SMALLPOX 1826
Whatever the truth of the supposed outbreak of 1824, the town did not have too long to wait before smallpox once again appeared. Other than the tourism aspect, perhaps another reason that lies behind the lack of reporting in the local press was the availability of an effective vaccination, which meant that the disease was not considered to have been as virulent and deadly as it had once been, and therefore deemed to be not newsworthy enough. It appears there cannot have been much concern over the latest outbreak if the total disinterest of the press is any indication, and the only evidence of an epidemic we have is recorded in the Llanbeblig burial registers, which fortunately recorded the cause of death next to the name of each smallpox victim. The only drawback of this lack of detail is that it limits us to a mere list of names, with no background material available to contribute further to the tale. This again leaves us with little or no feeling for how those caught up in the epidemic coped, what they went through, and the atmosphere in the town during the outbreak.
The first smallpox victim was a young girl, Eleanor Evans, aged 7 months, who was buried on the 8th. of December 1826. A further eight deaths followed Eleanor's that month, but the worst of the outbreak came in January 1827, when the epidemic peaked, causing 23 deaths. As the disease gradually died down, there were only 9 deaths recorded in February, and a solitary two in the first two days of March. It is interesting to note that all of the victims were children, with no recorded death of an adult. The ages of the children ranged from 3 months upwards, the eldest being 12 years old. Unfortunately, no exact addresses are given for the victims, which makes it impossible for us to discover if the disease was centered on a particular part of the town, or whether it had a wide distribution. The names of all the victims are recorded below.
Name |
Abode |
Date of Burial |
Age |
Eleanor Evans |
Carnarvon |
December 08 |
07 months |
Catherine Hughes |
Carnarvon |
December 11 |
05 |
Mary Daniel |
Carnarvon |
December 12 |
02 |
John Jones |
Carnarvon |
December 13 |
03 |
Jane Roberts |
Carnarvon |
December 15 |
06 |
Elizabeth Thomas |
Carnarvon |
December 20 |
09 months |
Thomas Griffith |
Carnarvon |
December 23 |
06 |
Thomas Jones |
Carnarvon |
December 23 |
10 |
Robert Owen |
Carnarvon |
December 26 |
03 |
Robert Griffith |
Carnarvon |
January 02 |
05 |
Mary Williams |
Carnarvon |
January 06 |
04 |
Morris Griffith |
Carnarvon |
January 08 |
03 |
Ellen Thomas |
Carnarvon |
January 08 |
01 year & 11 m |
David Hughes |
Carnarvon |
January 09 |
08 |
Dorothea Davies |
Carnarvon |
January 10 |
02 |
Ellen Hughes |
Carnarvon |
January 11 |
11 months |
Catherine Jones |
Carnarvon |
January 11 |
09 months |
Henry Williams |
Carnarvon |
January 12 |
06 months |
Elizabeth Griffith |
Carnarvon |
January 12 |
07 months |
Grace Owen |
Carnarvon |
January 12 |
09 months |
John Jones |
Carnarvon |
January 15 |
09 |
Mary Parry |
Carnarvon |
January 15 |
03 months |
Ebenezer Jones |
Carnarvon |
January 16 |
11 |
Anne Owens |
Carnarvon |
January 17 |
01 |
Morris Williams |
Carnarvon |
January 18 |
09 months |
Elizabeth Davies |
Carnarvon |
January 19 |
12 |
Jane Lewis |
Carnarvon |
January 19 |
09 months |
Samson Thomas |
Gellach fain |
January 24 |
08 |
William Williams |
Carnarvon |
January 24 |
22 months |
Owen Jones |
Carnarvon |
January 27 |
08 |
Anne Thomas |
Carnarvon |
January 31 |
04 |
Margaret Jones |
Carnarvon |
January 31 |
02 |
David Jones |
Carnarvon |
February 02 |
08 months |
Robert Davies |
Carnarvon |
February 02 |
04 |
Samuel Davies |
Carnarvon |
February 02 |
11 months |
Elizabeth Jones |
Carnarvon |
February 07 |
11 months |
Mary Ellis |
Carnarvon |
February 09 |
07 months |
William Davies |
Carnarvon |
February 12 |
06 months |
Evan Davies |
Carnarvon |
February 14 |
05 |
Evan Griffith |
Carnarvon |
February 20 |
01 |
Henry Daniel |
Carnarvon |
February 23 |
04 |
Henry Roberts |
Carnarvon |
March 01 |
06 |
Mary Parry |
Carnarvon |
March 02 |
01 |
SMALLPOX 1829
In November 1829 there was an isolated case of Smallpox recorded in the register, which must have led to an anxious few weeks as officials and inhabitants alike waited to see if the disease would spread.
Name |
Abode |
Date |
Age |
Rowland Jones |
Carnarvon |
November 23 |
04 |
SOURCES
Llanbeblig Parish Burial Registers.
INDEX
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