Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
1885 petition to Washington City Council to pay Martha Geyer for nursing Smallpox patients |
Object Name |
Petition |
Catalog Number |
2021.FIC.0350.0001 |
People |
Ellis, William Parmenas Geyer, Martha R. |
Date |
1885 |
Scope & Content |
June 18, 1885 handwritten petition signed by 71 citizens requesting the Washington Common Council to pay Martha R. Geyer "a reasonable claim . . . for nursing Smallpox patients during the Smallpox epidemic of 1883 and 84." The Council asked the Daviess County Commissioners to join in paying the claim. The petition was resubmitted to the Washington Common Council on September 14, 1885 with a message the "County Commissioners . . . refused to assist in the payment of the claim." A note signed by Mayor William P. Ellis said, "Claim is rejected." Smallpox was an highly infectious virus with a mortality rate of 30%. Smallpox is estimated to have killed up to 300 million people worldwide in the 20th century. With the development and distribution of an effective vaccine, the last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977. The World Health Organization certified the global eradication of the disease in 1980. (See https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox). |
Collection |
1883-1884 Smallpox Epidemic Collection |
Search Terms |
Geyer Family Washington Common Council |