Guide to Records Relating to Leprosy at the Bermuda Archives

The Bermuda Archives documentation concerning leprosy ranges predominately between 1920 and 1930. Listed below are the major sources in the Bermuda Archives, as well as information about the two leprosaria in Bermuda, operating between the years 1920 and 1930. The list is by no means exhaustive; however, the information below is, perhaps, the most pertinent to the leprosy database.

Records of the Medical Officer of Health, 1898 - 1930

Annual Reports, 1898-1930

Provides statistical information concerning deaths, new cases reported and suggestions for improving the treatment for those afflicted with the disease. These statistics highlight the relatively low level of leprosy in Bermuda during the 19th and early 20th century.

Occasional Reports

Balfour, Andrew, Director, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. "Report on Medical and Sanitary Matters in Bermuda, 1923" ( London 1925)

Provides information on public opinion surrounding leprosy as well as Balfour's thoughts surrounding the conditions of the leprosarium on St. David's Island; Balfour's predictions about the future of leprosy on Bermuda . Includes photograph of the first leprosarium in Bermuda.

Records of the Colonial Secretary, 1920 - 1929

Public Health, CS 6.4/2569, 1920 - 1929

• Leprosy, 1920-1922 001
• Leprosy, 1925-1929 002
• Leprosy, 1925-1926 003
• Leprosy, 1926-1927 004
• [Leprosy] Isolation Hospital 1927 -1928 005

These records provide general information about the leprosaria in Bermuda including information on staff, hospital safety measures and patient treatment. Documentation of visits to the hospital made by both police officers and Board of Health members may also be found within these files. All the volumes contain documentation concerned with religious matters regarding the patients and staff of the leprosaria.

More specifically, volume 001 of the public health records provides information on the first leprosarium on St. David's Island, including documentation of the preliminary proposals for the implementation of the isolation hospital.

• Volumes 001 and 002 contain records of the ongoing attempts made to bring British Dominican sisters (working in Trinidad) to the first leprosarium.
• Volume 004 contains detailed documentation on the rules of conduct for the patients, staff and visitors of the second leprosarium in Devonshire parish.
• Volume 005 includes a detailed blueprint of the Devonshire hospital.

*Records of the Registry General, 1871 - present

Annual Report of the Registrar General

Provides annual statistical returns on the cause and number of deaths, including leprosy. The first recorded case was in 1898 and the last recorded case was in 1950.

Entry made June 7, 2006