Does anyone have access to some history of Milwaukee which may discuss a diphtheria epidemic in the Milwaukee area sometime between 1860 and 1870? Supposedly my great grandmother, Ellen Miller Sweeney, used to tell her children/grandchildren, that as a child in Milwaukee there was a terrible diphtheria epidemic, and her mother poured coal oil down her throat to kill the diphtheria. However, some of her family died in the epidemic. Would like more info on the history of this epidemic if it did exist, and where one could possibly read about it, if I could get more specifics on the time period. Thanks for any and all help! Mary Joan