1918 Flu
I have reviewed the death certificates for Campbell County that are available on Ancestry.com. There are 1060 certificates for 1918. On the average there appear, around 700 death certificates. This is not a scientific report but I believe it is quite comprehensive. I have no doubt that there are other facts that can be gleaned from a review of these certificates but I will leave that to someone else.
Some of the problems I encountered while searching were poor penmanship, disappearing ink (well almost), possible mis-diagnosis on the part of the physician, cause of death given as pneumonia with flu as contributory or vice versa and sometimes only pneumonia is listed. I have only used those records that mentioned the flu or La Grippe (old medical term for the flu) on the certificate. But I will enumerate the cases of pneumonia listed alone and let you draw your own conclusions.
It does not appear that the flu epidemic began before the month of October. There are cases of pneumonia year round every year. So I checked back to the month of June and did not find any deaths from the flu until September. During the month of June there were 3 cases of pneumonia recorded. In July there were 4 cases. August had 2 cases. That brings us to September and it had 2 cases of pneumonia recorded. However there also was one case of the flu. This occurred on the 27th and a 28 year old florist clerk from Newport died of the flu. The actual cause of death is shown as pneumonia with La Grippe given as a contributory cause. The man was buried in St. Stephen's Cemetery on the 30th of September.
The next incidence occurred on October 8th. On that date a 20 year old single woman from Dayton, KY died and the cause is listed as pneumonia with a contributory cause of influenza. The doctor stated on the certificate that he had been treating her since the 3rd of October. Her job, profession or kind of work is recorded as "homeduties".
The next day, October 9th, a 34 year old married man who is listed as a R R Fireman died and it is listed as pneumonia following influenza. He had been treated since October 4th. He was from Dayton, KY and was buried in the state of Mass. Exact date is not given.
The next death involving the flu was on the 10th. A 71 year old married woman died in Speers Hospital of pneumonia with La Grippe given as contributory. The death certificates usually do not show what strain of flu was involved in the death. As you shall see, the usual victim of the so called Spanish Flu was much younger. I suspect that more than one strain of the flu was rampant and this death may be from a regular strain of Flu.
A 1 year old child from Bellevue was the next victim on the 12th of Oct. On this date, an outbreak of deaths from the Flu began among the recruits at the Ft. Thomas military post and 40 deaths were reported there between the 12th and the 21st of October. There were about a half dozen deaths during that period at the Post listed simply as pneumonia. They are not included in the previous total of 40.
The October deaths attributed to the Flu at Ft. Thomas are broken down thus:
3 on the 12th,
6 on the 13th,
3 on the 14th,
11 on the 15th,
3 on the 16th,
5 on the 17th,
1 on the 18th,
6 on the 19th
2 on the 21st.
Then the deaths from the Flu at Ft. Thomas stopped. Most of the recruits were from out of state with the majority from the state of PA and their remains were returned to that State or to their respective home State. They ranged in age from 21 to 34 with the average age being 26 years old. I did find one other case at Ft. Thomas and that occurred on the 22 of July when a 26 year old soldier died with the cause given as Empyema following pneumonia. He had been sick since the 7th of May. I do not believe it is connected to the future epidemic but I will mention it here for any future researcher. His remains were returned to Meadville, PA.
In Campbell County there were 58 deaths where influenza was listed either as the cause or contributory to the death of the individual during the month of October. These were in addition to the 40 at Ft. Thomas Military Post.
There were 23 deaths listed simply as caused by pneumonia. The youngest victim was 7 months old and the oldest was 71 years old. Most of the victims were in their 20s and 30s. The flu related deaths occurred as follows:
Oct 8 1 death
Oct 9 1 death
Oct 10 1 death
Oct 12 2 deaths
Oct 14 2 deaths
Oct 15 1 death
Oct 16 6 deaths
Oct 17 3 deaths
Oct 18 2 deaths
Oct 19 2 deaths
Oct 20 2 deaths
Oct 21 6 deaths
Oct 22 3 deaths
Oct 23 2 deaths
Oct 24 1 death
Oct 25 2 deaths
Oct 26 2 deaths
Oct 27 3 deaths
Oct 28 5 deaths
Oct 29 5 deaths
Oct 30 3 deaths
Oct 31 3 deaths
Evergreen Cemetery received 24.
St. Stephen's Cemetery received 11.
St. Joseph's old and new Cemeteries in Price Hill received 5.
The remaining were buried at various cemeteries throughout the area or in more distant locations.
One was cremated.
Newport was the residence of 25 of the victims.
Dayton presents somewhat of a problem as some of the victims resided elsewhere in the county but died at Speers Hospital in Dayton. The number for Dayton was 21. Clifton is listed as the residence of 1 victim.
Bellevue was the residence of 9 victims.
Silver Grove had one victim.
Not including those victims from the Ft. Thomas Military Post, the city of Ft. Thomas had 1 additional victim.
Adding the deaths attributed to the Flu in Ft. Thomas and the remainder of the county and the total is 98 deaths. Possible additions to that number are those deaths only listed as from pneumonia and the total is 127. I would not be surprised if some other deaths attributed to tuberculosis or heart disease for example were in fact complicated by the flu and it was not reflected in the death certificate.
All of the victims at the Ft. Thomas Military Post were male. In the rest of the County the victims were 32 males, 26 females.
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The month of November seemed to bring some relief to the residents of Campbell County. There are 44 deaths involving the Flu and 15 only listed as Pneumonia. The total therefore is 59 deaths. The victims were 25 males, 19 females.
For the first time the Spanish Flu is listed as the cause of death on a certificate dated Nov 3rd. One certificate describes it as epidemic Flu.
The deaths occurred as follows:
Nov 1 5 deaths
Nov 2 3 deaths
Nov 3 1 death
Nov 4 1 death
Nov 5 4 deaths
Nov 6 1 death
Nov 7 2 deaths
Nov 10 2 deaths
Nov 11 3 deaths
Nov 13 2 deaths
Nov 14 1 death
Nov 15 1 death
Nov 18 3 deaths
Nov 19 1 death
Nov 20 6 deaths
Nov 22 2 deaths
Nov 24 1 death
Nov 25 2 deaths
Nov 26 1 death
Nov 28 2 deaths
Some especially tragic stories begin to appear when the records are closely examined. For example there was a stillborn recorded with influenza and pneumonia as contributory. Does this refer to the mother having the disease? There was a woman who passed away on Nov 20th and on the 24th is listed her 1 year old child. I am sure there are more cases like this that I did not catch.
The age of the November victims ranges from Stillborn to 48. The average appears to be about 30 years old.
Evergreen Cemetery received 17 victims.
St. Steven's Cemetery received 9.
There was one cremation.
St. Joseph's Cemetery in John's Hill appears to have received 4 victims including the mother and child mentioned.
Spring Grove Cemetery received 3.
Other cemeteries mentioned are Walnut Hill, Peach Grove, St. Mary's in Cincinnati, Highland Cemetery, Vine Street Hill Cemetery in Cincinnati and St. John's Cemetery in Covington. 2 were sent to distant States.
It is often difficult to determine the cemetery because of the entry on the certificate. If it is only listed as St. John's for example, it could be in any of at least 3 cemeteries by that name in the area. The same thing happens with St. Mary's, St. Joseph's etc.
Sometimes there is some help when the certificate will say for example, St. John's Cov., or St. Mary's Cin. And often the handwriting is so poor that the zoom function of the graphic program doesn't even help. Thank goodness they eventually started to use typewriters for these records.
The Ft. Thomas Military Post did not report any deaths involving the Flu.
Newport had 27 resident victims.
Dayton had 6 victims.
Clifton had 5 victims.
Bellevue had 2 victims.
Cold Spring had 2 victims.
Wilder had 1 victim.
John's Hill had 1 victim.
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December saw the number of Flu related deaths increase to 66. The number listed only as Pneumonia was 19 cases. The total of the two is 85.
The victims were 31 males, 35 females.
Ft. Thomas Military Post did not report any deaths from the Flu.
The deaths occurred as follows:
Dec 1 2 deaths
Dec 2 1 death
Dec 3 1 death
Dec 4 6 deaths
Dec 5 6 deaths
Dec 6 7 deaths
Dec 7 1 death
Dec 8 1 death
Dec 9 6 deaths
Dec 10 4 deaths
Dec 11 2 deaths
Dec 12 2 deaths
Dec 14 5 deaths
Dec 15 3 deaths
Dec 16 3 deaths
Dec 17 3 deaths
Dec 18 3 deaths
Dec 22 1 death
Dec 24 1 death
Dec 25 3 deaths
Dec 30 2 deaths
Dec 31 3 deaths
Newport resident victims numbered 36.
Dayton had 13 victims.
The City of Ft. Thomas had 5 victims.
Bellevue had 4 victims.
Alexandria had 2 victims.
Brent had 1 victim.
Clifton had 3 victims.
Cote Brilliant had 1 victim.
Cold Spring had 1 victim.
The cemeteries in the area were very busy. In addition to burials from other causes they had the following which were related to the Flu.
Evergreen had 30.
St. Stephen's had 16.
St. Joseph Old and New in Price Hill had 8.
There was one cremation.
St. Joseph Cold Spring had 2.
St. Mary's Alexandria had 2.
The remaining were divided between smaller local cemeteries or those out of the Cincinnati area.
December also had some especially tragic stories. One premature baby has a note that the mother had the Flu. A mother had a still born on the 25th and then she passed away on the 30. Another women with the Flu died during childbirth on the 30th. A mother died on the 15th and her 11 month old died the next day. Another mother died with her stillborn on the 6th and on the 8th a 5 year old child with the same last name passed away. I have not determined if the child belonged to the same mother. On the 6th there was a stillborn and the mother died the next day. A 24 year old Catholic nun from Bellevue died of the Flu on the 14th. I am sure that there are many more such stories that could be revealed by a closer examination of these records.
The year of 1918 ended with a total of 208 Flu related deaths. The total from October through December simply listed as pneumonia is 62. If, as I suspect, most of these also involved the Flu, I believe the total for these three months of 1918 can be reasonably estimated to be 250 deaths.
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January 1919 gave some reprieve to the residents of Campbell County.
There were 10 deaths listed simply as pneumonia.
7 deaths involved the Flu.
Three of the victims were males and 4 females.
Jan 8 1 death
Jan 10 1 death
Jan 12 1 death
Jan 14 1 death
Jan 20 2 deaths
Jan 25 1 death
Evergreen Cemetery received 3 victims.
St. Steven's Cemetery received 1 victim.
1 victim was buried in Maysville.
Butler is listed for 1 victim and Flour Creek for one. Probably both Flour Creek.
Dayton had 3 victims, Bellevue had one victim, Cote Brilliant had one victim and Grant's Lick had 2 victims.
One Flu victim died during childbirth and one miscarried.
February showed an increase in deaths from both pneumonia and the Flu.
There were 25 deaths listed as pneumonia including one premature.
14 deaths involved the Flu, 6 were male and 8 female.
Feb 3 1 death
Feb 4 1 death
Feb 10 1 death
Feb 18 1 death
Feb 21 1 death
Feb 22 1 death
Feb 23 2 deaths
Feb 25 1 death
Feb 26 2 deaths
Feb 27 1 death
Feb 28 2 deaths
Evergreen Cemetery received 6 victims.
St. Steven's Cemetery received 4 victims.
St. Joseph Cemetery in John's Hill received 1 victim.
One victim is simply listed as being buried in Cold Spring. Possibly Potters Field.
Highland Cemetery received 1 victim.
1 victim was buried in Middletown, OH.
7 of the victims were from Newport. Bellevue had 3 victims. Dayton had 4 victims.
2 brothers from Bellevue, a 7 month old and a 4 year old , fell victim to the Flu.
One mother and he premature child from Dayton died from the Flu.
March showed another increase in deaths connected to the Flu.
There were 10 deaths listed only as pneumonia.
35 deaths involved the Flu, 10 males and 25 females.
Mar 2 1 death
Mar 3 1 death
Mar 4 2 deaths
Mar 5 1 death
Mar 6 1 death
Mar 7 2 deaths
Mar 8 2 deaths
Mar 9 2 deaths
Mar 10 2 deaths
Mar 11 3 deaths
Mar 12 2 deaths
Mar 13 1 death
Mar 14 3 deaths
Mar 15 1 death
Mar 16 3 deaths
Mar 18 1 death
Mar 19 2 deaths
Mar 20 1 death
Mar 28 2 deaths
Mar 30 1 death
Mar 31 1 death
Newport had 13 victims. Dayton had 4 victims, Bellevue had 5 victims, Alexandria had 2 victims, Hawthorne had 2 victims, Clifton had 2 victims, Southgate had 2 victims. Indian Spring had 1 victim, the City of Ft. Thomas had 2 victims.
One certificate shows the place of death as Campbell County but the town as
Ludlow. I do not know which is correct but I included it in the County list.
Evergreen Cemetery received 18 Flu victims.
St. Stephen's Cemetery received 6 victims.
Alexandria Cemetery received 1 victim.
Pleasant Ridge Cemetery received 1 victim.
St. Mary's Alexandria received 1 victim.
St. Joseph's John's Hill received 1 victim.
The remaining were buried in smaller cemeteries or out of State.
As if by magic, the deaths dropped off in the month of April.
There were 5 deaths listed only as pneumonia.
There were 5 deaths that involved the Flu. 3 males and 2 females.
Apr 3 1 death in Newport.
Apr 11 1 death in Dayton
Apr 14 2 deaths, 1 in Carthage and 1 in Alexandria
Apr 15 1 death in Dayton
Evergreen Cemetery received 1 victim.
St. Mary's Alexandria received 1 victim.
4 mile received 1 victim.
2 victims were buried in Cincinnati.
The death in Carthage involved a Soldier that had returned from France and apparently had contracted the disease while there.
May continued to show a decline in the epidemic. There were 9 deaths listed as pneumonia. Only 2 deaths involved the Flu.
May 6 1 death in Cote Brilliant.
May 29 1 death in Newport of a man who had complications with tuberculosis. He had been treated since Feb 28.
Both Flu victims were buried in St. Stephen's Cemetery. Both were males.
June was virtually a repeat of May. There were 4 deaths listed as pneumonia.
For the second month in a row, there were only 2 deaths involving the Flu.
Jun 18 1 death in Bellevue. This was a male.
Jun 29 1 death in Newport. This man also had TB and had been in treatment since Feb. 1st.
St. Stephen's Cemetery received 1 victim.
Linden Grove Cemetery received 1 victim.
By July of 1919 it appears the epidemic was over. There were no deaths with Flu involvement. There was one death of a 91 year old man from pneumonia.
So to summarize the totals:
Deaths recorded as involving the Flu:
Sept 1918 1 death
Oct " 98 deaths
Nov " 44 deaths
Dec " 66 deaths
Jan 1919 7 deaths
Feb " 14 deaths
Mar " 35 deaths
Apr " 5 deaths
May " 2 deaths
Jun " 2 deaths
Total 274 deaths
Deaths recorded only as pneumonia:
Sept 1918 2 deaths
Oct " 29 deaths
Nov " 15 deaths
Dec " 18 deaths
Jan " 10 deaths
Feb " 25 deaths
Mar " 10 deaths
Apr " 5 deaths
May " 8 deaths
Jun " 4 deaths
Total 126 deaths
The possible combined total is 400 deaths.