Getting oneself inoculated in agreeable company

If there is one thing genealogy teaches you, it is that there is nothing new under the sun.

From The Reads and their relatives: being an account of Colonel Clement and Madam Read of Bushy Forest, Lunenburg County, Virginia, their eight children, their descendants, and allied families by Alice Read, published in 1930.

This is one of those sprawling family memoirs, popular at a time. The Reads were a family prominent in the area around Prince Edward County in southern Virginia at the time of the American Revolution. A time when my lines of Holcombe, Bibb, Venable, Wyatt, Worthal, etc. were also in the area. I had thought to see if this biographical memoir from a similar family might have some mentions of my family members.

Sure enough.

And, oh is it topical.

It is 1800 and a group of young gentlemen friends go to the hospital for their smallpox inoculation. They made a party of it. Apparently the procedure was to be inoculated and reside at the hospital while the reaction occurred. The group of friends hung out together through the observation period before returning home having safely recovered from the inoculation and confident in their immunity from future infection.

The Thomas Holcombe mentioned is likely, based on presumed age, either my fifth-great uncle or, perhaps more likely, my first cousin five times removed. Among the large families of that era it is not uncommon in a three generation spread for there to be 3-8 individuals with the same name, variously cousins, uncles, and sons.

We are currently, in urban legend, alleged to have Covid-19 parties today. But we are late to the game. Way back in 1800 they were having Smallpox parties. Who knew?

From Ms. Read'

s account:

There are several amusing letters from college friends, which show that the orthography of the college students of a hundred and twenty-five years ago was no better than that of those of today. One is especially interesting as indicating an unusual form of social divertissement which was apparently the mode: that of getting oneself inoculated in agreeable company:

From Thomas S. Moore: "Dublin, June 1, 1800.

Dear Sir,

I last Tuesday returned safe from the hospital and had the smallpox pretty favourably. I had about four hundred pocks and about sixty on my face. Edward Booker and Brother John, and Thomas Holcombe returned also safe and had it but slightly. We left Archibald Taylor, Sam Taylor, and Woodson Miller in the hospital. Samuel Taylor had it pretty bad but is in no danger. The rest had it also favourably. Charles Mills and Edward Mosely both had it pretty bad but are almost well. I think that the smallpox is but trifling compared to the risk of catching it — and I was very sorry to find that you could not make it convenient to come to be inoculated as we had good company and a plenty of fun and I am afraid that you will not get another chance that will be so agreeable to you. I am now at Mr. Booker's and there are a fine parcel of Girls around me. . . ."