Transy Library: Lexington History: Cholera Epidemic 1833

Primary Sources

Holley, Mary Austin. Letters of an Early American Traveler, Mary Austin Holley: Her Life and Her Works, 1784-1846. Edited by Mattie Austin Hatcher, Southwest Press, 1933.
General Collection: F389 .H76
Includes reprints of letters written by M. A. Holley, including a few on Cholera and Yellow Fever.

Medical theses on cholera written by medical students at Transylvania between the 1820s and 1850s.
A medical theses was sometimes written at the culmination of a medical degree at Transylvanian in the first half of the 18th century. Learn more about the Medical Theses collection and the Transylvania Medical School

Transylvania Journal of Medicine 1828-1837, vol. 1, vols. 3-8, vols. 10-11.

19th century books in the TU collection

To see these materials make an appointment with Special Collections at TU or seek a copy at your local library or through ILL. Some may also be available in HathiTrust.

Ayre, Joseph. A report on the method and results. . .malignant cholera. . .calomel, 1833.
Med Coll 24
Bell, John. All the material facts in the history of epidemic cholera, 1832.
Med Coll 170
Hamett, John. The substance of the official medical reports, upon the epidemic, called cholera, 1832.
Med Coll 678
Kennedy, James. The history of the contagious cholera, 1832.
Med Coll 776
Roupell, George Leith. The croonian lectures, delivered at the Royal college of physicians in 1833, on cholera. 1833.
Med Coll 1051
Twining, William. A practical account of the epidemic cholera, and of the treatment requisite in the various modifications of that disease, 1833.
Med Coll 1201
Bell, John, et al. All the Material Facts in the History of Epidemic Cholera : Being a Report of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, to the Board of Health : And a Full Account of the Causes, Post Mortem Appearances, and Treatment of the Disease. Published by Thomas Desilver, Jun., 1832.
Drake, Daniel. A Practical Treatise on the History, Prevention, and Treatment of Epidemic Cholera: Designed Both for the Profession and the People. Corey and Fairbank, 1832.
Drake taught at Transy.

Cholera info in the Coleman Scrapbooks

Access Coleman Scrapbooks online

Cholera Epidemic Described by Chambers, 100 years ago; Vol 5, p 55
Article on cholera, by Joe Jordan, 1932; Vol 5, p 82
Epsicopal Cemetery On East 3rd Street; cholera victims; headstones, etc; Vol 10, p 107
Blackburn, Luke, Dr. Story of; cholera, etc. (By Mrs. Darnell); Vol 29, p 15-16

Letters & Docs in TU's Collections on Cholera

To see these primary source materials please make an appointment with Special Collections. There may also be additional sources.

Subject	Dates	Collection	Location	Description
[Peter, Robert]	[1833], June 11-September 3	Robert Peter	MSC 32	Daily weather report and comparative analysis on light and dark with notations on the daily number of deaths from cholera. (unsure of location; could be a journal or notebook)
[Peter, Robert]	[c. 1833]	Robert Peter	MSC 32	A comparative urinalysis of cholera patients in eight hospitals. (unsure of location; could be a journal or notebook)
Garrard, J. H.	1849-10-18	Robert Peter	MSC 32, Box 4	Letter, J. H. Garrard (Frankfort) to Robert Peter. Salt water; John Dudley; Bitter water; cholera; visit to the works
Bryant, Lewis A.	1852-07-23	Robert Peter	MSC 32, Box 4	Letter, Lewis Bryant (Crab Orchard, KY) to Robert Peter . Asking Peter to test Bryant's spring's water. Mentions Cholera disappearing from town.
Schue, A. (Alexander)	1854-07-20	Robert Peter	MSC 32, Box 4	Letter, A. Schue (Shelbyville) to Robert Peter. Mentions Cholera. Reports his wife is still ill with cholera. Reports his son has contracted cholera too.
	1833-06-18	Henry Clay	MSC 09, Box 4 oversized	Letter, Henry Clay to James Brown. Written from Lexington. Reports on the Cholera outbreak. Thought to be 300 victims. Shops closed, press stopped, city practically abandoned. Not enough coffins. "In some instance, the Black and White were interred in the same common grave" Haupt Haggin Collection. Published.
	1832-12-09	Henry Clay	MSC 09, Box 4 oversized	Letter, Henry Clay to James Brown. Written from Washington. Arrived last night with James Clay with the intention to place hime in a mercantile establishment in Boston. Cholera in New Orleans. delayed the departure of Mr. & Mrs James Erwin. Haupt Haggin Collection. Published.
Gratz, Rebecca	[1832]-07-19	Henrietta Clay Collection	MSC 10, Box 2, Folder 10	Letter, Rebecca Gratz to Maria Gratz (sister-in-law) in Lexington, Ky. Regarding how to found an Orphan Society. She sends constitution of Orphan Society of Philadelphia. Talks about how they started the Orphan Society in Philadelphia. Recommendations on how to start one in Lexington. Says that she is taking a trip to the country and they hope to avoid a cholera outbreak this season. News of family. Letter is probably 1832: on first page she mentions that the Orphan Society has "been established 18 years" and on the second page she speaks to "dear Maria," who was Benjamin Gratz's first wife.

Lexington Newspapers

News articles published at the time of an event are considered primary historical sources.

1787-1840 - Kentucky Gazette.

LexPubLib's info on the Kentucky Gazette along with link to digitized copies of Kentucky Gazette.

1808-1832 - The Reporter & The Kentucky Reporter

LexPubLib's info on The Reporter and link to digitized copies of The Reporter (1808-1817)
LPL's info on the Kentucky Reporter and link to digitized copies of The Kentucky Reporter (1817-1830)

1845-1847 - The True American - Abolitionist, Cassius Clay

LPL's info on the True American and digitized copies from 1845-1846.

1847-1848 - Daily Lexington Atlas

LPL's info on the Daily Lexington Atlas and digitized copies

1892-1912 - Lexington Standard

Only a few issues are known; these are digitized at the LOCs Chronicling America site

1895-1899 - Daily Argonaut

LPL's info on the Daily Argonaut and digitized copies

1912-unknown - Lexington Daily News

Only a few issues are known to exist which are digitized at LOC's Chronicling America

The Lexington Herald Leader was once multiple newspapers.

1870 - Lexington Daily Press started by Hart Foster and Henry T. Duncan.
1888 - Kentucky Leader started.
1895 - Lexington Daily Press combines with Lexington Transcript to form the Morning Herald.
1895 - Kentucky Leader changes name to Daily Leader
1897-1935 - Morning Herald and then the Lexington Herald edited by Desha Breckinridge
1901 - Daily Leader changes name to Lexington Leader
1905 - Morning Herald changes name to Lexington Herald
1937 - John Stoll, editor of the Lexington Leader, buys the Lexington Herald. They are published as separate papers on the same equipment. The Herald reflects the Democrat party's point of view and the Leader leans Republican.
1973 - Knight Newspapers (later to be Knight-Ridder) buys the Herald Leader Company.
1980 - Location is moved the Main St. & Midland Ave.
1983 - The Herald and the Leader merge papers to become one publication. John Carroll who had been the editor of the Herald is the editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader. Transy provides access to the Herald Leader from 1983-current.

Lexington Herald-Leader (Newspaper)
Full coverage from Lexington's daily newspaper, 1983 to the present.

Secondary Sources

Foody, Terry. The Pie Seller, the Drunk, and the Lady : Heroes of the 1833 Cholera Epidemic in Lexington, Kentucky : Lessons for Our Global Health Today. Terry Foody, 2014.
General Collection: RA644 .C3 F66 2014

Cholera in Lexington. University of Kentucky Library Associates, 1963.
General Collection: RC131.K4 C45 1963

Ambrose, Charles T. A Short Tour of Lexington : Regarding Cholera Epidemics Here, Buildings of Architectural Note, Sites of Local Historical Interest, the City's Most Celebrated Madam. 2007.
Spec Coll: F459 .L6 A540 2011

Calomel, Cholera, and Science, 1825-1865. In: Ramage, James A., and Andrea S. Watkins. Kentucky Rising : Democracy, Slavery, and Culture from the Early Republic to the Civil War, University Press of Kentucky, 2011.

Barr, Frances Keller, James D. Birchfield, and Carole Thomas Pettit. Old Episcopal Burying Ground. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 2002.
Spec Coll F459.L6 B3 2002

How to

How to Read Cursive
This is a very good introduction to reading cursive writing and the form of letters, put together by the librarians at University North Carolina Wilmington.
Citing Archives, Manuscripts, Oral Histories, City Directories, and Maps
Created by the McIntyre Library