12 January 1911: Hookworm Experts Are Here!

On this day in 1911, a small notice appeared with other brief local news items in the Athens Banner:

The doctors were in Athens as part of the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission for the Eradication of Hookworm Disease. In the report issued a few weeks later by the commission, they singled out the State Normal School's initiative:

In the State Normal School, at Athens, Georgia, the student teachers are being given instruction in hookworm disease to the end that they as teachers may be able to give definite instruction to the children in their own schools.

 The work done at the Normal School was part of the report focusing on educating primary school children about "the dangers of soil pollution and how to avoid them." 

In the early 20th century, hookworm was a common problem in the United States, especially in the South, where the warm, humid weather allowed hookworm larvae to thrive. The hookworm larva typically infects through the sole of the foot, migrates through the bloodstream to the heart and lungs, and then matures to adulthood in the small intestines of its mammal host. Though it is only infectious in its third larval stage, that stage can last three to four weeks. Once inside the host, the worm can get as long as 11 millimeters and live for over two years.

Rockefeller used a part of his vast fortune to fight against hookworm infection in the United States, starting in 1910. Though some people would only have gastrointestinal symptoms when infected with a few hookworms, poor diet and/or a severe infection caused anemia and protein loss. 

The Sanitary Commission helped fund outhouses at schools and stressed the importance of rural children to wear shoes to avoid infection. Within just five years, the organization had made great headway and significantly reduced the number of infected individuals.

Today, there are approximately 576 to 740 million people infected with hookworms worldwide, primarily in developing countries. Doctors who treat people with hookworm, however, began to notice that children with hookworms had far fewer occurrences of asthma and weaker reactions to allergens, which has led to controlled experiments with hookworm infection in healthy individuals in hope of isolating the way the worms slow down the immune system and alleviate allergy symptoms. The plan is to reproduce the mechanism the worms use, since actual infection with hookworms is both dangerous and disgusting.


Learn More:

• Athens Banner, Jan. 1911 - Jun. 1911 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• History of the State Normal School by E. S. Sell in the Heritage and general collections.
• Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures by Carl Zimmer in the general collection.
• How John D. Rockefeller Defeated An Intestinal Parasite on the Wall Street Journal website.
• How Clean Is Your House? by Kim Woodburn in the general collection.
• Hookworm page on the Centers for Disease Control website.
• Hookworm Infection Symptoms page on the National Institutes of Health website.
• The Complete Kid's Asthma and Allergy Guide: Allergy and Asthma Information for Kids of All Ages, edited by Milton Gold in the general collection.
• Doctor Infects Himself with Parasites for Health Experiment on the Time website.
• Flush! The Scoop on Poop Throughout the Ages by Cherise Mericle Harper in the children's collection.

9 January 1903: Nine-Month School Year and Night Schools Are Established in Clarke County

On this day in 1903, the Weekly Banner noted the changes to the Clarke County school year gave it the distinction of being "the only county in the state of Georgia...that can boast of a system of rural schools of nine months term each year."

 

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Though the article comes across as more town bragging by the editors of the Banner, they were right that the nine-month school year was an outlier in American public education at the time. 

In the early 1900s, children in the United States encountered school years that were typically 4-5 months long (officially 147.2 days as an average), and attendance was closer to 3-4 months (101.7 days were average) every year. The low attendance is likely a side effect of the expectation that children had to help support their family, either with planting, harvesting, or other areas of the family business.

Also announced in this article were the night schools established at two of the primary factories in town. These schools were aimed at children who worked at the factories (and often lived close by) to make it possible for them to gain a basic education despite the economic demands placed on them. Children who worked elsewhere, such as making harnesses or buggies or being apprenticed to a blacksmith or another trade, were also welcome at these evening classes.

The National Child Labor Committee, a group advocating for child labor restrictions, formed in 1904, but federal regulations and oversight would not be passed in the United States until 1938.

Learn More:

• Weekly Banner, Aug. 1902 - Dec. 1905 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Transition to an Industrial South by Michael Gagnon in the Heritage and general collections. 
• History of the Princeton Factory and the Princeton Methodist Church by Horace G. Crouch in the Heritage collection.
• The New South: A Chronicle of Social and Industrial Evolution by Holland Thompson in the  Heritage collection.
• The American Dream and the Public Schools by Jennifer Hochschild and Nathan Scovronick in the general collection. 
• Possible Lives: The Promise of Public Education in America by Mike Rose in the general collection. 
• The American Spirit in Education: A Chronicle of Great Teachers by Edwin E. Slosson in the general collection.
• Among Schoolchildren by Tracy Kidder in the general collection.
• Mother Jones and the March of the Mill Children by Penny Colman in the children's collection.
• Kids At Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor by Russell Friedman in the children's collection.
• Child Labor: An American History by Hugh D. Hindman via PINES.
• 120 Years of American Education: A Statistical Portrait (.pdf) by Thomas D. Snyder on the National Center for Education Statistics website.
• Child Labor Public Education Project website, part of the University of Iowa Labor Center.
• Georgia Child Labor Work Hour Restrictions website.

31 October 1844: A Youth Library Offered "at the New York Price"

On this day, Albon Chase began advertising a new set of books, available together or individually at his "Book-Store," for the impressionable young men and women of Athens. 

 

Primary education in 1844 was reserved for those who could afford both to pay to have their children educated and did not require their labor at home. Athens had a highly literate population, but there were no free schools. The cheapest schools in the 1840s charged $3.00 per quarter for basic primary education, akin to $93.10 in today's dollars. 

Those with more money could hire private tutors for their children, or send them to one of the local academies that taught basic English, grammar, writing, rhetoric, arithmetic, geography, history, chemistry, astronomy, Latin Greek, natural philosophy, music, drawing, painting, and French. Schools such as The Female Academy (which offered co-ed education), offered subjects on a sliding scale ranging from $4.00 per quarter for the most basic instruction to $8.00 per quarter for everything except more artistic pursuits, which could be purchased as separate lessons. 

Most education for girls focused on softer learning, such as arts, recitation, and French, rather than the speeches of Cicero or higher mathematics. It was this lack of rigorous higher education for women that caused the Lucy Cobb Institute to be founded in 1858, for Athenians believed their daughters should be as well educated as their sons, and did not want to send them away to school for the necessity. 

Albon Chase was a member of the class who could afford education for his children. He was born in New Hampshire in 1808. became the publisher of the Southern Banner 1832. He established with John Linton the Pioneer Paper Manufacturing Company located on Barber Creek, just southeast of Athens, a venture that cleared 60% profit in its first year.

In 1845, he moved the newspaper offices to a three-story wooden building at the corner of College Avenue and Front Street (now Broad), with his newspaper offices above the bookstore. Many newspaper publishers also printed books, ledgers, and other sorts of paper materials for sale other than news; Chase also offered colored wrapping paper for gifts.

He retired from the Banner in 1846 after 14 years of work, but his son, William, purchased part of it in 1858 and acted as co-editor. According to the book Antebellum Athens, "political opposition charged that regardless who was the editor, the Banner was controlled by Howell Cobb."

Chase was a founding and guiding member of other local business ventures, such as the National Bank of Athens, the Athens Building & Loan Association, the Georgia Equitable Insurance Company, and the Southern Mutual Insurance Company, where he served as Secretary until his death in 1867.

He was also active in the practical running of Athens, serving as one of the city's first commissioners, starting in 1839, and representing Ward 2 off and on until 1859. In 1852, Albon Chase served as Intendent of the city, akin to being Mayor today; Chase Street is named for him.  Two of his homes are still standing in Athens, at the corner of Hull and Clayton Streets downtown (now apartments), and at 243 Dearing Street. He is buried at Oconee Hill Cemetery.


Learn More:

• Southern Banner, Mar. 18, 1842 - Mar. 6, 1845 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Antebellum Athens and Clarke County Georgia by Ernest C. Hynds in the Heritage and general collections.
• Annals of Athens: 1801-1901 by Augustus Longstreet Hull in the Heritage collection.
• History of Athens and Clarke County by H. J. Rowe in the Heritage and general collections.
• Historic Dearing Street by Frances Taliaferro Thomas in the Heritage collection.
• Oconee Hill Cemetery, Athens, Georgia, Volume I, by Charlotte Thomas Marshall in the Heritage and general collections. 
• Measuring Worth website.
• Digitized copy of Anecdotes of the Revolution.
• Digitized copy of Fables from Northcote and Others.
• Digitized copy of Hutton's Book of Nature.
• Digital copies of Beauties of American History.
• Digital copies of Lives of the Most Eminent Sovereigns of Modern Europe.
• Digitized copy of Juvenile Companion and Fireside Reader.

31 May 1912: "Play is a serious matter to the child."

On this day in 1912, the Weekly Banner offered the following editorial about the need for Athens to have more playgrounds:

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Improved school playgrounds and the establishment of a city park were part of Mayor H. J. Rowe's play as he came into his second term in January, 1912. Stories that year from around the nation noted cities putting an emphasis on parks and play space for their children, including a "Recreation Congress" in Chicago that was called for by the Playground and Recreation Association of America, a group that included social worker Jane Addams and progressive muckraking journalist Jacob Riis at the helm.

In June, the Civic League, an organization of prominent Athens women,  sent a letter to the Chamber of Commerce about the need to create more playgrounds and parks in town before the property became too valuable. In July, reports that the Civic League were working to have school playgrounds remain open during the summer, so children would have somewhere to play that was near their homes, were also published and supported by the newspaper. These attempts were, however, unsuccessful.

Learn More:

• Weekly Banner, Jan. 1912 - Dec. 1914 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Politics and Parks: Chicago Businessmen and the Recreation Movement by Michael P. McCarthy in the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society via JSTOR.
• How to Design and Build Children's Play Equipment by Jay Beckwith, et al, in the general collection.
• Child: How Children Think, Learn, and Grow in the Early Years by Desmond Morris in the New Books collection.
• Playground Politics: Understanding the Emotional Life of Your School-Aged Child by Stanley Greenspan in the general collection.
• Children, Play, and Development by Fergus P. Hughes in the children's Parenting collection.
• "The playground of today is the republic of tomorrow": Social Reform and Organized Recreation in the  USA, 1890-1930 by Linnea M. Anderson on infed.org.
• The Backyard Playground: Recreational Landscapes and Play Structures by Creative Publishing International in the general collection.
• Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn, and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta M. Golinkoff in the general collection.
• Children's Traditional Games: Games from 137 Countries and Cultures by Judy Sierra and Robert Kaminsky in the children's Reference collection.

This Day Flashback: What's New is Old

This summer, due to construction, the Athens-Clarke County Library's Summer Reading Performance Series will be having their programs at the Clarke Central High School auditorium.  

The weekly performances at Clarke Central reminded us of a story This Day in Athens featured in 2010 about a similar concert program for children hosted by the volunteer members of the Athens Library Association in February, 1915. At the time, Athens Library Association was a group of volunteers with donated books in a donated room in the Southern Mutual Building downtown. 

While they had Saturday morning storytimes for children in the corner of their library room, to host a larger, fuller concert program, the library volunteers used the auditorium at Athens High School on Wednesday afternoons. (Summer programs would be held outdoors, as the auditorium would be too warm.) The most popular books in the children's collection at the time were Beatrix Potter's tales, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Just So Stories, and The Little Princess.

The 2012 Athens-Clarke County Library programs programs will be held in the Clarke Central auditorium on Thursday mornings at 10:30am.  They will feature local storytellers, ventriloquists, puppeteers, music, stories, sing-alongs, poetry, and dancing.  The first program is this Wednesday, May 24th, hosted by the Children's Area staff.

To learn about each week's show, as well as other Summer Reading programs offered by the Athens-Clarke County Library Children's Area, go to the Dream Big--READ! 2012 Summer Reading Program website or pick up a purple flyer at the library.

Learn More:

• This Day in Athens, 27 February 1915: "The Pleasure and Privilege of a Story Hour."
• Dream Big--READ! 2012 Summer Reading Program at the Athens-Clarke County Library web page.
• Dream Big--READ! 2012 Summer Reading Program at the Athens-Clarke County Library brochure. (pdf)
• Athens-Clarke County Library Children's Area web page.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• The Story of the Athens Public Library by Susan Frances Barrow Tate in the Heritage collection.
• Books by Beatrix Potter in the children's fiction collection.
• The Little Princess by Frances Hodges Burnett in the children's fiction collection.
• Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling in the children's fiction and young adult collections.
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll in the children's fiction collection.

7 April 1900: Mad Dog on Lumpkin Street

On this day in 1900, news of a mad dog attack was published on the front page of the Athens Banner:

The earliest descriptions of rabies come from the 23rd century B.C.E., and the word itself comes from the Sanskrit word "rabhas," which means "to do violence." Though Louis Pasteur and Emile Roux developed the first human vaccine for rabies exposure in France in 1885, at the turn of the century in the United States, more than 100 people died annually after being exposed to the disease. 


In 1900, domestic animals did not receive much in the way of veterinary care, and even humans did not receive many vaccinations. Before 1960, 90% of rabies cases came from exposure from domestic animals, such as dogs; by 2010, only 8% of cases could be traced to domestic animals, while the other 92% were found in raccoons, coyotes, bats, skunks, and foxes. Where you live determines which animal is most likely to carry the disease in your environment: along the eastern seaboard, raccoons are the primary carriers, while in the midwest, the primary carriers are skunks.


In the incident described above, the child, William Whitehead, was likely rescued by Mary Jones, the 25-year-old laundress who lived at 740 Field Street, near the Earl Whitehead household at 720 Field Street. The "hand" who chased down and killed the rabid dog was likely Mary's husband, 30-year-old Sam Jones, who is listed on the 1900 U.S. Census as a day laborer. The two had been married for five years at the time, though do not seem to have wed in Clarke County.




Learn More:

• Athens Daily Banner, Feb. 1900 - Dec. 1908 Supplement on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• 1900 U.S. Census in Ancestry Library Edition via GALILEO.
• Rabies page on the Center for Disease Control website.
• The Ascension of Wildlife Rabies article on the Federation of American Scientists website.
• Rabies, Lyme Disease, Hanta Virus, and Other Animal-Borne Human Diseases in the United States and Canada by E. Lendell Cockrum in the general collection.
• The Private Science of Louis Pasteur by Gerald L. Geison in the biography collection.
• The Merck Manual for Pet Health by Cynthia M. Kahn in the general collection.
• Old Yeller by Fred Gipson in the YA, children's fiction, large print, and audiobook collections.

18 February 1890: Not Every "Romantic Marriage" Has a Storybook Ending

On this day in 1890, the Weekly Banner told this story of a local wedding ceremony held in town the previous week:

A ROMANTIC MARRIAGE.

Mr. Albert Henley Weds Miss Lula Crawford.

       Wednesday witnessed one of the happiest, as well as one of the most romantic weddings that Athens has seen for some time.

       Sudden in its ceremony and romantic in its nature, it caused no little interest to be aroused all over the city.
       Mr. Albert P. Henley, a prominent attorney of this city wedded Miss Lula Crawford, one of the pretiest [sic] and most estimable young ladies in Classic Athens.
       The wedding took place at 12 o'clock at the house of Mr. C. D. McKie, on Hancock avenue, Rev. W. D. Anderson performing the ceremonies. It was conducted in haste, as it is said that the Wedding had not met with general favor from relatives of the happy couple. Immediately after the marriage the couople were driven to the C. & M. train and left on a trip to Florida and the tropic lands, by orange trees shaded.
       Both parties are too well known to enter into narrations of their lives. They were popular and much beloved by those who knew them intimately. The congratulations and good wishes of hosts of friends attend through life.   

--Weekly Banner, 18 February 1890, p. 7, col. 3.

The day the announcement appeared in the newspaper, the couple's marriage license was recorded in the Clarke County Ordinary Court:

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Sadly, when looking in the 1900 U.S. Census to see how the couple was faring a decade after they wed, Mrs. Henley was listed as a widow, living with her two daughters, 9-year-old Frances and 4-year-old Hiram (who was named for her uncle).  


By checking the Heritage Room's Guide to Microfilmed Records and the Digital Library of Georgia's Athens Historic Newspaper Archive, the fate of Albert Henley was revealed to be suicide by pistol on or about 3 February 1896. The account in the Weekly Banner paints a sad story of a promising life cut short:

       Then came the tempter to the young man in the shape of the wine cup and he yielded to its blandishments. The thirst for strong drink got the advantage of him and he went from bad to worse, despite his own efforts and those of friends to save him. His wife and two little girls were compelled to separate from him on account of his habits.

--Weekly Banner, 7 February 1896, p. 1, col. 7.

In a note he left for his law partner, former Athens Mayor and Clarke County Representative Henry C. Tuck, Albert Henley asked that his clothes be given to his servant, his pocket watch to his brother in Greene County, and that he be buried in Oconee Hill Cemetery. He also "wrote in the tenderest manner of his wife, and ended up by writing, 'God bless my children.'"


Mary Lou, or "Lula" Henley took over her brother's part in the wholesale grocery business Webb & Crawford after his death, and lived on Cobb Street until a fire destroyed her home there in August, 1902. She remarried in December, 1902, to William D. Beecham, and in 1903, after selling her part in the grocery business, joined the Athens Women's Club. 


With her new husband, Mary Lou had two sons, William D. Beecham, Jr. in 1904 and Jack G. Beecham in 1906. Her daughter Frances had a lively time as a student at Lucy Cobb Institute, often appearing on the Athens newspapers' society pages until her marriage to Harry Woodruff of Columbus, Georgia, in 1913. 


To trace the family over time, it was important to look for Mary Lou in the 1900 Census when Albert could not be found. In later years, tracing with the children's names became useful, when William was listed simply as "W.D." and "Beecham" often spelled as "Beacham." 


The 1910 U.S. Census gives the Henley daughters' last name as "Beacham," even though they are listed as step-daughters to William, but a quick scan of the Athens newspapers from that time indicates this was a mistake by the census taker, not that William had adopted the girls. In 1920 and 1930 Censuses, Hiram is properly listed as "Hiram Henley," still living with her mother and step-brothers. Hiram would never marry. 




Learn More:

• Weekly Banner, Jan. 1890 - Dec. 1890 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Ordinary Court. Clarke County, Georgia. Marriage Book H, 1881 - 1890 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. Censuses in Ancestry Library Edition via GALILEO.
• Oconee Hill Cemetery, Athens, Georgia, Volume I, by Charlotte Thomas Marshall in the Heritage and general collections.
• For Our Mutual Benefit: The Athens Women's Club and Social Reform, 1899-1920 in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Clarke County, Georgia Marriage Records, 1803-1909, compiled by Faye Stone Poss and Ted O. Brooke in the Heritage and general collections.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Returns and Mixed Records, Book GG, 1881 -1956, on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Records of Clarke County, Georgia, 1801-1892 in the Georgia Department of Archives and History, compiled by Robert Scott Davis in the Heritage collection.
• Red Book: American State, County, & Town Sources by Alice Eichholz in the Heritage collection.
• Courthouse Research for Family Historians by Christine Rose in the general collection.
• Unpuzzling Your Past by Emily Anne Croom in the Heritage collection.

18 December 1896: For Children, "Dolls, Knives, Etc."

On this day in 1896, McGregor's Bookstore, which also sold athletic equipment and stationery supplies, much like college bookstores do today, ran this advertisement of their holiday offerings:

At the time, David W. McGregor's store was on the corner of Broad Street and College Avenue, across from the University, where Starbucks is located today.

Learn More:

• Weekly Banner, Aug. 1885 - Jan. 1897 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• 1897-1898 Athens City Directory on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Athens, Georgia, in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Children at Play: An American History by Howard P. Chudacoff in the general collection.
• Children of a New Century by Jane A. Schott in the children's collection.
• Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood by Steven Mintz in the general collection.
• The Collector's Guide to Switchblade Knives: An Illustrated, Historical, and Price Reference by Richard V. Langston in the general collection.
• The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden in the general collection.
• The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan in the general and children's collections.
• The Double-Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan in the general collection.

13 December 1902: Santa to Visit at the International Doll Show

On this day in 1902, Santa Claus made an appearance at the doll show benefit raising funds for Winnie Davis Hall:

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Learn More:

• Athens Daily Banner, May 1902 - Oct. 1903 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Miss Rutherford's Scrapbook by Mildred Rutherford in the Heritage collection.
• The Collector's Encyclopedia of Dolls by Dorothy S. Coleman, Elizabeth A. Coleman, and Evelyn J. Coleman in the Reference collection.
• The Dolls of Yesteryear by Eleanor St. George in the general collection.
• Cornhusk, Silk, and Wishbones: A Book of Dolls from around the World by Michelle Markel in general collection.
• The Doll Source Book by Argie Manolis in the Reference collection.
• Dolls of the Art Deco Era 1910-1940: Collect, Restore, Create, and Play by Susanna Oroyan in the general collection.
• The Fairytale Doll Book by Valerie Janitch in the general collection.
• Sewing Victorian Doll Clothes: Authentic Costumes from Museum Collections by Michelle Hamilton in the general collection.
• The Book of Doll Making by Alicia Merrett in the general collection.
• Dolls: A Complete Bibliography by Nancie Anne Lutz in the Reference collection.

22 November 1871: Let the Babies Ride!

On this day and several other days in the winter of 1871, the Hodgson Brothers carriage company ran the following ad for their baby carriages in the Southern Watchman: 

In the 1870s, baby carriages were becoming more popular items for Victorian baby care; as seen in this ad, the Hodgson brothers were not making these for their customers, but stocking standard carriages aimed at the general public. 

Baby carriages typically mimicked the shapes of adult-sized carriages, and were made of wood or wicker with cushions inside the bed. Some came with an attached cover while others installed a parasol over the cushioned bed for the child. 

Fancier models could be custom ordered. These more elaborate baby carriages were constructed as though they were miniature horse-drawn carriages, complete with glass windows, lanterns that held candles, and a suspension system intended to smooth the ride. An elaborate baby carriage was also a status symbol for the Victorian mother, a symbol that still exists today.

Learn More:

• Southern Watchman, Mar. 1871 - Dec. 1873 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• The Carriage Maker's and Painter's Guide by G. W. Clark via Archive.org.
• The Golden Age of Carriages by Anne Katherine Brown on the Victoriana magazine website.
• The Victorian Nursery Book by Antony and Peter Miall in the general collection.
• "This is How We Roll" by Faye Penn in New York magazine via GALILEO. (call 706-613-3650 for password)
• The Victorian Home in America by John Maass in the general collection.
• Wanderlust: The History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit in the general collection.
• The Encyclopedia of the Victorian World by Melina Corey in the Reference and general collections.
• "Stroller Envy Hits the Streets" by Adrianne Pasquarelli in Crain's New York Business via GALILEO. (call 706-613-3650 for password)
• The Victorian Home: The Grandeur and Comfort of the Victorian Era by Ellen M. Plante in the general collection.
• Parenting, Inc. by Pamela Paul in the general collection.
• "Have Baby, Will Travel" by Kim Schworm Acosta in Fit Pregnancy magazine via GALILEO. (call 706-613-3650 for password)

1 November 1831: Quinsy Strikes the Carr Home

On this day in 1831, the Athenian newspaper announced the sad death of Charles Nelson Carr, age 5:

Quinsy, now known as a peritonsillar abscess, is a disease not often seen in our modern world of antibiotics. It is a complication of a throat infection, usually caused by the bacteria group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus. According to Webster's New World Medical Dictionary, "If left untreated, the infection can spread deep in the neck, causing airway obstruction and life-threatening complications."


Medical practices of the 1830s were likely one aspect of the complications for anyone diagnosed with quinsy. Few formal training schools for doctors existed; the Medical College of Georgia had been chartered in Augusta three years earlier. In 1831, doctors would have used emetics and purgatives to rid the body of any ill humors, applied blister plasters to the outside of the child's throat, and used "leeches to draw out the congested blood causing inflammation" to treat quinsy. For a patient who also had a high fever, it was generally assumed he or she would survive for only three to seven days after diagnosis. 


Such treatment likely hastened the death of the patient, but germ theory, the idea "that many diseases are caused by the presence of micro-organisms within the body" would not be developed until the 1860s with the experiments and discoveries of Louis Pasteur and later, Joseph Lister and Robert Koch. Antibiotic treatment that would have cured the throat infection would not be discovered for another 100 years by Alexander Fleming.


Sadly, the Athenian reported in their next issue one week later that Charles' older sister, Mary Eliza Carr, age 11, had also succumbed to the same diseases that killed her brother:

Both children's graves were eventually moved with the rest of their departed family members to Oconee Hill Cemetery after it opened in 1856.


Learn More:

• Athenian, January 26, 1827 - March 13, 1832 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens, Georgia Newspaper Clippings, Volume II, 1831-1834 by Elizabeth Evans Kilbourne in the Heritage collection.
• Oconee Hill Cemetery, Athens, Georgia, Volume I by Charlotte Thomas Marshall in the Heritage and general collection.
• History of Athens and Clarke County, Second Edition, Georgia by Frances Taliaferro Thomas in the Heritage and general collections.
• The History of the Medical College of Georgia by Phinizy Spalding in the Heritage collection.
• Webster's New World Medical Dictionary, Second Edition in the general collection.
• Medicine in Jacksonian America web page on the Conner Prairie Interactive History Park website.
• Medicine and Biology web page on the Science Museum (UK) website.
• Timetables of Medicine, edited by Gill Davies in the general collection.
• Western Medicine: An Illustrated History by Irvine Loudon in the general collection.
• Five Quarts: A Personal and Natural History of Blood by Bill Hayes in the general collection.
• Pasteur and Modern Science by Rene J. Dubos in the biography collection.
• The Mold in Mr. Florey's Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle by Eric Lax in the general collection.

21 July 1905: UGA Patron Saves Child from Drowning

On this day in 1905, the Weekly Banner noted that industrialist and University of Georgia benefactor George Foster Peabody had done quite a good deed during his summer vacation:

 

Recently, another person associated with the University of Georgia saved a child from drowning: former Bulldogs tight end Leonard Pope. Though usually he would have been at camp with his NFL team, the Kansas City Chiefs, the current lockout between the NFL owners and players meant that Pope was in his hometown and there to save 6-year-old Bryson Moore from drowning in an Americus swimming pool.

Learn More:

• Weekly Banner, Aug. 1902 - Dec. 1905 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• The University of Georgia under Sixteen Administrations, 1785-1955 by Robert Preston Brooks in the Heritage collection.
• History of Athens and Clarke County Georgia by H. J. Rowe in the Heritage and general collections.
• George Foster Peabody: Banker, Philanthropist, Publicist by Louise Ware at the Watkinsville Library in the biography collection or via PINES.
• Safety Smart in the Water! by Disney Educational in the children's DVD collection.
• Teaching Infant and Preschool Aquatics by Judi Cesari via PINES.
• The Fit Swimmer: 120 Workouts and Training Tips by Marianne Brems in the general collection.
• Water Safety by Dana Meachen Rau in the children's collection.
• Swimming for Fun by Andrew Willett in the children's collection.
• Waterproof Kids by Gaylene Anderson in the children's DVD collection.
• Swimming Past Fifty by Mel Goldstein and David Tanner in the general collection.
• Two Dogs Swimming by Lynn Reiser in children's fiction.