As you delve into your genealogy, you discover that historical events were more than just names and dates in your textbook. They were real events that impacted the lives of real people.
Most of us encounter this fact when we look back at our ancestors going off to war, living through the Depression and more.
However, most of us do not think of a global pandemic affecting our families. For my Hillman ancestors, the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic was much more than a news headline.
This family photo was taken around the turn of the century, based on the age of baby Edna. My great-grandmother, Carrie, is surrounded by her siblings and parents.
Her younger sister, Lillian Moore Hillman, is a cute little 7 year old sitting at her mother's feet.
The years pass, and Lillian meets a handsome man by the name of John Anthony Maffey. Their thoughts turn to love, and they soon decide to get married.
On December 22nd, 1917, the two marry in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. John is 28, and Lillian is 27 years old.
This family photo was taken around the turn of the century, based on the age of baby Edna. My great-grandmother, Carrie, is surrounded by her siblings and parents.
Her younger sister, Lillian Moore Hillman, is a cute little 7 year old sitting at her mother's feet.
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| Thomas J. and Anna (Moore) Hillman. Children (Clockwise from top left): Grace, Carrie, Edna, Lillian, Maude, George |
The years pass, and Lillian meets a handsome man by the name of John Anthony Maffey. Their thoughts turn to love, and they soon decide to get married.
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| John A. Maffey and Lillian M. Hillman |
On December 22nd, 1917, the two marry in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. John is 28, and Lillian is 27 years old.
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| Marriage License for John A. Maffey & Lillian M. Hillman |
With Lillian's brother, George, overseas in Europe as part of the Rainbow Division in World War I, I am sure the newlyweds followed the headlines in the newspaper.
But, I do wonder if they looked past the war news, and caught the beginnings of what would later be known as the Spanish Flu.
According to Wikipedia, the 1918 influenza pandemic began in January 1918, only a month after John and Lillian married.
In those first months of marriage, I'm sure they paid more attention to each other than to the world around them. Lillian left her job as a clerk, and took care of their home. John continued working as a motorman in Cincinnati.
Tragically, the world news would come crashing into their world in the month of October 1918. Lillian was seen by a doctor at General Hospital in Cincinnati on October 16th, and by October 17th she died of broncho-pneumonia following influenza, according to her death certificate.
A short ten months after becoming man and wife, Lillian's life is tragically cut short and John is left a widow.
My great-grandmother and her siblings lost a sister, and their parents lost a daughter.
A life cut short, our family never had the chance to meet this beautiful lady.
Now that I've shared my story of my great-grand aunt, Lillian Moore Hillman Maffey ~
Has the Spanish Flu touched your family history? Do you have a story to tell?
I've found a couple of stories now that I'm looking into the 1918 deaths on my tree. Sad times.
ReplyDeleteVirginia, I read your blog post that you left on the Genealogy Bloggers FB group. Thank you for sharing them with me. Mae had a lot of tragedy in her life, and in her family's lives.
ReplyDeleteHeartbreaking story! Well told. I haven't really searched for epidemic deaths in my family. It would be an eye opening search I am sure.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Valerie! My great-grandmother, Carrie, was Lillian's sister, and lived until I was 12. I still had never heard this story. It wasn't until I found her marriage, and then death, records that I discovered it.
DeleteYou tell her story very well, Diane. It was Tuberculosis that seemingly became the big killer through all branches of my family.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dara! I am so sorry to hear that about your family's history with TB. My dad had it as a newlywed in 1960-61. He didn't have to go to a sanitarium and fully recovered, but he & mom told us how it affected their first years of marriage.
ReplyDelete