Historical cause of death 1700s-1900s
What did scarlatina mean on a death certificate?
On a death record, scarlatina meant scarlet fever, the streptococcal rash disease that was among the deadliest childhood infections of the nineteenth century. In modern terms it usually pointed to scarlet fever. Canker rash is the New England name. Epidemic years take several children from one household within a month; the registers show it plainly. Expect it on records mostly 1700s-1900s.
Also written on records as: scarlet fever, scarlet rash, canker rash.
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Related terms
Browse the full genealogy records glossary for more occupations, causes of death, and legal terms.
FAQs
What is scarlatina called today?+
Scarlet fever, 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 scarlatina written on death records?+
Clerks and doctors also wrote scarlet fever, scarlet rash, and canker rash. 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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