While doing my best to stay home and avoid exposure to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, I’ve found myself wondering about my ancestors during the Spanish Flu pandemic. The most recent 52 Ancestors prompt is “Newsworthy,” prompting me to seek answers in a local paper serving the county where my Sansbury family lived.

Based on news items in The Southern Star, it appears the Spanish Influenza reached Dale County, Alabama, by October 1918. Schools shut down and public gatherings were discouraged. On 9 October, The Southern Star reported a Liberty Day celebration scheduled for three days later had been canceled.¹

The following week, a short news item on the front page stated matter-of-factly “… it is th [sic] duty of every one to see that the instructions of the medical profession are carried out.”²

Interestingly, this shut-down did not appear to last long. (I won’t speculate on how much compliance with medical advice there may have been.) Within a few weeks, schools re-opened. In the newspaper style of the day, the one-sentence announcement without its own headline was buried in a column of local news snippets on page 5.³

Other activities quickly resumed in the community as well.⁴

Although the editions printed around that time have scattered mentions of those who had taken ill and those who had recovered. I didn’t find any references to any known family members becoming victim to the Spanish Flu. However, I did rediscover a published letter from a cousin serving in the military. Sgt. Thomas B. Sansbury wrote the letter to his father, J.M.L. Sansbury.⁵ John Moses Leroy Sansbury was my great-grandfather’s older brother, neighbor, and business partner.

World War I had ended, but Thomas remained in France. He discussed some of his activities both before and after the armistice. He also revealed he had taken ill.

“I was in the hospital 14 days with the Spanish Flu last month. I sure don’t want it any more. I am getting along fine now …” – Sgt. Thomas B. Sansbury

So thanks to this letter, I do know at least one of my Sansbury relatives did get sick during the 1918 pandemic — and survived.

 

Please take precautions for yourself and those around you. Stay safe, everyone!

Did you have any relatives who contracted the Spanish Flu? Did it make the news? Please share your story in the comments!

 

#52Ancestors #genealogy #newsworthy #SpanishFlu #MaskUp

---