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Subject: [NYC] Re: T.B. Hospitals/Institutions
Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 12:11:14 EST
Mary,
Even though T.B. was widespread in the mid 1800's, I do believe that alot of
people kept it a secret that someone in their family had T.B.. My
grandfather, and my uncle both had T.B., and the family never spoke of it.
My mother never mentioned what her father had died from, (if she ever really
knew herself) and as far as her brother went, my grandmother had just said
that my mother's brother had always been sick from childhood with lung
problems. The words Tuberculosis/T.B. were never mentioned. Maybe it was
felt that if they admitted that someone in their family had T.B., that they
would be accused of being the one who had brought the disease from Homeland,
where they originated from. I don't know, but I do know that there was no
talk about it at all. Until I found the death records of my uncle and
grandfather, no one in the family knew that they had/ or had died from T.B..
Helen
In a message dated 1/6/01 7:49:08 AM Eastern Standard Time,
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Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 13:36:17 +0200
From: Mary Stewart Kyritsis <>
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Subject: [NYC] Re: T.B. Hospitals/Institutions
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Hi Elizabeth,
I don't think TB was something you hid in those days: so many people had
it in NYC because of the unhealthy conditions (I'm talking the
mid-1800s). In the family I'm reseaching nearly all of them died of it;
presumably they caught it from each other, not knowing how it was
transmitted. This is a family of 9 children, eight of whom grew up to
marry, and consumption cut a swathe through all of them including their
spouses. Plus the father, I found out recently. No one seemed to hide
it. However I did find it out through death certificates, nothing more
personal.
Sanitariums now, that's an interesting thought. I have a few people who
died in odd places: a hotel on Long Island, a little town in New
Jersey. This is good food for thought.
Best wishes,
Mary
Kifissia, Greece
> TB was something you hid in those days...in fact it was well kept secrets
> until fairly recently. So were the DT's. If you wanted to hide or recover
> what better place than the mountains.....but...which mountains?
>>
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