Perhaps the middle of an impending coronavirus pandemic is not the most appropriate time for a post about the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918…or, you know, maybe it is!
In the course of your family history research, you may run into death dates of 1918 and 1919 over and over…and over again. And you might find that these are not people dying in the waning years of their lives, but people who are young, who should be thriving, who should be in the robust, life-building years of their lives.
Say hello to the Spanish Influenza pandemic.
The Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918-1919
The 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was a world-wide, global pandemic during the years 1918-1919. Experts estimate that the one-third of the world’s population at that time were infected…or 500 million people. 50 million people died from it.
50 million…that’s a 50 followed by six zeros!
While people still die from the flu today, the Spanish flu pandemic was characterized by higher mortality rates than usual in young children, seemingly healthy 20-40 year olds, and the elderly. The Spanish flu killed more soldiers during World War I than any one battle.
1918-1919: Killer Years
In the course of researching my own family tree and doing family history research for clients, there are many occasions where a young, seemingly vibrant family member just up and dies. And then I look at the year on their tombstone, the death index, the obituary, and if it’s 1918 or 1919, there’s a pretty good chance I know why.
My great-grandmother, Ellen Marie Casey Cronin, had a younger brother, Peter, born in 1895 in Brooklyn. I can see him as a (probably) rambunctious 5 year old in the 1900 census, and 10 years later as a 16 year old helping his father out with the family business. Peter registered for the draft for World War I and asked for an exemption to help support his parents. He was 22.
One year later, he was dead.
Peter Casey’s cause of death
I always knew my great-grandmother’s brother had died in 1918. He was in the New York death index, his name and dates were on the family headstone…but I could only assume that he was one of the millions of young, healthy people cut down in the prime of their lives by the Spanish flu.
Until yesterday.
Ancestry.com posted indexes - but very detailed indexes - to death certificates from 1862-1948. Peter died November 5, 1918, and right there, under cause of death was “bronchopneumonia, (brought on by) influenza”.
Influenza.
Peter was only 24 years old.
I have others on my tree that I suspect but still can’t prove were victims of the flu - my 1st cousin 4x removed, Edward Silberberg, who was only 16 years old when he died on October 27, 1918, or my 1st cousin 2 x removed, Julia Flannery, who was only 15 years old when she died December 21, 1918. That’s mostly due to their ages that I suspect flu - my great-great grandfather, also Peter Casey (Peter’s father), died in 1919 and it was not due to influenza—at 54, he also was outside the victim demographic.
My heart breaks for these young lives lost, cut down before they could make a significant mark on this world. But disease is a part of this world. Natural disasters are a part of this world. Accidents are a part of this world. And these deaths are a poignant reminder of how fragile life is.
Websites I used for this research:
Centers for Disease Control
Ancestry.com