Daily AncestorSpotted fever
Spotted fever was a name for any fever with spots on the skin; in the 1800s US it often meant epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis, and also typhus.
Spotted fever named an illness with fever and a spotted rash. The 1911 Britannica says epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis was popularly called spotted fever, with a widespread epidemic in New England and further west.
Typhus was also called spotted fever, and later the term meant tick-borne illnesses such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The date and place help decide which one is meant.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Lyman Chase, 17, M, W, Single, N.H., March, Spotted fever, 2 days
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Spotted fever." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/spotted-fever. Last checked 2026-10-01.