I've been working on a family history and just realized that a fair number of distant cousins and their associates in Virginia all died in 1719.  For example, Matthew Ballard of York county wrote a will 10 May 1719, recorded 17 May 1719; his brother William Ballard died intestate, the administration of his estate recorded 21 September 1719; Francis Ballard of Elizabeth City county (their uncle) wrote a will 10 March 1719, recorded 16 March 1719; Francis' wife Mary Servant died 10 March 1719.  A close associate, James Hubard, left a will dated 12 January 1719, recorded 15 February 1719.

I suspect there some sort of epidemic making the rounds -- influenza, yellow fever, typhus, etc.  I've been poking around the web and learned that there was a terrible plague in Marseille in 1720, and I understand illnesses arising in London would turn up later in port cities like Charleston, Boston, etc. (and vice versa).   I've never read anything about such a thing happening in Virginia.  Can anyone shed light on this, or recommend a good reference book on the subject?

Stephen M. Ballard
Saxe, Virginia


      

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