Earnest Cecil Fullerton

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

Fullerton Family Headstone

Grave Marker of Earnest Fullerton

Grave marker reading "EARNEST 1886-1918"

Image of Earnest Fullerton

Draft Card of Earnest Fullerton

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The gravesite of Earnest Cecil Fullerton can be found just behind the large obelisk labeled "Harvey". Earnest Cecil Fullerton was a World War I soldier who was drafted on June 4th of 1917. Prior to his enlistment, he had two of his toes on his right foot amputated for unknown reasons. He was a part of the Provost Guard Company at Camp Meade in Maryland. He contracted the Spanish Influenza while stationed there and left the Earth on October 24th, 1918 when he was 31 years old. He was the son of Ezekiel P Fullerton and Elizabeth Pendleton Fullerton and brother to May and Harrison Morton Fullerton.

Sources

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.
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/59728558/earnest-cecil-fullerton

https://cabellwwi.wordpress.com/soldiers/dedication-list/fullerton-ernest-c/

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYY1-XB9?cc=1968530