Colonial Medicine: How Early Americans Battled Illness and Injury
In the colonies, sickness was a constant companion. Doctors were few, sanitation was poor, and medical science was still rooted in old European theories. Yet families and communities found ways to heal—combining home remedies, herbal wisdom, and trial-and-error care to survive in a harsh and unpredictable world.
10/1/20253 min read
The State of Medicine in the 1600s and 1700s
Most colonial “physicians” were self-taught or apprenticed, not university-trained. Only a handful studied abroad in Britain or Europe. Without germ theory or anesthesia, even simple injuries could turn fatal.
Colonial medicine followed the humoral theory, which held that health depended on balancing four bodily fluids: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. If one was “out of balance,” the doctor’s job was to restore harmony—often through drastic means.
Common treatments included:
Bloodletting to reduce “excess heat” or fever.
Purgatives and emetics to clear the body.
Blistering agents to “draw out illness.”
Herbal teas and tonics for comfort or cleansing.
These methods seem brutal now, but they reflected the best knowledge available at the time.
Healers and Folk Medicine
Formal doctors were rare outside major cities, so most care came from family members, midwives, and herbalists. Women kept handwritten “receipt books” filled with recipes for treating fever, wounds, or childbirth pains.
Many remedies used familiar plants:
Willow bark for pain (contains salicylic acid, similar to aspirin).
Yarrow and comfrey for healing wounds.
Peppermint and fennel for digestion.
Chamomile and valerian for calming and sleep.
Settlers also learned from Indigenous healers, who shared knowledge of native herbs like sassafras, goldenseal, and ginseng. This blending of European and Native traditions became the foundation of American herbal medicine.
Disease in the Colonies
The colonial world was a breeding ground for epidemics. Smallpox, dysentery, malaria, yellow fever, and typhoid fever struck regularly.
Smallpox was especially devastating. The 1721 Boston epidemic infected nearly half the city. In response, some doctors promoted inoculation—the deliberate introduction of mild infection to build immunity. Though controversial, it saved lives and laid groundwork for modern vaccination.
Poor sanitation made urban areas dangerous. Contaminated wells and open waste spread cholera and dysentery. Rural isolation reduced exposure but limited access to skilled help.
Understanding these conditions helps genealogists interpret early deaths and population shifts in family trees.
Surgery and the Limits of Care
Surgery in the colonies was crude and perilous. Without anesthesia or antiseptics, every procedure risked agony and infection. Amputations were common for injuries or gangrene, performed with speed and brute strength.
Barbers and blacksmiths often doubled as surgeons, using their tools for both trades. Despite the risks, some surgeons achieved remarkable skill through experience and courage.
Records of these “operators,” along with burial registers, often reveal which families endured severe injuries or wartime wounds.
Childbirth and Women’s Health
Childbirth was the most dangerous event in a woman’s life. Midwives, not doctors, managed most deliveries using herbal pain relief and traditional methods. Complications—hemorrhage, infection, or prolonged labor—were frequent and often fatal.
Infant mortality was high; losing several children in one family was common. Still, strong community support surrounded mothers, and women often served as nurses for neighbors.
For genealogical research, midwife logs, baptism records, and family Bibles provide vital evidence of maternal health and survival rates.
The Role of Faith and Superstition
Religion and superstition heavily influenced colonial medicine. Many saw disease as punishment or divine trial. Ministers visited the sick alongside healers, offering both prayer and comfort.
Amulets, charms, and scripture verses were sometimes carried as protection. Even well-educated doctors used astrology to guide diagnosis.
Such practices may seem unscientific, but they reveal how colonial families found meaning in illness when knowledge was limited and mortality was ever-present.
Public Health and Community Response
Colonial governments occasionally intervened in epidemics—ordering quarantines, cleaning wells, or restricting trade. Towns posted “fever notices” at docks to warn of outbreaks.
Inoculation campaigns in the 18th century, though risky, marked the beginning of organized public health. Families who embraced these practices often lived longer—and their descendants left more robust genealogical records as a result.
How JN Genealogy Reconstructs Health and Survival Stories
At JN Genealogy, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, we uncover the lived experiences behind your lineage—including how ancestors faced illness and survival. Health records, death registers, and family letters often contain the emotional heart of early family history.
Our research services include:
5-Generation Tree — up to your 2nd great-grandparents for $400
6-Generation Tree — up to your 3rd great-grandparents for $750
7-Generation Tree — to your 4th great-grandparents for $1200, delivered within 14 days
Every project interprets records with historical insight—showing not only how your ancestors lived, but how they healed, endured, and adapted.
Endurance and Healing in the Colonial World
Colonial medicine may seem primitive, but it was rooted in courage and creativity. Without laboratories or hospitals, families relied on observation, care, and compassion. They learned to survive with what nature provided and passed that knowledge down through generations.
Those who endured illness and loss laid the foundation for modern public health—and for every family line that followed.
To explore your ancestors’ health, healing, and resilience, visit jngenealogy.com. JN Genealogy helps families trace not just who they came from—but how those ancestors faced life, death, and survival in a world still learning the science of hope.
info.jngenealogy@gmail.com
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