Mt. Pleasant
24th Aug. 1852
My Dear Sister,
On my return home I found Mat & both the children labouring under whooping cough, from which the children have pretty well recovered, but oh how different unto my beloved Mat. It is now my payneful task to inform you that my dear Mat, in whose welfare my life was identified, is gone. She died on the 14th inst with firm reliance in God & the hope of a blissfull immortality. She rests from her labours & her works do follow her. It is now our duty to prepair to meet her. Invite all yr children to come to the saviour & urge upon them the necessity of prepairing to mee their God. If we meet no more on earth, we will meet soon in judgement. Say to them to be up and doing. We know not what a day may bring forth. We are not commanded to make money but we are commanded to prepair to meet our God. Ma & the balance of yr relations & connections are well as usual. Give my love to every one of the children. Write me soon & tell them to write often to.
Yr affectionate brother
J. Doran Hunt
Whooping Cough
Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is an extremely contagious disease caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacterium. These bacteria produce toxins that paralyze parts of respiratory cells, leading to inflammation in the respiratory tract.
Initial symptoms include runny nose, sneezing, and a mild cough, which may seem like a typical cold. A mild fever also generally occurs. However, the cough slowly becomes more severe. Eventually the patient experiences bouts of rapid coughing followed by the “whooping” sound that gives the disease its common name as they try to inhale. While the coughing fit is occurring, the patient may turn blue.
While symptoms may be less severe for adults, pertussis can be extremely dangerous for infants and young children.
The bacteria that cause pertussis are spread in the air in droplets created when a sick person coughs or sneezes. People nearby can become infected by breathing in the droplets.
In the 20th century, pertussis was one of the most common childhood diseases and a major cause of childhood mortality in the United States. Before the availability of pertussis vaccine in the 1940s, more than 200,000 cases of pertussis were reported annually. Since widespread use of the vaccine began, incidence has decreased more than 80% compared with the prevaccine era.