Daily AncestorBlood poisoning
Blood poisoning was the everyday name for septicemia: an infection, often from a wound, that spread through the bloodstream and was usually fatal before antibiotics.
Wiktionary defines blood poisoning as germs or their poisons in the bloodstream in amounts large enough to cause serious illness. An infected wound, or an infection anywhere in the body, could be the starting point.
Death records may give septicemia, septicaemia or pyemia instead. The IPUMS codes for the 1850 to 1880 mortality schedules put septicaemia and pyaemia in one group.
As seen in a recordCause of death line, state death certificate, 1910s to 1930s
Herman Voss, 29, M, Teamster, Blood poisoning from cut hand
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Blood poisoning." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/blood-poisoning. Last checked 2026-10-10.