TO JAB OR NOT TO JAB

The vociferous debate about the pros and cons of vaccination that rages today on social media is by no means new. For our Victorian and early 20th-century families, being vaccinated meant potential protection against smallpox – the greatest killer disease of them all. Many embraced the opportunity; others were much less compliant about doing their civic duty. So, were your own ancestors willing to get their shots and, if not, why not? And how can you find out?

As now, anti-vaccination sentiment occasionally spilled onto the streets. On 23 March 1885, a large demonstration erupted in Leicester. An estimated 40,000–200,000 people marched from the city’s Temperance Hall carrying flags and banners emblazoned with anti-vaccination slogans. Led by the Leicester Anti-Vaccination League, the rally was fronted by a large contingent of men who had recently been imprisoned for not allowing their children to be vaccinated. Behind them came a still larger number whose goods had been seized and sold by public auction after they had