Question: On a burial record in 1847 I find the cause of death for a Canadian immigrant ancestor as "ship's fever". I am not familiar with this cause of death, can you give me a current name for it?
Answer: The cause of death known once as "Ship Fever" is actually the disease of typhus. The typhus epidemic that hit Canada in the late 1840's killed an estimated 20,000 between 1847-1848. To read more about this 1847 epidemic in Canada go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhus_epidemic_of_1847