The Faces of Spanish Influenza - Hartford Vermont

The Spanish Influenza was a worldwide epidemic that travelled with the soldiers of World War I in 1918. It killed 500 million people worldwide and at least 500,000 in the United States. Families in the Upper Valley lost loved ones to the Spanish Flu, but not on the huge scale experienced in other places. Most sources state that influenza hit the state of Vermont harder than the state of New Hampshire, but scientists and historians are at a loss to explain why. Possibly more Vermonters were serving in Fort Devens, and as they got sick, they went home so that their families could take care of them, bringing the illness with them.

On September 25^th, the epidemic started in Hartford when Clarence Jones, a laborer, died at age 30. Clarence was a married laborer. His wife's name was Clara and it does not appear that he had any children. Avon Lincoln, of Wilder, died of influenza at Fort Devens and arrived home in a coffin, on September 27. A few weeks later, his brother Harold also died of influenza. They were the only children of Charles and Viola Lincoln, who lived right next to what is now the Wilder Events Center. Through September and October of 1918, people in Hartford continued to die of influenza.

Pearl Dunn died next. He lived on Maple Street, with his wife Leslie. Pearl and Leslie were newlyweds, and Pearl was a postal clerk.

Lela May Green Hunt died on September 28^th. Lela was born in Canada and was married to George Hunt. They moved to Rochester where they raised their family of 7 children on their farm. In 1900, the census shows George as the head of the household in Rochester, but in 1910, Lela was the head of the household, farming with the children in Rochester. George does not appear in the census in 1910. Since Lela died in Hartford in 1918, and in 1920, George appears in the Hartford census as a bridge builder for the railroad, I am assuming that the Hunts decided that they would have a better life if they got out of farming, left Rochester, and George moved to Hartford to work building bridges for the railroad. In 1910, Lela was probably waiting for the property to sell in Rochester while George was already working at his new job in Hartford. This follows the pattern of many families who abandoned their worn out farms in the hill towns and got jobs working for factories or the railroad. The Hunts lived in the Forest Hill section of Hartford, in a house that they rented. Lela was 49 years old when she died. Two of her children were grown up when she died, and her son George was 18,leaving   five children still at home. George died four years later.             George and Lela Hunt

 Many of the children stayed in Hartford as adults. Sarah and Walter

lived very near each other in the Forest Hill neighborhood.

Julia Corkery was a cook. She was 58 years old when she died. She spent most of her life in Marlboro, Massachusetts, and probably cooked for the hotel or a restaurant in the center of town near the railroad. Both of her parents were born in Ireland, but she was born in Marlboro. In the 1900's, White River Junction was a bustling place, with trains pulling in and out of the railroad station constantly. Lots of people had jobs in the hotels and restaurants that served both railroad employees and passengers.

Albert Cutting died on October 3^rd. Albert's parents were Sidney and Flora Eaton, who got married in May of 1891, the same month and year Albert was born. Flora was the illegitimate daughter of Albert Lucas and Sarah Green, and she was born in Quincy, Massachusetts. In 1880, Sarah had relocated to Bridgewater, Vermont, and in the census, she is listed as a widowed servant It is typical for a woman with an illegitimate child to move away and invent a dead husband. Later, she married someone named Woodward.

In the meantime, Flora married Sidney Eaton in May of 1891, the same month Albert was born. Flora was 19 years old and Sidney was 26. Albert was named after his paternal grandfather. In the 1900 census, Albert was 9 years old and living in the home of Martin Frank Cutting,in Lebanon, with his mother and younger brother Elmer. Flora was listed as Albert's daughter, and the boys were listed as his grandsons. Flora's parentage had always been a mystery, so it was no stretch for her to move in with Martin Cutting and say he was her father.

Sidney Eaton, Albert's father, was living with his parents, also in Lebanon, and working at his brother's marble company. By the time the census was official, Flora had died, of consumption, and it is reasonable to assume that Mr. Cutting raised the boys to adulthood and Albert took his name. In 1900, when Flora and the boys lived with him, and Flora died, Martin Cutting is listed as a widow. There is another person living there, a boarder, Sarah Woodward, an older woman who was a washerwoman. In 1910, Martin is married (not to Sarah Woodward) and has three different children living with him, siblings. It's reasonable to assume that Martin took in boarders, and that Albert, Elmer, and Flora boarded with him. The question is, who paid him to take in a woman and her two young sons. What part did Sydney play in all this? Albert clearly thought enough of Martin Cutting to take his last name, although his brother did not.

In 1910, 19 year oldAlbert moved to Hartford, Vermont, boarded with the Hill family, and worked for the railroad. Two years later, he married Susie Alice Gilman. They had two children, Burton and Helen, and they lived on Nutt Lane. When Burton was five and Helen was two, Albert died of Spanish influenza. Suzie continued to live in Hartford. She worked in one of the factories, and in 1930 she, too, lived in the Forest Hill neighborhood, in a home that she owned. Burton died in 1982 and Helen died in 1995. By 1919, “the grippe” had pretty much burned itself out. From September 25 of 1918, to January 15 of 1919, 32 people died in Hartford of Spanish Influenza.