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This is a contributing entry for The Spanish Influenza Tour of Spring Hill and only appears as part of that tour.Learn More.

Frank Samuel Bright

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic ravaged the world in a way man had not seen in generations. One of the few truly worldwide pandemics, the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic claimed an estimated 50-100 million deaths worldwide(1). This number is more than both world wars combined. In 1918, Spring Hill Cemetery was one of the primary cemeteries for Huntington, West Virginia. As such, a number of victims from the Spanish Influenza Pandemic are buried here. The Spanish Influenza hit Huntington fairly hard with 200 deaths, most of which occurring in the month of October(2). Even Huntington's Mayor, Leon S. Wiles, perished from the flu. On this tour, you will visit 17 gravesites of Huntington residents who perished from the Spanish Influenza Pandemic. Please keep in mind during the tour that you are visiting the final resting places of these people. Please treat all graves and the cemetery with the utmost respect and courtesy. Do your best not to step on top of a person’s final resting place and follow all posted rules.

Images

Bright Family Headstone

Headstone reading "Bright"

Grave Marker of Frank Samuel Bright

Grave marker reading "Frank S. Bright 1883-1918"

Death Certificate of Frank Bright

Frank Bright death certificate

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Frank Bright is the first grave we will be visiting on our tour of Spring Hill's many Spanish Flu victims. He is one of three individuals buried in the 1918 expansion of Spring Hill, which was built to accommodate for the influx of death brought on not only due to the Spanish Flu, but also World War 1. Frank was also known to Huntington as "Fatty", as he was, at the time, the heaviest person in Huntington, weighing in at 300 pounds. Frank Bright left this Earth on October 8th, 1918. Frank was the son of Roderick Dean Bright and Emma Jane Samuels Bright and brother to Charles William and Jenny.

Sources

  1. Spreeuwenberg, Peter. Reassessing the Global Mortality Burden of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. American Journal of Epidemiology, ser. 2561-2567, vol. 187, no. 12. Published September 7th 2018. NCBI.
  2. Casto, James E.. "Deadly 1918 flu hit Huntington hard." The Herald-Dispatch (Huntington) May 1st 2009.
Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58568551/frank-samuel-bright

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58568551/frank-samuel-bright

http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcdetail.aspx?Id=696922

Additional Information