CARNARVON TRADERS

The Repository of all Things Historical for the Ancient Welsh Town of Carnarvon

  Castle Square, Carnarvon. Published by Williams & Hughes, Bridge Steet, 1850


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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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