Daily AncestorShip fever
Ship fever was a name for typhus caught on crowded emigrant ships, very common among Irish arrivals in the late 1840s.
Ship fever was typhus that spread among passengers packed into dirty ships. It is especially linked with Irish emigrants fleeing the famine in 1847, many of whom died at sea or in quarantine stations.
Jail fever and hospital fever were other names for the same disease in other crowded places. A death just after arrival in port is a typical pattern.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Michael Foley, 30, M, W, Married, Ireland, July, Ship fever, 12 days
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Ship fever." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/ship-fever. Last checked 2026-10-01.