It's All Relative - Thomas Henry Manire

Around September 12, 1918 Thomas signed a World War I Civilian Draft Card. He was 35 years old. At that time, Thomas, his wife Selma, and their son were living at 603 Park Street in Jacksonville, Florida. He was listed as being a Short, Slender man with Dk. Brown hair and Blue eyes. He was a Carpenter with a Construction Company working at Camp Johnston near Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida.

The Fall of 1918 was a scary time. There was an epidemic of "Spanish" Influenza spreading like wildfire. Selma, herself fell sick with the Flu. She ended up with Pneumonia and died of it October 24, 1918. I've talked to Fern, the Granddaughter of Thomas and Selma, in emails. She told me that:

"Thomas Henry never remarried after Selma died in 1918. He had very little to do with my father after that and his own mother, Mattie raised my father. My father always felt his dad blamed him for his mother's death, because he asked for a drink of water, and she had to go outside to pump it. She was already sick with the flu, and died of pneumonia a few days later. My father was only 4 years old when she died."

In doing some research on the Epidemic I learned a few things. From what I read it spread quickly and there weren't too many survivers if you became sick with it. Usually Influenza, or the "Flu" was a menace for the young and old. This time it was hitting the 15 to 40-50 year olds hard. It started out like regular flu but with heightened symptoms. It knocked the immune system down low so that most of the people ended up with Pneumonia. Some accounts of Doctors and Military people during that time described them as being bluish skinned and coughing up blood-tinged sputum. They were having trouble breathing. As sad as it was I believe Selma probably would have died from Pneumonia whether she went out to get the water or not.