DearREADERS,
Tonight in Second Life, Genie Weezles hosted her monthly Relatively Curious Chat. As we sat around the fir pit in an area known as Just Genealogy, Genie shared great websites to expand on her topic:"Finding Family Stories in Special Collections Online". Ol' Myrt here was floored when she mentioned:
Dickinson College - "Their Own Words"
http://deila.dickinson.edu/theirownwords
By browsing this collection, I discovered the scanned images of a book by the famous 18th century physician, Benjamin Rush, MD, titled An Account of the [...] Yellow Fever as it appeared in the City of Philadelphia in the year 1793. Note the title page pictured above.
For those of us with Philadelphia ancestry, understanding the impact of this pandemic may explain the higher rates of deaths on our family tree during this time.
Studying the text also aids in understanding the prevailing thought for remedies and treatments of the time period. For instance, on page 287, Dr. Rush explains "It was by suffering the body to lie for some time in a bed of cold water, that the inhabitants of the island of Massaugh cured the most violent bilious fevers".
Looking at this disease through the eyes of a 1793 physician will improve Ol' Myrt's PowerPoint "Medical Practices of the US Revolutionary and Civil Wars."
Happy family tree climbing!
Myrt :)
DearMYRTLE,
Your friend in genealogy.
Myrt@DearMYRTLE.com
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