Thursday, March 19, 2020

Where were my ancestors during the 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic

Recent news stories have compared the reaction in 1918 by the cities of St. Louis and Philadelphia to the Spanish Flu. This got me wondering which of my ancestors were alive in 1918, where they were, how old they were, and what the local reactions were.

Grandparents
My paternal grandfather, Melvin Newmark - St. Louis - 6 years old
My paternal grandmother, Belle Feinstein - St. Louis - 4 years old
My maternal grandfather, Martin Deutsch - Chicago - 11 years old
My maternal grandmother, Myrtle Vanevery - El Paso - 18 years old

My paternal grandfather was only one year younger than my twin sons. He may have had some memories from that year. I am certain my maternal grandparents had memories. They are no longer around to ask.

Great Grandparents:
Barney and Bertha Cruvant Newmark - St. Louis - Both 32 years old
Herman and Annie Blatt Feinstein - St. Louis - 32 and 28 years old
Samuel and Helen Lichtman Deutsch - Chicago - 57 and 37 years old
Melvin and Margaret Denyer Vanevery - El Paso - 55 and 50 years old

Great Great Grandparents
Samuel and Rose Cantkert Newmark - St. Louis - 56 and 53 years old
Minnie Mojsabovsky Cruvant - St. Louis - 55 years old
Anna Perlik Feinstein - St. Louis - 50 years old
Morris Blatt - St. Louis - 56 years old

Great Great Great Grandparents
I am not aware of any third great grandparents who were still alive. If there were any, they were in Poland, Russia. or Transylvania.

There were no Spanish Flu related deaths among my ancestors or their immediate families.

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