Daily AncestorBlack vomit
Black vomit meant the dark, bloody vomit of severe yellow fever, and was also used as a name for the disease itself.
In severe yellow fever, bleeding in the stomach produced vomit that looked like coffee grounds. Black vomit named that sign, and by extension the disease.
The Spanish name vomito negro means the same thing. An entry of black vomit in a Gulf Coast city during an epidemic summer almost certainly means yellow fever.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Jno. Bird, 33, M, W, Married, La., August, Black vomit, 6 days
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Daily Ancestor. "Black vomit." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/black-vomit. Last checked 2026-10-01.