CHOLERA EPIDEMIC in OHIO

                                           HOCKING COUNTY, OHIO IN THE FALL

In 1839-1840 a cholera epidemic spread over parts of Ohio. Hocking County was in this area. Many of our George Bright family died. In the Bright Cemetery in Hocking County are Jeremiah N. Bright d. December 23, 1839, age 33. Joshua Bright d. Jan. 6, 1840, age 32. Benjamin Bowman Bright d. December 30, 1839, age 29 and Francis Bright d.December 7, 1839, age 12. Besides these siblings there are two babies Daniel and Elizabeth who died in the 1838-1840 period as well as several spouses and inlaws.

Cholera first appeared in the United States in 1832. European immigrants apparently brought the disease with them to America. Cleveland residents were the first people in Ohio to contract the illness. Migrants or businessmen who traveled across Lake Erie probably brought the disease. Cholera also reached Ohio's interior. Canals provided a relatively stagnant source of water that allowed cholera to fester. While canals, railroads, and steamboats benefited Ohioans economically, these modes of transportation also brought disease.