Medical Monday - My First Casualty from the 1918 Flu Pandemic

Death certificate - Alice Dougherty nee Fay

Alice Dougherty nee Fay is the first person I've come across in my research to have died from the 1918 flu pandemic. The cause of death was croupous pneumonia with influenza as a contributing factor. Croupous pneumonia is an outdated term. Today we call it acute lobar pneumonia.

I've done research on the "Spanish Influenza" outbreak of 1918 before. Sadly each time I've read The Great Influenza by John M. Barry I've meant to take notes and then failed to do so. Maybe the third time will be a charm. It's an excellent read, but does get technical in parts. That doesn't bother me, but when I go to pass on the information in a post I want to be able to do so correctly, and I'll need notes.

Either way it is incorrect to refer to this terrible pandemic as the "Spanish Flu." It did not begin in Spain as was originally though. The belief now is that it actually began in America and spread to Europe due to WWI. Think about that one. Lots of people in training camps to fight in the war. Lots of people moving around the world. More so than would have been normally. With an estimated 100 million people worldwide potentially killed by this flu outbreak I thought that I'd be counting the bodies in my family tree that succumbed...but that didn't happen.

Each time I came across someone that died in 1918 or 1919 I thought...yep...the flu got 'em. It didn't though.

Abraham Turnbach died in December 1918. He was electrocuted. He did repair work in the local coal mines and his death certificate says that he came in contact with "hot wires." He left behind a pregnant wife and quite a number of children.

Mary Turnbach nee Blanchfield, Abraham's wife, died in March 1919 of heart failure due to mitral regurgitation. They listed a contributing factor as "miscarriage." That may have been the terminology at the time, but we wouldn't call it miscarriage today. We'd call it a premature birth. The child, Joseph, lived...for two weeks.

Joseph Turnbach was born on March 7th 1919 and died on the 26th. His cause of death is difficult to read, but one of the components was malnutrition which was contributed to his premature birth. I suppose today we would say "failure to thrive."

Thank you to FindAGrave contributor Virginia (#47379955) for kind
permission to post her photo on my blog

Elizabeth "Bessie" Dugan nee Quirk died in December 1918 from placenta previa which caused Bessie to have a c-section. A contributing cause was separation of the placenta. Placenta previa and placental abruption (detachment of the placenta) are two different things, both of which are claimed on her death certificate. Her child, Elizabeth "Betty," survived (for a few years anyway).

So when I came across Alice's death certificate and saw pneumonia and the flu on there she became my first casualty. Alice and her husband, Francis Joseph Dougherty, had six children: William, Francis Joseph Jr., Leo, Mary, John, and Alice. All but two outlived their mom.

You can see on the tombstone above not only Alice's name, but those of her family buried with her. Alice died at the age of 35 and her husband, dying at the age of 84, never remarried. Her two little twins, Mary and John. Her daughter, Alice, married Matthew Gallagher and lived to the age of 91 while he only lived to the age of 48.

Despite having a husband and four little ones at home, Alice was the only one to succumb to this terrifying pandemic. Alice Dougherty nee Fay is my first cousin three times removed. Rest in peace, dear cousin.

Tombstone Tuesday - Philippe and Mary Therese Laurent nee Francar

I spent a little over a week in Wisconsin this summer. Not enough time to get to the historical society or the county library to do some record pulling. It was just too beautiful for that. Sunny and warm...but not too warm...so my boys and I relaxed and played with my in-laws. I did take two afternoons to head to St. Martin's Cemetery in Tonet and St. Joseph's Cemetery in Champion. I photographed every grave that had a semi-legible tombstone for BillionGraves. Then at night I spent time making sure that there was a FindAGrave memorial and/or photo for each as well. It was more time consuming than I expected, but well worth it.

Both of these cemeteries (and their respective churches...although St. Martin's is closed now) are only a few miles apart, down the same stretch of road. In between them on that same stretch of road is the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help. Another Catholic Church although this one has quite the interesting history. I've blogged about it before. It's the only Church-acknowledged Marian Shrine in the U.S. (although some will argue that point).

Philippe's tombstone is too difficult for me to make out
much...even in person!

I digress though. I was just struck by how close they all were. In a city it's not so unexpected, but in farm country I would have expected them to be a bit more spread out. Either way, they all play a part in my husband's family's history so I visit them when I can. With all of the worn and lichen-covered gravestones in St. Joseph's I wasn't hopeful finding the tombstones of Philippe and Mary, but I had to look. While I was there methodically taking pictures with the caretaker riding along mowing the grass, I was approached by a gentleman asking if I was looking for anyone in particular. I told him I was, but that I was also canvassing the cemetery. He was kind enough to tip me off to the fact that there is a website online that will tell you exactly where in the cemetery everyone in St. Joseph's was buried. (I imagine this is the website he was talking about) I thanked him and continued on my mission.

I'm always struck by how things play out. You think of someone that you haven't thought of in years and you get news of them, or perhaps a Facebook friend request soon after. The gentleman asks who I'm looking for and they turn up a couple tombstones down from where I was. It's just coincidence, but it's a lovely one.

The tombstones are difficult to read. I must go back there in the winter when the leaves are off the trees and bring a mirror to reflect light. I haven't actually attempted using a mirror before, but I've heard it recommended several times. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Seeing a ceramic photo on Mary Therese's tombstone was
absolutely thrilling!

So the tombstone of Mary Therese Laurent nee Francar was legible, but barely. The bigger surprise was the ceramic photo attached to the tombstone. I didn't expect one, but was delighted to discover one. I immediately shared it on Facebook and tagged my husband in the post so he could see his great-great grandmother. I rarely get much interest from my husband regarding genealogy, but this did earn a "that's cool!" response from him. Cool indeed. Cooler because of how unexpected it was especially considering the state of the tombstone.

"M. Therese Francar
wife of Philip Laurent
born Aug. 16 1850
died June 21 1916"

Philip's tombstone wasn't really possible for me to read even in person. I was able to make out whose tombstone it was, but not too much more. Maybe that mirror will (ahem) bring to light what my tired eyes could not see. As of right now all I know of Philip was that he was born around 1838 in Belgium and died between the 1905 Wisconsin state census and the 1910 Federal one. I may have to contact St. Joseph's in the meantime. I may burst not knowing and don't know if I can wait until December.

Mary Therese's tombstone is much easier to read
than her husband's

I was even more disappointed after finding the ceramic photo of M. Therese to see that there had been one for Philip that was now gone from his tombstone. The empty circle at the top made that particular loss felt. Perhaps someday, someone coming across this blog with a photo of Philip will be able to share it with me. It's got to be out there somewhere.

I was able to upload photos of M. Therese and Philip's tombstones to memorials already created on FindAGrave. I was even more thrilled when contributor, Lori Lyon, transferred both of their memorials to me!

So until December when I can revisit St. Joseph's and get a better picture (or just stubbornly get my face up close enough to figure out what Philip's says) I'll end here. Rest in peace, Philip and M. Therese!

Sunday's Obituary - Eleanor Prosser nee Brown

I decided to prepare some posts on the Neil and Bridget Brown (nee Brown) family. I recently uploaded my family tree onto Ancestry. I had been holding off wanting to get everything just perfect before uploading it. How silly is that though! Are we ever truly finished with our family trees? No! So I uploaded it, but kept it private. I know some people think it's counter-productive to keep it private, but I disagree. I can still interact with others and they can interact with me, but they have to contact me for most information as opposed to just copying it and running away. Isn’t that what we want anyway?

So as I was clicking on the little leaf-hints after uploading my tree I saw that someone else had a tree with people from my Brown line. I contacted her and asked if she wanted to collaborate. Since I was looking at this line’s information and hadn’t shared much I figured that now was a good time.

“Eleanor Brown Prosser

Hazleton Standard Speaker,
14OCT1972, pg 16

Mrs. Eleanor Brown Prosser, of 635 N. James St., died at 9 a.m. yesterday in St. Joseph Hospital, where she had been a patient since Sept. 22.

Born in this city where she spent the greater part of her life, she was a daughter of  the late Neil and Bridget (Brown) Brown, and was a member of St. Gabriel’s Church.

She was graduated from the former St. Gabriel’s High School and the Hazleton State General Hospital School of Nursing.

She was preceded in death by a brother, Neil and a sister, Mrs. William (Rita) Dermott.

Surviving are three sons, Thomas J., of Camp Hill; Robert C. and J. Paul, both of Reading; five grandchildren and the following brothers and sisters, Mrs. Nancy Harkins, Newark, Del.; Mrs. Clyde (Mary) Barth, James and Charles Brown, all of this city; Eugene, of Levittown; Paul, Meadville; John, of Philadelphia; and Mrs. Charles (Joan) Cann, this city.

The funeral will be held from the Boyle Funeral Home, 100 S. Wyoming St., at 9 a.m. Monday, with a Mass of the Resurrection in St. Gabriel’s Church at 9:30. Interment will be in the Calvary Cemetery, Drums.

Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday.”

What wasn’t mentioned in this obituary was Eleanor’s husband’s name. I’ve seen plenty of obituaries where the spouse was mentioned and not the parents, but I haven’t seen many where the husband was left out. My assumption is that Rodney died before his wife. To me the fact that he isn’t listed as surviving Eleanor implies this, but I’ll have to see what I can turn up. So far nothing on Ancestry or Newspapers.com confirms this, but I have little on Rodney to start from. He was a member of a family tree that my late cousin, Nancy O’Donoghue nee Brown, sent me and she had no dates of birth or death for him. As for Eleanor, she is my first cousin twice removed.

Funeral Card Friday - Eugene Dart

Thank you to Sally Marcelle for kind
permission to share this on my blog

I have a lot of memorial/funeral cards in my possession. As I was working on my family tree on Ancestry.com one of the hints that I was given was this memorial card. It was uploaded by Sally Marcelle to her family tree. Rather than just grabbing it and posting it here or attaching it to my tree I emailed her to ask permission to share it. She very kindly granted it.

Eugene Joseph Dart was the child of Jean Baptiste Dart Sr and Marie Josephe Podor. They had six or seven (I just potentially found a new one, but haven't confirmed it yet) children: Jean Baptiste Jr, Marie Julienne, (Ferdinande...maybe), Jules Joseph, Eugene Joseph, Marie Antoinette Josephine, and Desira. Eugene is my husband's great, great grandfather.

On April 29, 1871* in Robinsonville, Wisconsin Eugene married Josephine Hermans in the Robinsonville Chapel. Together they had 12 known children: Louisa, Charles Antone, Jean Baptiste, Odile, Adolphe, Jule, Desirea, Mary, August Joseph, William, Eli Joseph, and Wilbert. Their daughter, Mary, is my husband's great grandmother.

Eugene and Josephine are buried in St. Martin's Cemetery in Tonet, Wisconsin.

*According to Josephine's obituary the couple was married on 30APR1870. Eugene's has 30APR1871. The Wisconsin Marriage Index they were actually married 29APR1871. I'll have to see if I have a hard copy of that certificate in my possession or if I'll need to pull one over Christmas when I'm back in Wisconsin.

Sunday's Obituary - Sarah Jane Lee nee McConnell

The Pittsburgh Daily Post, 12MAR1902, pg 5

I'm continuing on with my Lee family posts. I've got a number of them in the works and hope that by preparing and sharing them I'll find that piece that links them in my tree. Even if I don't find it now I'm sure it will present itself at some point.

"LEE - On Monday, March 10, 1902, at 4:20 p.  m., Sarah Jane Lee (née McConnell), wife of Thomas Lee, in her 70th year.

Funeral from her late residence, 42 Melrose avenue, Allegheny, on Thursday morning at 8:30 o'clock. Requiem high mass at Church of the Annunciation at 9 o'clock. Friends of the family are respectfully invited to attend."

The Pittsburgh Daily Post, 11Mar1902, pg 3

"Mrs. Sarah Lee

Mrs. Sarah Lee, 73 years old, died yesterday at her home, 73 Melrose avenue, Allegheny. For some time she had been troubled with slight ills, owing to her advanced age, but was not taken seriously ill with pneumonia until Thursday. Mrs. Lee was born in Blair county, near Altoona, and came here about 50 years ago with her parents, settling in Allegheny at the time. She was soon married to Thomas Lee, who survives her besides five children."

Her obituary starts out pretty well, but then it fizzes out. We start to get a lot of information about her early life (although the names of her parents would be nice) and then she's married and has five kids. End of obit. It's like it was hurried. I know her surviving children are Frank, Edward, and Carrie Lee, Gertrude Menges, and Grace Laughlin. I know that Charles isn't mentioned here either but was in the 1880 census and then dropped off the planet. I'm assuming he died, but I haven't found anything to confirm that yet.

Another thing I noticed about the obituary is that it says she was 73 when the death notice says 70 (and her tombstone confirms 70) and it has 73 for her address when the death notice has 42 (and if memory serves me correctly this was the number in her hubby's obit too). It really adds to the sloppiness of the obituary, but I won't complain too much. I'm glad to have one at all!

Wedding Wednesday - David Menges and Gertrude Lee Get Hitched

The Pittsburgh Dispatch, 20SEP1891, pg 12

Well if I ever figure out where to place the Pittsburgh Lees in my family tree I'll have wedding information for David and Gertrude!

"Thrown wide open were the portals of St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral, Allegheny, last Tuesday evening to admit Mr. David Menges and Miss Gertrude Lee, who had decided to enter the matrimonial state. The bride was attended by Miss Annie Walsh, while Mr. Charles Lee, a brother of the bride, acted as best man. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. F. F. O'Shea. A reception was held at the residence of the bride's parents."

Talk about an embellishment of an article! No mention of the groom's parents or siblings nor of the bride's (at least not by name), but the article will give me a wedding date and place...and something else.

There's mention of Gertrude's brother, Charles. Charles wasn't mentioned in her obituary. A good assumption is that he passed away before she did, but he could have been left out in error or due to an unknown family conflict. It does give me another sibling to look for though.

Tombstone Tuesday - Thomas and Sarah Jane Lee nee McConnell

Photo taken by Bill Bodkin and added to FindAGrave by Liz Freeman.

When you've got ancestors with a surname like Lee you don't hold much hope for easy discoveries. You generally get too many results. I've been lucky recently because between the Pennsylvania death certificates going online and subscribing to Newspapers.com I was able to narrow down my search parameters enough to find the death certificates and obituaries for Thomas (past post) and Sarah Jane (future post). In those gems I saw that they were buried in Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, PA. I was not only surprised to find there were memorials for both of them in the cemetery on FindAGrave, but there was a photo for their tombstones.

I was so happy when the memorials were transferred to me for care by Liz Freeman. She really made my day with that. As for the photo credit, Liz was helping Bill Bodkin to get his tombstone photos on FindAGrave and hasn't been able to get in touch with him for awhile. So I thank and credit Bill with this photo and Liz with her help getting it on FindAGrave and I hope that despite his email silence that all is well. Both of their efforts have helped this researcher with a very difficult line in her family tree.