Daily AncestorParaplegia
Paraplegia meant paralysis of the lower half of the body, both legs, usually from injury or disease of the spinal cord.
Webster's 1913 defines paraplegia as palsy of the lower half of the body on both sides, caused usually by disease of the spinal cord. The word comes from Greek for stricken at the side.
IPUMS codes hemiplegia, paraplegia and other paralysis together in its scheme for the 1850 to 1880 mortality schedules. A spinal injury or a disease of the spinal cord could lie behind it.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Jacob Imler, 52, M, W, Paraplegia
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Paraplegia." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/paraplegia. Last checked 2026-10-10.