(+) The Legacy of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic by George G. Morgan

Every genealogist eventually comes face-to-face with the cause of death for many of his or her ancestors. We contemplate the old disease names such as “brain fever” (meningitis), Bright’s disease (kidney failure), cancer, cholera, tuberculosis, heart attack, smallpox, tetanus, typhoid fever, diphtheria, yellow fever, malaria, and a host of others for which there are medications that have reduced the mortality rates. This week’s column is a little different look at genealogy, science, and family experiences.

This week marks the 90th anniversary of the outbreak of the most virulent outbreak of the “great influenza” in 1918. Also referred to as the Spanish flu, it was first observed at Fort Riley, Kansas, on 4 March 1918 and then again a week later in Queens, New York.  In August, however, simultaneous epidemics appeared in Boston, Massachusetts, Brest, France, and Freetown, Sierra Leone.

The remainder of this article is for Plus Edition subscribers only.

If you have a Plus Edition user ID and password, you can read the article right now at no additional charge in this web site's Plus Edition at http://plus.eogn.com.

If you do not remember your Plus Edition user ID or password, you can retrieve them at the same place: http://plus.eogn.com.

If you decide to subscribe to the Plus Edition right now, you will be able to immediately read this article online. For more information about subscribing to the Plus Edition of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, visit http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/plusedition.html.