Sunday, March 25, 2018

Arsenic Poisoning in the American Victorian Age--and a Giveaway



Well, I am celebrating again, and it’s no April Fool’s Joke, folks. On April 1, my seventh novella collection—the First Love Forever Romance Collection—will release. This collection features nine separate stories about couples who fell in love years earlier, were separated for one reason or another, then reconnect as they try to rekindle their love for each other. Hope you’ll look for it! Read on to the end of the post for a chance to win an autographed copy!

This month’s topic is about arsenic. Most of you have probably heard stories, either fictional or real, about people dying of arsenic poisoning. But did you know that it was a fairly easy thing to be poisoned by the substance in the 1800s?

Arsenic label--clearly labeled a poison
Arsenic was a by-product of the smelting process used in mining different ores, so in the various mining communities in the western states and territories of the U.S.A., it was a prevalent substance. At a time before society was aware of such concerns, this by-product sometimes seeped into the groundwater. People in the area would then draw water from wells and ingest some level of the toxic element.

Regularly, arsenic was sold in mercantiles and general stores as a rat poison. It could be sprinkled walls and in barns where the rats would walk through it, ingest some, and hopefully die from that contact. However, the arsenic came as an odorless, tasteless white powder that could often be confused with flour or sugar, so great care was necessary for how and where it was kept. There is a story I’ve read about a confectioner in the mid-1800s who accidentally used twelve pounds of arsenic in his sweets, thinking it was flour. Over two hundred people were harmed in that mix-up, and twenty died, including the confectioner himself!
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It was also used to get rid of bed bugs. Bed bugs are no joke—my husband and I had an infestation of them several years ago after we lost his grandmother. We brought home one hand-made afghan she’d kept in the nursing home where she lived, and with it, we brought bedbugs into our house. It was a months-long battle to get rid of them. I wanted them gone—ASAP—but we were very cautious about what products we used to treat our home and beds. Knowing what we do today about arsenic, it floors me to think people in the 1800s might have sprinkled this stuff in their beds to kill those nasty parasites. How horrifying to think they were not only killing the insects but possibly themselves—or at least shortening their lives!

An old advertisement for medicated soap and other products to help with complexion.
Even more horrifying was that arsenic was sold under the guise of helpful medications, despite people knowing that this substance was poisonous. What maladies were treated with arsenic-based medicines, you ask? Everything from complexion issues and low libido to asthma, syphilis, and cancer. So long as the amount of arsenic stayed below 1/10th of a gram, it was considered “safe” in such over-the-counter applications. Oh, if they only knew!

Another common source of arsenic poisoning came from dyes used for paint and wallpapers. Particularly the green colors known as Paris or Scheele’s Green. Such colors were hugely popular in the 1800s, and the dyes used for them were arsenic-based. The paints made in these colors were touted to have “insecticidal qualities” that could keep ants, termites, and other such bugs from infesting or eating your home. Unfortunately, every time people touched their walls, they risked absorbing the arsenic through their skin.

Green dyes used in women's dresses could be deadly
due to arsenic.
Worse, these same dyes were used in fabrics for home furnishings—and even clothing. Green was quite a popular color for women’s dresses. As the women would wear these items, they would perspire (did prim, proper Victorian women actually do such a thing? LOL), which would cause the arsenic-based dye to seep into their skin and poison them.

So there were many ways in which the arsenic-laden products were able to poison unsuspecting people in the 19th century, and the government didn’t begin to regulate the use of arsenic in the various medicines and household products until the late 1800s and early 1900s.

It’s your turn: Which of the above applications of arsenic do you find most disturbing? Leave your email address along with your answer, and you’ll be entered in the drawing for an autographed copy of the First Love Forever Romance Collection.


Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has finaled and won in numerous writing competitions, and been on the ECPA best-seller list numerous times. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, college-aged son, and four fur children.



A first love is never easily forgotten...
and coming face to face with that person again can be awkward when the heartstrings are still holding on to the “what ifs.”
In settings from 1865 to 1910, nine couples are thrown back on the same path by life’s changes and challenges. A neighbor returns from law school. An heiress seeks a quick marriage. A soldier’s homecoming is painful. A family needs help. A prodigal son returns. A rogue aeronaut drops from the sky. A runaway bridegroom comes home. A letter for aid is sent. A doctor needs a nurse. Can love rekindle despite the separation of time and space?




23 comments:

  1. Knowing that the arsenic could/would kill them, they still ingested it for medicinal purposes?? Wow! That's just crazy! I didn't realize that they also used it in dyes to help make the color green. That's really interesting. It's amazing what all had arsenic in it. jumpforjoy@gmail.com

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    1. Yes! Isn't that crazy, Joy??? They believed that there were "safe" amounts to ingest.

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  2. Have it in the soap that's the most disturbing fact for me. cheetahthecat1986ATgmailDOTcom

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    1. That is quite creepy, Kim. How often do we wash our hands or our faces? Many times a day, I would think (at least I know I do)...and each time, you're washing with poison. Very disturbing!

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  3. I also understand it was used in makeup earlier than the 19th century. Even men used makeup in the king's court in France. Yikes!

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    1. I do remember seeing something about that in my research, Barbara...though it didn't come up in the "American" part of the research I did, which is why I didn't mention it here.

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  4. All of the uses are surprising to me, except as a rat poison. I can't believe people ingested arsenic on purpose knowing what it could do to them. I've read a book a while ago about the makeup women used contained arsenic and made them very sick until they eventually died. Thank you for the giveaway and good luck everyone. princessdebbie1_2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. It's certainly a head-scratcher, isn't it Debbie? Knowing what we do today, we'd all steer very clear of arsenic in almost every case, but not then!

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  5. I had no idea arsenic was used in die. I know from my own research it was one of those cure all products like opium. It was in many products back then including children's cough medicine. Over the decades things we thought were safe have proven toxic. My mom use to cover our chest with Watkins ointment and then have us swallow some for chest congestion. Watkins is sorta likes Vicks. I survived to tell the tale. I ate processed lunch meat while pregnant which is a definite no-no now. Fascinating post. Throw my name in the hat for your collection. I love your novellas.

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    1. Thanks, Cindy. Make sure and leave your email address so you're entered in the drawing!

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  6. I didn't realize arsenic was used to make the color green in dyes. To think so many suffered from the various uses of it. Arsenic reminds me of reading about morphine being used in medicine that caused the deaths of children. Thank you for sharing this informative post. Thank you for the giveaway opportunity to win First Love Forever Romance Collection. marilynridgway78[at]gmail[dot]com

    A blessed Easter to you, Jennifer.

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    1. Hi Marilyn, it just amazes me all the things arsenic was in back in the old days.. Absolutely frightening!

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  7. If I'd lived back then, I would be dead since green--well, technically teal--is my favorite color. It's no wonder so many people died young in the olden days. Cocaine was also used in many products, like cough syrup. It makes you wonder what we're ingesting that is deemed safe but will one day be proven otherwise.

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    1. You are so correct, Vickie! No wonder so many died young! I do hope that we're better about long-term testing these days, but I fear we're not!

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  8. Someone is going to be very happy when they win this book! I loved your story Jennifer! Travis was such a good hero. Millie is pretty strong too. I loved all the stories!
    I can't believe all the things arsenic was used in. How on earth did it help make the color green?
    *Don't enter me in the giveaway.

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    1. I wish I could explain how arsenic in dye led to the color green, Andrea, but the various articles I read didn't expound on HOW arsenic helped make that color. Thank you so much for the kind words about my story! I loved writing Heartfelt Echoes. It was a very fun challenge!

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  9. I was really shocked to hear that arsenic was used for medicinal purposes and in green dye! That is just crazy! Thanks for this interesting post, Jennifer, and for the chance to win an autographed copy of the First Love Forever Romance Collection! It sounds like a wonderful collection of stories!! Enter me, please! :) ~Alison Boss

    nj(dot)bossman(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Isn't it crazy, Alison?! With things like this, you sort of wish you had a time machine to travel backward in time and warn everyone what they were doing to themselves!

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  10. Wow! Arsenic, green dye...that is a terrible combo! Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing your very interesting post and the opportunity to be a winner. I love collections!

    mauback55 at gmail dot com

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    1. So glad you enjoyed the creepy information on Arsenic, Melanie!

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  11. Crazy! I think using arsenic in face powder is pretty bad! My husband used to work in a talc plant (think talcum powder and sheetrock) and I believe he said there is arsenic in minute quantities in talc, which is one reason baby powder is not talcum powder any more and that is a recent change! bcrug(at)twc(dot)com

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    1. Yikes, Connie! Arsenic contained in talc is one thing I did NOT come across in my research for this post! Scary!

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  12. Thank you all for the wonderful comments. The winner of the drawing is Joy. I will contact you by email shortly.

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