Contributed by Diane Ciba
In 1918, a worldwide pandemic began. About 1/3 of the world’s population eventually became infected with Influenza, also known as the Spanish Flu. About 675,000 persons died in the United States from this virus.
Evergreen Cemetery
Records at the Evergreen Cemetery indicate at least 28 persons died here in Watertown between October 1918 and March 1919 from this disease. These13 males and 15 females show that Influenza took persons of all ages: old, young, and in between.
6 young people under the age of 20 died in this epidemic. The youngest was a boy aged 1 year, 1 month and 8 days old: Emerson William Mason. He died on October 11, 1918 and was buried in Old Evergreen the following day. There is no record of a monument for the child, so he was most likely buried in an unmarked grave and his parents unknown.
Only 3 persons older than the age of 40 were taken by the Spanish Flu.The oldest person was Mrs. Frances Percy, age 75, who died a widow, on October 22, 1918. Born Frances Annette Coan on May 20, 1843, she married Henry Charles Percy in 1866. They had one known child, Richard Truman, born in 1869. Although records indicate she died in Hamden, she was buried October 24 in the family plot in Evergreen where her husband was buried in 1898.
Unlike other infectious diseases, the Spanish Flu targeted many young adults aged 20 to 40. That was true here in Watertown, where 21 young adults aged 23 – 38 died in that 6 month period. The family of James Burwell and Eva Mae (Stephens) Burwell lost two children to this disease. Daughter Emily was only 18 when she died October 22, 1918. A few months later, a son, Edward Cross Burwell, died on January 22, 1919 at age 33.
Here is the list of individuals who died from the Spanish Flu and are buried in Evergreen Cemetery:
- Atwood, Wesley H.B. (age 33)
- Beardslee, Mary E. (age 69)
- Beck, Delia Mereterey (age 24)
- Beers, Harold A. (age 26)
- Beers, Helen P. (age 34)
- Bormalini, Julia (age 30)
- Burwell, Edward C. (age 33)
- Burwell, Emily (age 18)
- Butterfield, Mabel (age 28)
- Cameron, Byron H. (age 42)
- Conrad, Flora Higgins (age 30)
- Evans, Getrude Underhill (age 27)
- Fretts, Mabel (age 37)
- Golat, Emma Metiterey (age 25)
- Hamilton, John (age 31)
- Hansen, Arma (age 29)
- Hudson, Margaret Davis (age 33)
- Kane, Rebecca W. (age 24)
- Krantz, Herman W. (age 27)
- Logue, Charles (age 28)
- MacMahon, Martha (age 27)
- Mason, Emerson Wm. (age 1)
- Mattoon, Henry A. (age 29)
- O’Dell, Marion Frances (age 14)
- Percy, Frances C. (age 75)
- Richards, Carter E. (age 38)
- Shaw, Charles R. (age 10)
- Slocum, Robert M. (age 23)
- Weiss, Fanny B. (age 16)
- Wheeler, Loren W. (age 16)
We hope to add more information about these women and men in the coming months.
Special thanks to Jeff Pelletier and the Evergreen Cemetery Association for their help in research for this series.
Mount St. James Cemetery
The following individuals, buried in Mount St. James Cemetery during the time of the Spanish Flu Pandemic have not all been confirmed as perishing from Influenza. They are included here as possible victims:
OUTSIDE OF WATERTOWN
At the time of their death, the following individuals were considered residents of Watertown, but for a number of reasons were buried elsewhere:
New Camden Cemetery, Camden, NJ: Sgt. Otto Dreher