Milk Sickness: The Story of Anna Pierce and a Uniquely American Deadly Historic Diagnosis

In the early 19th century, pioneers on the American western frontier were dying of an unusual illness. It even claimed the life of Nancy Lincoln, mother of the accomplished wrestler (and incidental president of the U.S.), Abraham Lincoln. The cause of this mysterious illness was known to one Anna Pierce as well as the Native American populations of the affected area. This is the story of Milk Sickness, how it was discovered/rediscovered, and how it came to an end. Sources: Anna Pierce - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-1800s-midwife-solved-poisionous-mystery-180982343/ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Pierce_Hobbs_Bixby - https://greenvillejournal.com/news/field-notes-white-snakeroot-the-plant-that-killed-abraham-lincolns-mother/ About White Snakeroot- https://ag.purdue.edu/department/btny/ppdl/potw-dept-folder/2023/white-snakeroot.html Tremetol Toxicity - https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/tremetone 1886 Journal - https://www.jstor.org/stable/1760447?searchText=&searchUri=&ab_segments=&searchKey=&refreqid=fastly-default%3Acddd2cf72bae6ba307752d7c577bcb50&seq=2 - https://www.jstor.org/stable/27792690?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents Abraham Lincoln as Wrestler: https://olympics.com/en/news/abraham-lincoln-usa-president-wrestling-champion #abrahamlincoln #milksickness #medicalhistory #medicine #history Support the show ----- PHPod Merch Store (CLOSED) ----- Podcast Linktree (social media links / reviews / ratings) ----- #medicine #medicalhistory #history #historypodcast