Daily AncestorLockjaw
Lockjaw is the common name for tetanus, a bacterial infection, often from a wound, that causes the jaw and other muscles to clamp in spasms.
Lockjaw named the most obvious sign of tetanus: the jaw muscles clamping shut. Spasms then spread to the neck, back and breathing muscles.
The germ lives in soil and enters through wounds, such as a nail puncture or farm injury, and also infected newborns through the cut cord. A death a week or two after an injury fits this cause.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Geo. Mills, 16, M, W, Single, Kans., July, Lockjaw, 6 days
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Daily Ancestor. "Lockjaw." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/lockjaw. Last checked 2026-10-01.