If your relative died of any sort of contagious disease, check local newspapers for any mention of an outbreak. The death certificate should list the cause of death, but it won’t indicate whether it was an isolated incident or if there were others.
The outbreak may be mentioned in the local newspaper–even if your ancestor is not named specifically. Newspapers can be a great way to learn about your relative even if her name is not specifically mentioned.
The Warsaw, Illinois, newspaper referenced a case of Smallpox in Stillwell, Illinois, in 1902.
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There was a major typhoid epidemic in at the Midwest (and maybe beyond) in 1849. My ggg grandmother, at least one of her adult sons, other relatives died, including the husband of the woman who became my ggg grandfather’s second wife and one of her children. I found this info on the 1850 Mortality Index.