Find Ancestors

Top tip - using the Genes Reunited community

Welcome to the Genes Reunited community boards!

  • The Genes Reunited community is made up of millions of people with similar interests. Discover your family history and make life long friends along the way.
  • You will find a close knit but welcoming group of keen genealogists all prepared to offer advice and help to new members.
  • And it's not all serious business. The boards are often a place to relax and be entertained by all kinds of subjects.
  • The Genes community will go out of their way to help you, so don’t be shy about asking for help.

Quick Search

Single word search

Icons

  • New posts
  • No new posts
  • Thread closed
  • Stickied, new posts
  • Stickied, no new posts

? Possible epidemics

ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

PollySalt

PollySalt Report 26 Mar 2016 08:14

Has anyone got any ideas as to how I may find out if there were any major/minor health outbreaks in Staffordshire in the years 1665 - 1669.
I've done a Google search but not been successful and I wondered if there were more specific sites

Thanks

Gee

Gee Report 26 Mar 2016 08:21

There is The History of A history of epidemics in Britain from AD664. Might be worth a leaf through the pages. See link below


https://archive.org/stream/historyofepidemi01crei#page/n3/mode/2up

KathleenBell

KathleenBell Report 26 Mar 2016 08:35

Wasn't that about the time of the Great Plague of London? Although mainly in London it did spread to other parts of the country.

Kath. x

PollySalt

PollySalt Report 26 Mar 2016 08:40

Thanks for your replies ladies, I'll certainly have a look at what you've suggested

Andysmum

Andysmum Report 26 Mar 2016 09:33

The plague certainly spread across the whole country. The nursery rhyme Ring-a-Ring of Roses refers to the plague, in particular to the village of Eyam in Derbyshire, where the villagers imposed a voluntary quarantine on themselves. Nobody was allowed in or out until all those who were going to die had done so and there were no more sick people.

So I would guess that your epidemic in Staffordshire was the plague.

ArgyllGran

ArgyllGran Report 26 Mar 2016 12:11

From this link about plague in Derbyshire, mainly in 1640's;

http://martindocksey.weebly.com/the-plague-in-burslem.html

Life expectancy at birth in North Staffordshire in 1570 was as high as 40 years and was as low as 30 years by 1670. The impact of War, Famine, Plague, Smallpox and other diseases, along with the increasing birth rate, caused this drastic reduction.

ArgyllGran

ArgyllGran Report 26 Mar 2016 12:23

Derbyshire again, but not too far from Staffordshire:

Eyam is one of the best-preserved villages in the vicinity and is the famous 'plague village', which went into voluntary quarantine when the plague was imported from London in 1665.

http://www.peakdistrictinformation.com/towns/eyam.php