“Mad-dog Excitement”: The Tragic Death of Annie Bragdon

Lot 89

John Tyler Bragdon (1810-1875)

Julia Ann Pomeroy Bragdon (1819-1891)

John Montgomery Bragdon (1840-1904)

Annie Bragdon (1858-1877)

John Tyler Bragdon was born in Maine in 1810. On November 27, 1838, he married Julia Ann Pomeroy who was born in 1819. The couple had eight children: John M., Frederick (who died in infancy), William (who died at 2 years of age), Frederick William (who passed away at 3 years of age), Lydia, Everett (who died at 2), Annie, and Emma.

John Tyler Bragdon worked as a carpenter. He died of cancer on January 30, 1875, and was interred in Old Parish Cemetery. Julia Ann Pomeroy Bragdon died on June 19, 1891 of cardiac disease. Their son, John Montgomery Bragdon, who was born in 1840 and worked as a merchant, was a widower when he died on February 27, 1904 of apoplexy. He too was buried in the family’s plot in Old Parish Cemetery. But it was the tragic death of daughter Annie Bragdon that garnered headlines and inspired a panic in 1877.

Annie Bragdon, a 19-year-old house maid who worked in Norwood, died in February, 1877 of hydrophobia (rabies). It was one of the best documented cases of the disease in Massachusetts history. Extensive details of her symptoms and treatment were compiled at the time and the case was reported shortly after her death in the Boston Medical & Surgical Journal (now the New England Journal of Medicine).

Bragdon was bitten in August, 1876 between the fore & middle finger of her right hand by a small black-and-tan terrier dog (which belonged to the Hyde Park Police Chief). Although there were no visible signs of rabies, the dog was destroyed as was the custom. Bragdon’s injury was so slight she did not seek medical aid and it healed rapidly.

Six months later, on February 14, 1877, while washing dishes in warm water, Annie suddenly felt a sharp pain at the site of the bite. During the night the pain extended up her arm to the shoulder. The next morning, she had difficulty swallowing and felt a constriction in her neck and upper chest. She consulted Dr. Fogg of Norwood who immediately recognized the disease and advised that she return to her home in Hyde Park. Dr. C. L. Edwards saw her there at 5 pm. She was calm with nothing unusual about her appearance but, upon offering her some water, the symptoms presented themselves: there was a severe contraction of the throat and a spasmodic sobbing when the spoon of water approached her lips. Although she tried to take the water, it was impossible. She was taken to bed and told to remain perfectly quiet.

By 3 am, she was suffering from severe muscle contractions, had a pulse of 120, and her skin was moist and hot. She was given a small amount of morphine to quiet her but she did not sleep. When the doctor returned at 10 am, even a slight noise would bring on spasms and swallowing was extremely painful. Annie gradually grew worse; she had a very dry, parched throat, was desperately thirsty but could not ingest any water. Her spasms increased throughout the night; finally, she was relatively calm 2 hours prior to her death which took place at 9:30 am. 62 hours had elapsed from the time she felt the pain until her death.

Although local newspapers wrote she foamed at the mouth and snapped as if to bite at all around her, the doctors said that did not happen. Nor did she, as reported, bark like a dog. They noted that her very harsh, dry cough could have been interpreted as a ‘bark’ by an ignorant observer.

In April, 2007, the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences published an analysis titled “Legislating Fear and the Public Health in Gilded Age Massachusetts” by Philip M. Teigen. In the article Teigen referenced Annie Bragdon and discussed, in his words, “the mad-dog excitement” which occurred. Tragically, this happened just before a vaccine and treatment were available.

The plot plan of lot 89 in Old Parish Cemetery clearly marks the gravesites of the Bragdon family but, no stone was ever erected.