or allergy
Cerebritis - Inflammation of cerebrum or lead poisoning
Chilblain - Swelling of extremities caused by exposure to cold
Child bed fever - Infection following birth of a child
Chin cough - Whooping cough
Chlorosis - Iron deficiency anemia
Cholera - Acute severe contagious diarrhea with intestinal lining sloughing
Cholera morbus - Characterized by nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, elevated temperature, etc.   Could be appendicitis
Cholecystitus - Inflammation of the gall bladder
Cholelithiasis - Gall stones
Chorea - Disease characterized by convulsions, contortions and dancing
Cold plague - Ague which is characterized by chills
Colic - An abdominal pain and cramping
Congestive chills or fever - Malaria
Consumption - Tuberculosis
Congestion - Any collection of fluid in an organ, like the lungs
Congestive chills - Malaria with diarrhea
Congestive fever - Malaria
Corruption - Infection
Coryza - A cold
Costiveness - Constipation
Cramp colic - Appendicitis
Cretinism - congenital hypothyroidism
Crop sickness - Overextended stomach
Croup - Laryngitis, diphtheria, or strep throat
Cyanosis - Dark skin color from lack of oxygen in blood
Cynanche - Diseases of throat
Cystitis - Inflammation of the bladder
Day fever - Fever lasting one day; sweating sickness
Debility - Lack of movement or staying in bed
Decrepitude - Feebleness due to old age
Delirium tremens - Hallucinations due to alcoholism
Dengue - Infectious fever endemic to East Africa
Dentition - Cutting of teeth
Deplumation - Tumor of the eyelids which causes hair loss
Diary fever - A fever that lasts one day
Diptheria - Contagious disease of the throat, spread by infected milk
Distemper - Usually animal disease with malaise, discharge from nose and throat, anorexia
Dock fever - Yellow fever
Dropsy - Edema (swelling), often caused by kidney or heart disease
Dropsy of the Brain - Encephalitis
Dry Bellyache - Lead poisoning
Dyscrasy - An abnormal body condition
Dysentery - Inflammation of colon with frequent passage of mucous and blood
Dysorexy - Reduced appetite
Dyspepsia - Indigestion and heartburn.   Heart attack symptoms
Dysury - Difficulty in urination
Eclampsy - Symptoms of epilepsy, convulsions during labor
Ecstasy - A form of catalepsy characterized by loss of reason
Edema - Nephrosis; swelling of tissues
Edema of lungs - Congestive heart failure, a form of dropsy
Eel thing - Erysipelas
Elephantiasis - A form of leprosy
Epitaxis - Nose bleed
Erysipelas - Contagious skin disease, due to Streptococci with vesicular and bulbous lesions
Extravasted blood - Rupture of a blood vessel
Falling sickness - Epilepsy
Fatty Liver - Cirrhosis of liver
Fits - Sudden attack or seizure of muscle activity
Flux - An excessive flow or discharge of fluid like hemorrhage or diarrhea
Flux of humour - Circulation
French pox - Syphilis
Galloping Consumption - Pulmonary Tuberculosis
Gathering - A collection of pus
Glandular fever - Mononucleosis
Great pox - Syphilis
Green fever / sickness - Anemia
Grippe/grip - Influenza like symptoms
Grocer's itch - Skin disease caused by mites in sugar or flour
Heart sickness - Condition caused by loss of salt from body
Heat stroke - Body temperature elevates because of surrounding environment temperature and body does not  perspire to reduce temperature.   Coma and death result if not reversed
Hectical complaint - Recurrent fever
Hematemesis - Vomiting blood
Hematuria - Bloody urine
Hemiplegy - Paralysis of one side of body
Hip gout - Osteomylitis
Horrors - Delirium tremens
Hydrocephalus - Enlarged head, water on the brain
Hydropericardium - Heart dropsy
Hydrophobia - Rabies
Hydrothroax - Dropsy in chest
Hypertrophic - Enlargement of organ, like the heart
Impetigo - Contagious skin disease characterized by pustules
Inanition - Physical condition resulting from the inability to assimilate food
Infantile paralysis - Polio
Intestinal colic - Abdominal pain due to improper diet
Jail fever - Typhus
Jaundice - Condition caused by blockage of intestines
King's evil - Tuberculosis of neck and lymph glands
Kruchhusten - Whooping cough
Lagrippe - Influenza
Lockjaw - Tetanus or infectious disease affecting the muscles of the neck and jaw.   Untreated, it is
          fatal in 8 days
Long sickness - Tuberculosis
Lues disease - Syphilis
Lues venera - Venereal disease
Lumbago - Back pain
Lung fever - Pneumonia
Lung sickness - Tuberculosis
Lying in - Time of delivery of infant
Malignant sore throat - Diphtheria
Mania - Insanity
Marasmus - Progressive wasting away of body, like malnutrition
Membranous Croup - Diphtheria
Meningitis - Inflations of brain or spinal cord
Metritis - Inflammation of uterus or purulent vaginal discharge
Miasma - Poisonous vapors thought to infect the air
Milk fever - Disease from drinking contaminated milk, like undulant fever or brucellosis
Milk leg - Post partum thrombophlebitis
Milk sickness - Poisoning from milk of cattle which had eaten leaves of the white snakeroot plant
Mormal - Gangrene
Morphew - Scurvy blisters on the body
Mortification - Gangrene of necrotic tissue
Myelitis - Inflammation of the spine
Myocarditis - Inflammation of heart muscles
Necrosis - Mortification of bones or tissue
Nephrosis - Kidney degeneration
Nepritis - Inflammation of kidneys
Nervous prostration - Extreme exhaustion from inability to control physical and mental activities
Neuralgia - Described as discomfort, such as "Headache" was neuralgia in head
Neurasthenia - Neurotic condition caused by worry; disturbances of digestion, circulation attributed to emotional conflict
Nostalgia - Homesickness
Palsy - Paralysis or uncontrolled movement of controlled muscles. It was listed as "Cause of death"
Paroxysm - Convulsion
Pemphigus - Skin disease of watery blisters
Pericarditis - Inflammation of heart
Peripneumonia - Inflammation of lungs
Peritonotis - Inflammation of abdominal area
Petechial Fever - Fever characterized by skin spotting
Puerperal exhaustion - Death due to child birth
Phthiriasis - Lice infestation
Phthisis - Chronic wasting away or a name for tuberculosis
Plague - An acute febrile highly infectious disease with a high fatality rate
Pleurisy - Any pain in the chest area with each breath
Podagra - Gout
Poliomyelitis - Polio
Potter's asthma - Fibroid pthisis
Pott's disease - Tuberculosis of spine
Pox - Syphilis
Puerperal exhaustion - Death due to childbirth
Puerperal fever - Elevated temperature after giving birth to an infant
Puking fever - Milk sickness
Putrid fever - Diphtheria.
Quinsy - Severe attack of tonsilitis which resulted in abscess near the tonsils
Remitting fever - Malaria
Rheumatism - Any disorder associated with pain in joints
Rickets - Disease of skeletal system
Rose cold - Hay fever or nasal symptoms of an allergy
Rotanny fever - (Child's disease) ???
Rubeola - German measles
Sanguineous crust - Scab
Scarlatina - Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever - A disease characterized by red rash
Scarlet rash - Roseola
Sciatica - Rheumatism in the hips
Scirrhus - Cancerous tumors
Scotomy - Dizziness, nausea and dimness of sight
Scrivener's palsy - Writer's cramp
Screws - Rheumatism
Scrofula - Tuberculosis of neck lymph glands.   Progresses slowly with abscesses and   pistulas develop.  Young person's disease
Scrumpox - Skin disease, impetigo
Scurvy - Lack of vitamin C.   Symptoms of weakness, spongy gums and hemorrhages under skin
Septicemia - Blood poisoning
Shakes - Delirium tremens
Shaking - Chills, ague
Shingles - Viral disease with skin blisters
Ship fever - Typhus
Siriasis - Inflammation of the brain due to sun exposure
Sloes - Milk sickness
Small pox - Contagious disease with fever and blisters
Softening of brain - Result of stroke or hemorrhage in the brain, with an end result of the tissue
                    softening in that area
Sore throat distemper - Diphtheria or quinsy
Spanish influenza - Epidemic influenza
Spasms - Sudden involuntary contraction of muscle or group of muscles, like a convulsion
Spina bifida - Deformity of spine
Spotted fever - Either typhus or meningitis
Sprue - Tropical disease characterized by intestinal   disorders and sore throat
St. Anthony's fire - Also erysipelas, but named so because of affected skin areas are bright red in
                    appearance
St. Vitas dance - Ceaseless occurrence of rapid complex jerking movements performed involuntarily
Stomatitis - Inflammation of the mouth
Stranger's fever - Yellow fever
Strangery - Rupture
Sudor anglicus - Sweating sickness
Summer complaint - Dysentery, usually in infants caused by spoiled milk
Sunstroke - Uncontrolled elevation of body temperature due to environment heat.   Lack of sodium in the body is a predisposing cause
Swamp sickness - Could be malaria, typhoid or encephalitis
Sweating sickness - Infectious and fatal disease common to UK in 15th century
Tetanus - Infectious fever characterized by high fever,   headache and dizziness
Thrombosis - Blood clot inside blood vessel
Thrush - Childhood disease characterized by spots on mouth, lips and throat
Tick fever - Rocky mountain spotted fever
Toxemia of pregnancy - Eclampsia
Trench mouth - Painful ulcers found along gum line.   Caused by poor nutrition and poor hygiene
Tussis convulsiva - Whooping cough
Typhus - Infectious fever characterized high fever,   headache, and dizziness
Variola - Smallpox
Venesection - Bleeding
Viper's dance - St. Vitus Dance
Water on brain - Enlarged head
White swelling   - Tuberculosis of the bone
Whitlow - Boil
Winter fever - Pneumonia
Womb fever - Infection of the uterus.
Worm fit - Convulsions associated with teething, worms, elevated temperature or diarrhea
Yellowjacket - Yellow fever.
 
 

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