If your ancestors lived in Montreal in 1885, as mine did, chances are they were very much aware and perhaps terrified of the smallpox epidemic. The epic outbreak arrived on a train from Chicago, which brought in a carrier that killed thousands in Montreal.
Tomorrow, on Wednesday, November 26, the Société de généalogie Vaudreuil-Cavagnal’s monthly lecture will be presented by Jean-Philippe Warren and is entitled Montréal en deuil : La grande épidémie de variole en 1885 〈Montreal in mourning: The great smallpox epidemic of 1885.〉
“Canada–The Recent Smallpox Epidemic in Montreal–Vaccinating American-Bound Passengers on a Train of the Grand Trunk Railway,” Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper 61: 1579 (December 26, 1885), 316, half-page wood engraving from sketch by James Marvin. Both in Bert Hansen Collection, New York City.
Many French Canadians in Montreal opposed the smallpox vaccination, pitting them against the English-speaking community. Attempts to enforce control measures, plus the announcement in September 1885 that Louis Riel had been sentenced to death, resulted in street rioting that could only be suppressed by calling in the militia. The most ardent Catholics blamed smallpox on the immorality of the citizens. Liberals pointed the finger at the Catholic Church. Nationalists blamed the English. The English blamed the French.
The city faced one of the worst crisis in its history.
Mr. Warren is an sociologist and the holder of a Research Chair in Quebec studies at Concordia University.
The lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Salle Félix-Leclerc in the Vaudreuil-Dorion Library, 51 rue Jeannotte.
For more information, visit the society’s website.
