Historical cause of death 1600s-1800s
What did lues venerea mean on a death certificate?
On a death record, lues venerea meant syphilis, wrapped in Latin as record-keepers preferred for causes that shamed the family. In modern terms it usually pointed to syphilis. The French pox and simply pox mean the same in older records; smallpox is the separate disease the shorter word later captured. Expect it on records mostly 1600s-1800s.
Also written on records as: lues, the pox, bad blood.
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Related terms
Browse the full genealogy records glossary for more occupations, causes of death, and legal terms.
FAQs
What is lues venerea called today?+
Syphilis, broadly speaking. Doctors of the period diagnosed without laboratory tests, so one label often covered several conditions we would now separate. This page explains historical record language and is not medical advice.
How was lues venerea written on death records?+
Clerks and doctors also wrote lues, the pox, and bad blood. Spelling wandered from register to register, so check every variant before you decide a record is missing or wrong.
Where do these definitions come from?+
They are drawn from period dictionaries, government archive glossaries, and standard genealogy references, cross-checked against each other; provenance is documented with the dataset. Inside AncestorIQ, Deep Research reads the record itself and explains terms like this in context, against your ancestor's own document.
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