Daily AncestorSmallpox
Smallpox, also called variola, was a contagious virus causing fever and pus-filled blisters that killed or scarred many people until vaccination ended it.
Smallpox was caused by the variola virus. It began with fever and then a rash that turned into deep blisters full of pus, often leaving survivors scarred or blind.
Variola major was the severe and more common form, and variola minor a milder one. Clerks sometimes wrote variola, small pox or simply pox.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Henry Dorn, 22, M, W, Single, Prussia, January, Small pox, 12 days
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Daily Ancestor. "Smallpox." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/smallpox. Last checked 2026-10-01.