Another Lockjaw Victim

Deaths from Lockjaw More Frequent than in Many Years

Deaths from lockjaw are more numerous in Monmouth county this summer than ever before. Several deaths from this disease have occurred during the past month or six weeks, two of the deaths being those of Red Bank boys.

On Tuesday of last week another death was added to the list. The victim in this case was Elias Watts, aged eleven years, son of William H. Watts of Keyport. On the Tuesday previous he stepped on a nail while playing in the dooryard and the nail entered his foot. The nail was not rusty and not much attention was paid to the wound. A day or two later the foot began to swell and poultices were applied. On Sunday he was attacked with lockjaw and he grew steadily worse until his death. The boy feared lockjaw as soon as his foot began to swell and as he grew worse he put a cork between his teeth in the hope that it would prevent his jaws from locking as he had heard it would.

Source: Red Bank Register, Wednesday, June 26, 1901

Some additional excellent resources for your research are:

• New Jersey Census, 1772-1890 - Ancestry.com

• Calendar of New Jersey Wills, 1670-1760 - Ancestry.com

• Interment.net - NJ ~ New Jersey Cemetery Transcriptions on the net.

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