Diseases our Ancestors Faced and How Those Illnesses Changed Our World

Many if not most of the presentations at RootsTech appropriately focus on identifying and documenting ancestors to grow our family trees. But what was it like to live in years gone by and what challenges did our ancestors face? As a physician I am particularly interested in the diseases our ancestors were subjected to without the benefit of modern medical science and the impact these illnesses had on the quality and quantity of their lives.

The purpose of this presentation is to review several of the major illness our ancestors dreaded but thankfully with which we rarely concern ourselves. We will use historical records including death records as well as modern investigations to tell the story of illness and how it impacted the lives of our ancestors and how these illnesses shaped our world today.