Harlow’s Rest
Harlow’s Rest
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Was It TB That Ultimately Killed the Harlows?
by Theo Hargrave
Given how badly TB (tuberculosis) ravaged this area in the 1600s, many think it’s likely the Harlow family succumbed to this bacterial disease.
Until its cause was identified in the late nineteenth century, TB was known as “consumption,” because symptoms of the disease include weight loss, bloody or mucus-ridden coughs, night sweats, and other ailments that could look as if the body were consuming itself.
All of these indications appear in Lavinia Harlow’s journal, where she documents her family’s decline.
In particular, her journal notes that Mercy, the eldest daughter, showed signs of all of TB’s symptoms… [read more]