COVID isn’t the first and it ain’t the last…
Young people wont believe it, but COVID-19 isn’t the first Pandemic to wreak havoc upon the world… and it wont be the last. If you have never lived through something like this, it is hard to see past the end of your nose sometimes, but just know that In the future when our descendants are working their genealogy they will see the year 2020 and think ” WOW! They lived through the COVID-19 Pandemic. I wonder what that was like for them?”
Kind of interesting to think about. My Children are in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic, I remember the HIV epidemic of the 80s, My parents lived through the Polio epidemic and my grandparents through the Spanish Flu and Cholera pandemic, my Great Grandparents were there when Yellow Fever fear was gripping the nation. Who knows what my grandchildren and great grandchildren will have to deal with. We are all connected in our shared experiences!
Here are 2 charts to help pinpoint some possibilities of where to focus some research, finding any written records from your ancestors during these times or places.
EARLY COLONIAL: (UNITED STATES)
Just like genealogy, epidemics and pandemics aren’t limited to just the United States. Here is a list of some of the most brutal ones to hit the world and cause devastating loss of human life.
WORLDWIDE PANDEMICS
| DISEASE | DATES | CAUSED BY | ESTIMATED DEATHS |
| BLACK DEATH (EUROPE) | 1347-1351 | RATS AND FLEAS | UP T0 200 MILLION |
| NEW WORLD SMALLPOX (THE AMERICAS) | 1492-onward* | BROUGHT BY EUROPEAN EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS | 60 MILLION+ |
| GREAT PLAGUE OF LONDON (LONDON, ENGLAND) | 1665 | RATS AND FLEAS | 100,000+ |
| ITALIAN PLAGUE (ITALY) | 1629-1631 | RATS AND FLEAS | 1 MILLION+ |
| CHOLERA OURBREAKS 1-6 (WORLDWIDE) | 1817-1923 | CHOLERA BACTERIA | 40 MILLION |
| 3RD PLAGUE (CHINA/INDIA) | 1885 | RATS AND FLEAS | 12 MILLION |
| YELLOW FEVER (US) | LATE 1800’S | MOSQUITOS | 150,000 |
| RUSSIAN FLU (RUSSIA) | 1889-1890 | H2N2 VIRUS (AVIAN) | 1 MILLION |
| SPANISH FLU (WORLDWIDE) | 1918-1919 | H1N1 (SWINE) | 40-50 MILLION |
- Although smallpox has been eradicated it was estimated to have caused 300-500 million deaths worldwide. New World Smallpox is strictly the virus brought to the Americas from explorers and settlers to the New World. It is said to have wiped out up to 90% of certain native populations. It is really difficult to find a true number, but many estimate it to be at LEAST 60 million.
KEEPING RECORDS DURING A CRISIS
When you are looking through your research, take a look and see what your ancestors may have had with their own pandemic or epidemic situations. See if you can find any journal entries or letters, written record of their trials . Interesting to see what they may have come up against in their own time. I think you will find that maybe not much has changed in our fears and needs , and what a refreshing perspective that my prove to be.
Researching this time in their lives may come to help you appreciate the trials and struggles our ancestors faced during a frightening time. Their journals, writings or records can help us find strength to get through our own current pandemic and realize how blessed we are that we have the luxuries and commodities to help us through. Our ancestors couldn’t just get into the car and go to the grocery store. They couldn’t just plop down on the bed and turn on Netflix or watch HBO, and many of them probably didn’t have many books in their house other than the Bible to read. Understanding their circumstances can really help us appreciate what we truly have.
