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A smallpox outbreak in Boston in March 1764 prompted the Rev. Ebenezer Storer to write a prayer in his diary – recently digitized by the Congregational Church – after arranging to have his children inoculated. Previous Next
Sunday, May 23, 2021 1:00 am
Light shed on smallpox in 1700s, parallels to now
WILLIAM J. KOLE | Associated Press
BOSTON – A highly contagious disease originating far from America s shores triggers deadly outbreaks that spread rapidly, infecting the masses. Shots are available, but a divided public agonizes over getting jabbed.
Sound familiar?
Newly digitized records – including a minister s diary scanned and posted online by Boston s Congregational Library and Archives – are shedding fresh light on devastating outbreaks of smallpox that hit the city in the 1700s. Three centuries later, the parallels with the coronavirus pandemic are uncanny.
Massachusetts pastor s handwritten diary from 1764 sheds light on smallpox outbreaks
Massachusetts pastor s handwritten diary from 1764 sheds light on smallpox outbreaks
The handwritten diary of a pastor in Massachusetts, part of newly digitized records, is now shedding light on smallpox outbreaks in the 1700s.
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An electron micrograph of the smallpox virus (Photo Credits: SMITH COLLECTION/GADO/Getty Images)
HIGHLIGHTS
Smallpox was eradicated, but not before it sickened and killed millions worldwide
English doctor Edward Jenner inoculated an 8-year-old boy against smallpox in 1796
A highly contagious disease originating far from America s shores triggers deadly outbreaks that spread rapidly, infecting the masses. Shots are available, but a divided public agonizes over getting jabbed.
Old records shed new light on smallpox outbreaks in 1700s
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WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press
May 20, 2021
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1of3In this image provided by the American Ancestors & New England Historic Genealogical Society, a digitized copy of a page from a handwritten 18th century diary by the Rev. Ebenezer Storer, during a period of smallpox, in Boston, shows an April 1764 entry that includes a prayer Storer wrote weeks after arranging to have his own children inoculated. In the prayer, Storer gives thanks for the recovery of family members from the disease. (American Ancestors & New England Historic Genealogical Society via AP)APShow MoreShow Less