Wife and Son III

Sickness spreading through stray dogs in Pittsburg kills a man and his wife, leaving their child orphaned

Pittsburg, January 6. – A quarantine of at least 100 days has been placed over Springboro, Conneautville, Meadville, Brookville, Linesville and other towns in Crawford and adjoining counties because of the prevalence of hydrophobia and the presence of dogs, said to be affected with rabies. All dogs are being shot upon the streets of those towns as soon as they are seen. Frank Lessler, of Springboro, died on December 31. He had bitten by a dog on November 17. His wife, Olivia Lessler, forty years old, and their son, Frank Jr., Thirteen years old, have become affected and are being treated at the Mercy hospital in Pittsburg. Mrs. Lessler kissed her husband when he was suffering and contracted the disease in this manner.

“Wife and Son III,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed December 7, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1851.