Daily AncestorDiphtheria
Diphtheria is a throat infection that forms a tough gray membrane and a poison; it killed many children in the 1800s under names like throat distemper.
The name was given in 1826 from Greek diphthera, leather, after the leathery membrane in the throat. Before that it went by other names, including throat distemper in the 1735 New England epidemic and Boulogne sore throat in England.
The membrane could block the airway, and the poison could inflame the heart muscle and nerves. On old records, croup and membranous croup in children were often diphtheria. A toxoid vaccine came in the 1920s.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Annie Rusk, 5, F, W, Oct., Diphtheria, 4 days
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Daily Ancestor. "Diphtheria." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/diphtheria. Last checked 2026-10-10.