Children in the nineteenth century faced tremendous physical hazards that are almost unimaginable in today's world. Long before they would ever reach the age where they could enter the workforce they had to survive the variety of epidemic diseases that ravaged America throughout the Victorian era. Our ancestors' children became so accustomed to seeing horse-drawn hearses on a regular basis that they developed a game called Funerals, just as children today play Doctor or House.

From the great epidemic diseases to more common illnesses that still afflicted children well into the twentieth century, sickness put young children and their families at great risk for much of the nineteenth century. Since poorly-trained physicians had no knowledge of vitamins, nor did they understand the benefits of bathing, general health remained questionable throughout the century.

Among illegitimate children in cities the death rate was even higher. One of the greatest killers of very young children was diarrhea, which could kill an infant within 48 hours. Outbreaks of diarrhea resulted from a combination of poor sanitation, lack of hygiene, and unusually steamy summers. Children who did not die were often left in such a weakened condition that they later fell victim to other diseases such as measles, pneumonia, or bronchitis.

Among the deadly hazards older children faced were scarlet fever, measles, diphtheria, and smallpox. Leaving many victims who survived blind or deaf, scarlet fever was prevalent in America for much of the century, affecting children from age two to ten. In England, it raged from the 1840s through the 1870s among children aged four to eight. Measles outbreaks in England in 1863 and 1874 proved even more deadly. Consumption claimed the majority of victims throughout the century, with whooping cough another significant killer.

Children who did not die of disease but managed to survive were often left severely crippled and at the mercy of public opinion. Nineteenth century belief held that families who were forced to endure such hardships were suffering a punishment from God, and many people often remained prejudiced against the afflicted families. Such diseases took an emotional toll on the parents as well as physical.

Deaths of children from epidemic disease were so common that parents often assumed an attitude of resignation and did not seek medical attention, believing it was a foregone conclusion that if a child fell sick death was surely imminent.

The losses were perhaps hardest on the family's remaining children whose lives were changed forever. Well-bred children were expected to grieve for six months for their young sister or brother, unable to escape the grim image of the body laid out in the home, the curtains kept drawn until after the funeral.

Paying for funerals became so burdensome that many families in England entered their children into burial clubs shortly after birth in order to avoid financial ruin. Parents set money aside regularly so they would be able to afford funeral costs should another child succumb in the next epidemic. The poor sometimes arranged with undertakers to bury a deceased child in a stranger's grave.

Many were lucky and survived the epidemics during their childhood. But those who did lived with the memory of loved ones whose deaths from disease were either too sudden or too slow.

Born and raised in Rhode Island, Karen Frisch has been an avid reader since childhood when she also developed an interest in writing and drawing. She has traced her lineage back thirty generations to the year 1100 through England, Scotland, Germany, and Wales. A former teacher, she received a Master of Arts in Victorian literature from the University of Rhode Island, with courses at the University of London, and holds undergraduate degrees in English and art from Rhode Island College. She is the host and writer of Pet Talk, an award- winning cable television show on pets, and she is active with Volunteer Services for Animals, working to aid homeless animals. She lives in Rhode Island with her husband, a daughter adopted from China, and two dogs.

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