My grandparents caught this flu. My mother was just a tiny baby. My
grandfather's parents became worried because they hadn't heard from them for
awhile and sent a 15 year-old son over to check on them because it was
winter in northern Wisconsin on top of it all and they lived in a shacky
type of house. The son cooked for them and took care of them. He had to
share their bed because there was no other place in the cold to sleep. It's
a wonder he didn't catch it and they all would have died, perhaps.
Laurel
----- Original Message -----
From: <Plumpett@aol.com>
To: <sinclair@matrix.net>
Sent: Monday, September 04, 2000 9:11 PM
Subject: Re: T.M. Sinclair--Cedar Rapids, Iowa
> In a message dated 00-09-04 23:30:49 EDT, you write:
>
> << Daniel and
> Ellie both died within 2 weeks of each other during the flu epidemic in
> 1918, >>
>
> Della --
>
> The 1918 flu epidemic was one of the worst Biological events to strike the
> USA .
>
> My grandfather told me that the dead were being buried in mass graves
because
> they were dying so fast that there were no caskets and the funeral homes
> were unable to handle the caseload .
>
> There is a good chance that your Daniel died at home and was rapidly
buried
> and his death not officially recorded ??
>
> If this same strain of flu were to hit the USA today , the death toll
would
> approach
> 100 million or more in a very short time
>
> Looking at it another way , the Black Death of the Middle Ages is
something
> less than 80% fatal under ideal conditions while the 1918 Flu strain is
> something more than 30% fatal !!
>
> The May - June issue of either Family History or Family Chronical
Magazines
> had a rather well written article on the 1918 Flu -- you may want to
secure a
> copy ??
>
> Regards
>
> Joe Greigg
> [ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@mids.org
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