Follow-Up to 52 Ancestors 2021 Prompt “Health”: William Lee Houston

A Sad Warning for Anti-Vaxxers: The Tragic Toll of Childhood Diseases

William “Willie” Lee Houston: 1867-1917

As I was adding family members to the extended Leachman family tree, I ran across a death certificate that brought up another issue related to the theme of “health”. As our nation deals with people who refuse to get the COVID vaccine despite the risks the virus poses, and as some ill-informed parents rant about the dangers of childhood immunizations and refuse to vaccinate their children, this death certificate struck a chord.

William Lee Houston was Bruce’s second cousin twice removed, the son of George Houston. George was the nephew of Bruce’s second-great-grandfather William Parker Leachman.

Willie was born on September 15, 1867. He became a farmer in McLean County, Kentucky. On October 18, 1899, when he was 32 years old, he married a younger woman, Mary Nall. The marriage record noted that her father had to provide written consent for the marriage, which meant she was under the age of consent. However, records seem to indicate she was born in April 1879, which would have made her nineteen. Still, this would have been a thirteen year age gap.

The couple had two children, Mary Lee and George Garrison Houston, before Mary’s death in 1910.

Tragically, the children were orphaned just seven years later when Willie died unexpectedly on February 4, 1917. Little George was only eleven and Mary Lee was about fifteen.

The shocker was the cause of death on Willie’s death certificate: measles.

Yes. Measles. Measles killed a 49 year old man.

Willie did physical labor as a farmer, so he was probably in fairly good shape for a middle-aged man, yet a childhood illness killed him. The death record noted he had been sick for seven days. There were no other underlying conditions listed.  

Childhood diseases like measles, mumps and rubella have been so well eradicated that parents today no longer remember how dangerous these diseases could be, for adults as well as children. Mumps left many men sterile. Women who contracted rubella/German measles while pregnant had children with serious mental and physical disabilities. Measles could lead to pneumonia or encephalitis that could cause brain damage or death. While the number of people who died or suffered serious harm was just a small percentage of the population, that still translates to thousands of families who suffered losses like Mary Lee and George Garrison Houston. Lack of vaccines could be tragic.

I am sure if Willie had been born fifty years later when there was a measles vaccine, he would have eagerly jumped at the chance to take it.

So please, people. Learn from the sad fate of William Lee Houston. Get vaccinated. Vaccinate your children. Vaccines are far safer than the illnesses they prevent.