Victims

A full accounting of influenza deaths is not possible. Death certificates for Sumter County, with one exception, are only available beginning in January 1919; therefore, for more than half of the pandemic, there are only newspaper records available to sort out causes of death.

There were 44 influenza deaths between January 1, 1919, and March 12, 1919; unfortunately, newspaper obituaries suggest that even these are incomplete. Most of these deaths–an average of 21 per month–took place in January and February. If there was a similar death rate for October, November, and December 1918, it is likely that the total number of deaths surpassed 100.

This page is dedicated to remembering those lost in the pandemic.