The Spanish influenza devastated the east coast of the USA during its outbreak. Cities like New York and Philadelphia suffered significantly, with entire households succumbing to the virus. Mortuaries overflowed with unburied dead, and church bells tolled continuously for the deceased.
The situations in Corona, located in the New York borough of Queens, and Blackford in South Perthshire, are quite different. However, there is a small yet significant connection through a name on a headstone in Blackford Churchyard. Jane McPheat, also known as Jeanie, passed away on Halloween in Corona at the age of thirty-six. Her obituary, published in the Strathearn Herald on November 16, explicitly noted Spanish influenza as the cause of her death. The headstone with her name is situated against the western perimeter wall of the Churchyard. It is in good condition and still legible. I am unsure whether her remains were repatriated to Scotland and now rest in Blackford.
Jeanie Stalker Miller was born in Blackford on January 7, 1883, to Peter, a mason, and Hannah (nee Gloag). She spent her childhood there and, upon leaving school, found work as a tailor and machinist.
On September 20, 1912, Jeanie married joiner James McPheat in Blackford. Weeks later, the couple sailed on the Cameronia from Glasgow to New York, arriving at Ellis Island on October 6. Jeanie would spend the rest of her life in New York and have a daughter and two sons.
James remained in New York. In 1936, he married Jane Hopkin. He died in 1964.
Sources: Ancestry, Scotland’s People
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