October 25, 1868

Until the development of an effective vaccine in the early 1900s, the threat of typhoid fever was a constant matter of public concern. Ellen Swallow ’1870, wrote home on October 25:

“The papers are getting up terrible stories about us…. There are three or four cases of typhoid fever in the College, some cases of chills and some bad colds. All sorts of exaggerated reports are afloat. …Common report says that half of us are sick. It is not so. …The have excellent accommodations here for the sick, and people are foolish to get so nervous.”

Georgia Kendrick, “The Early Days of Vassar, Series I,” The Vassar Miscellany, January 1, 1899