In researching and writing your family’s story, you need to stay aware of various pandemics or disasters that might have affected your ancestors’ lives.
Try to find out what relatives died from, if not natural causes. The Black Death ravaged Europe in the 1300s. One of the best books on the subject is Barbara Tuchman’s “A Distant Mirror,” published in 1978. The plague wiped out whole communities in some cases, and left others unscathed.
Closer to our times, many starved to death during the Potato Famine in Ireland or were forced to leave that country for the U.S. and other nations. On BillionGraves.com, under blogs, you’ll find “Remembering the Irish Famine,” which lasted from 1845 to 1849.
During World War I, the Spanish Flu arose and caused millions of deaths worldwide. Many soldiers died of that rather than battle wounds. It lasted from 1918 until 1920. You can read about it on the cdc.gov website. Search for “1918.” Lots of other resources are cited.
There were also a lot of natural disasters along the way that our ancestors faced, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes. At GeorgiaWeatherHistory.com, Steve Engerrand, retired from the Georgia Archives, has created a well-documented site covering many different weather-related disasters in the state. Besides a narrative about the event, he includes photographs and documents. So, if your family history includes the Gainesville Tornado of 1936 or the Columbus one of 1953, there is something there for you.
United States military burials overseas
The American Battle Monuments Commission (abmc.gov) has a great website. You can find information on, and sometimes a photograph of, the burial site of any American military man or woman who died and was buried overseas. If you were to contact the specific cemetery, managed by the U. S. government, you can get information on visiting. Many who have visited cemeteries in Europe said they were well treated.
Indexes can deceive, always check further
An avid reader wrote about how indexes, while useful and needed, also can leave out some good information. Anytime an indexer uses the abbreviation “et al.,” he or she has left out several people. Same thing happens in a court case title. So always check further to find the names of all involved.
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