The ‘Great Influenza’
Readers of this column know that I am a historian as well as a genealogist. Today’s column is about current events that are making history and will be part of future genealogists’ research.
A year or so ago I did a column on epidemics as possible causes of “disappeared” ancestors or relatives. Now we are in one ourselves. Our reaction to the current crisis brings to mind World War I’s contribution to the lexicon of deadly viruses, including the Black Death, smallpox and common childhood diseases such as measles that in the past killed so many people.
The world is now experiencing a pandemic, perhaps the worst in our time. When TV anchors, newspaper reporters and others have sought a comparison, they have referred to the “Spanish flu” of 1918-1919, which killed or disabled millions of people on all inhabited continents. But it wasn’t the “Spanish” flu at all. It had nothing to do with Spain and everything to do with us.
“The Great Influenza,” as it’s more properly called, a strain of H1N1 influenza virus, started in the midwestern farm states of our own country. It began with poultry, spread to swine and then to healthy farm boys who became doughboys when the U.S. entered the first World War in 1917. Carrying influenza, the doughboys were packed into camps, then ships and headed “over there” to Europe, bringing Europeans an unwelcome guest.
Soon the influenza was found in the trenches on both sides. Makeshift hospitals were littered with dead and dying soldiers, civilians and medical staff. But none of the parties in the conflict wanted to alert their enemies that their army was losing men at an unbelievable pace. So, they hushed it up. The virus spread and reached neutral Spain. Spain had nothing to hide so they made their deaths public. When the war ended and doughboys headed home they took the “Spanish” flu back with them.
However, during the American involvement in the war the influenza spread widely inside the United States. The Wilson administration, fearing a loss of morale among the public, ordered doctors to fill out death certificates without mentioning the word influenza and thus when you look at vital record books from that time period, you may find page after page of deaths from “pneumonia.” No one issued stay-at-home orders; war work in factories had to continue. Bond drives drew hundreds of people to public rallies and victory parades resulted in thousands of influenza victims, many of whom were buried in mass graves.
If you would like more information, I recommend you read John E. Berry’s “The Great Influenza,” which will chill you more than the latest horror movie by Stephen King.
I hope all of my readers have and will come through the current pandemic safely. Take it seriously, stay safe, and work on your genealogy.
Nancy Battick is a Dover-Foxcroft native who has researched genealogy for over 30 years. She is past president of the Maine Genealogical Society, author of several genealogical articles and co-transcribed the Vital Records of Dover-Foxcroft. Nancy holds an MA in History from UMaine and lives in Dover-Foxcroft with her husband, Jack, another avid genealogist. You can contact Nancy at nbattick@roadrunner.com.