Historian lists names of possible Cedar County Spanish Flu victims

This week’s article ---— which I expect to be the last in the series — takes a look at the Spanish Influenza deaths in Cedar County towns and the towns of Concord and Dixon.

While taking notes over the years from the back files of the Laurel Advocate I recorded births, deaths and marriages. In the case of deaths, I also recorded the age of the deceased and the cause of death if it was reported.

Thus, I am reasonably confident that the deaths for the town of Laurel are accurate.

I did not have access to newspaper files other than the Laurel Advocate so the names of flu victims in the other towns is speculative. It is known that the majority of Spanish Flu deaths were young adults. Knowing this, I looked at all deaths in the different towns in Cedar County from October 1918 through March 1919 on the Find A Grave website and wrote down the names of people in that age group who died at that time.

I undoubtedly missed a number of older or younger people who died of the flu. As the cause of death was not generally given on Find A Grave, I am equally certain that some of the people listed below died of other causes. Young adults occasionally died of disease, accidents, or during childbirth, but not in the numbers that occurred in the fall of 1918. To the best of my knowledge these are the names of the people who may have died from the Spanish Flu.

REPORTED DEATHS IN LAUREL

October 1918: Lonnie McGuire, died at Camp Grant; Mary Schlotfeld, 7 mos.; Jennie Welburn, 40; Ivan Stolberg, 24.

November 1918: Jean LeResche, 25, a Sioux City nurse caring for the Schlotfeld family, buried in Logan Park; Reuben Lyons, 20; Delia Bassinger, 27, the first flu death in the town of Laurel.

December 1918: Arthur Carlson, 29; Reuben Lyons, 20; Mrs. H.C. Lyons, 58, mother of Reuben and Irvan. Nathan Wilson, 25; Mrs. J.A. Fredricksen, 32; Helen Flint, 63.

January 1919: Myrtle Brown, death reported in Advocate but no grave record; David Pickering, 37, buried in Union, NE.

February 1918: Susanna Ross, 49, Logan Center.

POSSIBLE BELDEN DEATHS

October 1918 - Asa McDonald, 24, became sick in an army camp;

February 1919: Leonard Alderson, 22; Hertha Munter, 19, month of death not on stone.

POSSIBLE COLERIDGE DEATHS

October 1918: Elmer Strivens, 22; December 1918; Ralph Sherer, 24; Teresa Young, 35.

January 1919: Henry Storm, 25; March 1919: Louis Thum, 31.

Month of death not on grave stone: Rose Lewon, 17; Rosa Fiscus, 30; Elizabeth Dirks, 34; Clara Baird, 29, buried at Norris.

Note: the Norris cemetery is not on Find A Grave.

POSSIBLE HARTINGTON DEATHS

October 1918: Mathias Becker, 43, first Spanish Flu death in Cedar County; Emma Kuhl, 13; Wilbur Corson, 22; John Murkle, 36; Tillie Danielson, 26; Harold Peterson, 22, brother of Fred.

November 1918: Fred Peterson, 26, became sick after attending brother Harold’s funeral; Albert Weiger, 26, buried at Paragon; Edna Schager, 26, buried at Paragon. Note: the Paragon cemetery has not been recorded on Find A Grave.

December 1919: Gertrude Constable, 18; Edward Pollock, 22.

January 1919: Daniel Cooper, 31; Mary Stevens, 29; Walter Peterson, 35.

February 1919: Annie Sullivan, 38.

Month of death not on stone: Mary Bange, 24; Lettie Eby, 34; Homer Charles, 28.

POSSIBLE MAGNET DEATHS

October 1918: Lola Buol, 23. Month of death not on stone: Ruth Bredemeyer, 26; Ethel Leckler, 33.

POSSIBLE MENOMINEE DEATHS

October 1918: Joseph Jansen, 33; December 1918: Maria Hoebelheinrich, 28. January 1919: Edward Lammers, 25.

POSSIBLE OBERT DEATHS

October 1918: Anna Feelhaver, 37, sister of Stanley Anderson of Hartington, the first Cedar County soldier killed in World War I; Minnie Nielsen, 16.

POSSIBLE RANDOLPH DEATHS

October 1918: Nettie Graham, 19; George Strathman, 21, died at Camp Grant; Leo Carroll, 24; Charles Chambers, 37; Edith, Nellor, 35; Doris Hyatt, 23; Florence Sellon, 19; Augusta Schmitt, 46; Louis Peters, 36.

November 1918: Gove Greeson, 31.

December 1918: Emmett Thomas, 26; Mary Lange, 44; Mabel Harper, 21; Loyd Tatge, 20.

January 1919: Carl Tatge, 19; Effie Tatge, 17, sister of Carl and Loyd; Clara Jones, 32; William Manzer, 29. Note: George Tatge lost three of his nine children in two days. Another died in World War II. The mother of the children died in 1916.

February 1919; Mary Liewer, 33; Jennie Brandt, 26; John Kruger, 18; Mae Clausen, 33.

Date uncertain: John Dolen, 27; Albert Bieschke, 22; Belle Cook, not buried in Randolph; Christine Larsen, 24; Mabel Peters, 29; Paul Strathman, 17, brother of George. Note: Randolph lost more people than any other Cedar County town.

POSSIBLE ST. HELENA DEATHS

January 1919: Joseph Boehmer, 46. Note: the St. Helena cemeteries have not been added to the Find A Grave site.

POSSIBLE WYNOT DEATHS

October 1918: Phillip Kleinberg Jr., 26; Bertha Morgan, 31; November: Jennie Brewer, 56; Thomas Smith, 58.

SOME ADDITIONAL NOTES

According to the Advocate, symptoms of the Spanish Influenza were similar to the ordinary flu except more severe. Two or three days after exposure the person is stricken suddenly with weakness, dizziness, and pain in various parts of the body. Other symptoms include eyes that are bloodshot and sensitive to light, a sore throat, and a temperature of 103-104 degrees. The fever subsides after three or four days after which time the patient begins to recover. In a few cases a severe form of pneumonia sets in which often results in death.

Sufferers should remain in bed and isolated from the rest of the family until the symptoms subside. Anyone entering the room should wear a mask.

Instructions for making a mask according to Dr. W.A. Evans in the Sioux City Tribune: “A proper face mask consists of several layers of cloth large enough to cover the mouth and nose. The best cloth is gauze with a 44x10 mesh. It should be in at least three layers.

Nurses, doctors, and others in close contact with virulent cases should wear masks made of six layers. The mask should be 8x5 inches with two tapes or braids sewn to the mask, one along the upper border and one along the lower. The side of the mask to be worn next to the face should be marked with a black thread.

The mask should come just below the eyes. The lower tapes go around the neck just below the chin; the upper tapes should pass over the ears and behind the head.  Masks can be washed in boiling water and used indefinitely. Proof is lacking that masks are effective when worn on the street to prevent influenza,” said Dr. Evans.

POSSIBLE CONCORD DEATHS

October 1918: Edward Fuoss, 25, Concord; Arthur Okblom, 29. January 1919: Arthur Smith, 30.