A few years ago I came across a family photograph of the burial ceremony of my second great-grandmother, Rachel (Broadhead) Taylor and her daughter, Flora Taylor. Both had died within three days of one another and were buried October 28, 1918. Rachel died at the age of 55, leaving behind her husband and several children, the youngest being just 13 years old. Her daughter Flora, not yet married, was only 26 years old. The photograph was a haunting reminder of the conditions of their deaths. The mourners, particularly the children, shrouded their faces in masks, fearful of falling victim to the same disease that claimed Rachel and her daughter—influenza. Local newspapers revealed their hometown had many stricken with the disease, part of what was to be known as the Influenza Epidemic of 1918, a global catastrophe that is estimated to have killed between 40 and 50 million people.
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