Daily AncestorPurpura
Purpura means purple or red spots caused by bleeding under the skin; on old records it can stand for a bleeding disorder or for a severe fever that caused the spots.
The spots of purpura do not fade when pressed, because they are blood under the skin. They can come from blood and vessel disorders, and they are common with typhus and with meningococcal meningitis.
So purpura on a death record names a sign more than a disease. Look at the age, season and other deaths nearby to guess at the cause.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
John Ames, 9, M, W, April, Purpura
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Purpura." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/purpura. Last checked 2026-10-01.