Monmouthshire Merlin 15th Sept 1866
EBBW VALE.
OUTBREAK OF CHOLERA.—It is with deep regret we have to announce a serious outbreak of cholera in this place, and the adjoining village of Victoria. The first fatal case occurred on Friday, in, we believe, Limestone Row, Newtown, in a house inhabited by an Irish family, and very much overcrowded. One report says there were 27 persons in the house; but we believe the correct number is 15. The epidemic continues to spread. Up to Tuesday night 12 deaths were reported in Newtown, seven of which took place on Sunday. Three deaths have occurred in the Forge, and several fatal cases in the town. Nearly 20 deaths have occurred in Ebbw Vale and Victoria up to Tuesday night. We hear that only one death occurred on Tuesday. the greatest alarm has prevailed among the people since the outbreak. On the fact becoming known to Mrs. Darby, she at once despatched a telegram for a large supply of disinfectants, and entrusted them to Mr. Henry, town agent, for gratuitous distribution amongst the inhabitants. On Sunday Mr. Henry’s house was visited by hundreds of persons with bottles for supplies. We are under lasting obligation to this excellent and kind lady for her generous act. It is worthy of note that one man who died had just returned from Briton Ferry, where the disease was prevalent: and it is supposed he brought it with him. An old and weak woman who attended this man has since died. A man, we are told, had been drinking all day and all night previous to the attack, which ended on Sunday fatally. Since the outbreak of the epidemic Mr. Henry has been exerting himself most energetically in inspecting the houses. A plentiful supply of lime and brushes have been secured, and all houses are to be thoroughly cleansed and white-washed. Our medical staff has been engaged night and day since the outbreak, as also the principal druggists of the town. We are glad to state that on Tuesday there were evidences of the disease abating
Completely agree.
In my reading of local newspapers (c. 1890s to the 1920s/30s) over the last few years, I naturally started noting down shipwrecks, harbour accidents, drownings, runaway horses going through plate-glass windows, people losing limbs and eyes in the quarry … then I stopped.
They were two-a-penny.
‘elf and safety, eh? It’s Political Correctness Gone Mad, it is.
Really surprised that Mrs Darby didn’t keep the disinfectant for herself.
We live in different times.
The reality is that perspectives and expectations change. People nowadays don’t expect to outlive their children. Parents in Victorian England had every expectation of burying quite a few at a relatively young age. One of my Grandmothers came from a relatively wealthy farming family. 5 of her 8 brothers and sisters died before the age of 15 in the first decade or so of the 20th century. Judging by the graveyard, this was unlucky, but not unique. At the same time there was between a 1 in 100 and 1 in 200 chance of a mother dying in childbirth every time she gave birth.
Not just different times- my wife has lost two sisters and a brother.