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Bubonic Plague In The United States of America

My mother was born in 1915, and she and her 11 siblings all survived to adulthood to raise families of their own. She and her siblings were born during the period the Bubonic Plague was ravaging the United States, but perhaps because they lived on a farm in Millen, Jenkins County, Georgia, they survived since their exposure was probably minimal.

My daughter's grandfather was not so fortunate. He lived in Elloree, Orangeburg, South Carolina and died of the plague in April, 1918. He did not live on a farm, although I believe he worked on one. I am getting the impression that he lived in a much more urban setting than did my mother and her family. [A sad note: there is no burial information at all on his death certificate, and I am left wondering if he was simply cremated.]

Does anyone know if the advent of the plague affected the census of 1920? If so, was the effect felt more in certain states than in others?

I am posting this query in my blog because I am not sure how to reach the members here through another method. Please bear with me.

Thank you.
Spivey

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Comment by Spivey on September 17, 2009 at 10:38am: Thanks, Debbie. I went back over my tree and noticed that Russell Felder's wife, Jalura Glover Felder died in 1916 and he died in 1918. I wonder if they were both victims of the plague. Another task. LOL.

Comment by Unknown Ancestor on September 14, 2009 at 6:01am: The official U.S. site for the 1918-1919 worldwide disaster, which killed more people than WWI and yet is rarely covered in history textbooks, is attached here. It includes state-by-state data.
You may want to search other sources; see the group on Documenting Deaths.

Bubonic Plague In The United States of America

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