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

Lillian F. McCurdy

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

Grave Marker of Lilliam McCurdy

Grave marker reading "LILLIAN MCCURDY 1898-1918"

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Lillian F. McCurdy was a student at Marshall University, which you may have heard is just down the road from here. She was planning to attend Columbia University after graduating. Lilian was estimated to be either 19 or 20 when she contracted the Spanish Influenza. Like most on this tour, she died in the October of 1918. Huntington was not alone when it came to the terrifying month of October 1918. In fact, October of 1918 was the deadliest month in American history, and it was due to the flu. With no CDC and a significant portion of medical experts being drafted into World War I, American citizens were at the mercy of the Spanish Influenza Pandemic. It was up to public officials - Mayors, health commissioners, etc. - to determine what was to be done about the pandemic. It was estimated that 195,000 Americans lost their lives in the month of October alone(3). Lillian was one of those October victims. No death certificate has been located at this point, so the exact date that Lillian left this Earth is unknown. She was daughter to Azel McCurdy and Sue E Sensensey McCurdy and sister to Azel McCurdy, Janice M McCurdy, and Corydon Enslow McCurdy.

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.
  3. Klein, Christopher. Why October 1918 Was America's Deadliest Month Ever, history.com. October 5th 2018. Accessed April 29th 2021. https://www.history.com/news/spanish-flu-deaths-october-1918.
Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/62827575/lillian-f.-mccurdy

Additional Information