Even the Young Were Not Immune: Elliott Siblings Die Weeks Apart
Estella
Geneva Elliott: 1895-1926 (Maternal Second Cousin 3x Removed)
Leonard
Allen Elliott: 1895-1926 (Maternal Second Cousin 3x Removed)
Even in
the 1920s, infectious diseases ravaged families, killing young people in the
prime of their lives. Siblings Estella and Allen Elliott died within weeks of
one another at the young ages of 31 and 27. They each suffered from two different
diseases that were sadly all too common before health advances tamed them later
in the century.
Estella
Geneva Elliott and Leonard Allen Elliott were born to parents James Franklin
Elliott and first cousin 4x removed Emma Ara Moseley. They were the sixth and seventh
of James and Emma’s eight children, and they were born in Kansas.
Leonard
Allen, known as Allen, married Emma Reese on August 8, 1917. They were quite
young—Emma was 16 and Allen was 17. He worked as an electrician until he registered
for the draft in 1918. By the 1920 census he was a father; his daughter Louise
was born May 7, 1918. He was in business
with his brother-in-law, but the census record appears to state they were “storage
bat men”. This is a puzzling phrase and must be a transcription error of some
sort. By the time of the 1925 Kansas State Census, he was working as a
carpenter.
A death
notice that appeared in the August 26 Dodge City Journal stated that Allen died
of typhoid fever at his mother’s home. An obituary a few days later stated that
he was “highly esteemed in the community.”
“Although
only 27 years old, Mr. Elliott had mastered two trades and had enjoyed success
along both lines of work. He was a good mechanic and for three years was
proprietor of the Copeland garage. For a time he was a contractor at Wichita
and at Winfield. Following his return to Dodge City he constructed ten of the
substantial residences of the town, in which he took great pride.”
It is
unclear how Allen was exposed to typhoid. Typhoid fever had been much more prevalent
at the turn of the century than by 1926, but there were still tens of thousands
of cases reported in 1926, although the death rate was only 6.5 per 100,000
people. Immunizations were available, but many people waited to get one until
there was a local outbreak.
 |
| Gridley Light, Aug 6, 1926 |
Typhoid fever
is caused by the Salmonella Typhi bacterium, and is spread through contaminated
food, water and other liquids. Contamination often occurs when infected people
prepare or serve foods or drinks, but water sources can also be contaminated by
sewage carrying the bacteria. While typhoid cases were dropping in Kansas in
1926, infections and deaths were covered in the newspapers, along with advice
on how to avoid infection and encouragement to get immunized.
 |
| Iola Register, Jan. 14, 1926 |
Allen’s
older sister, Estella Elliott, died just fourteen weeks after Allen; she
succumbed to tuberculosis at age thirty-one. Estella attended the Dodge City
High School, and following graduation became a school teacher. Her obituary
said that “she had taught near Montezuma and in Moscow and Copeland, endearing
herself to the people of Southwest Kansas.” She then “taught in the Dodge City
junior high school and the second ward and Lincoln grade schools… “
The obituary
also stated that:
“Owing
to her zeal in Christian work, her keen interest in the progress and well being
of her pupils, and her deep affection for the members of her large family
circle, Miss Elliott had derived a great deal of enjoyment from life, although
she had been a great sufferer for the past seven or eight years.”
 |
| Hillcrest Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Topeka--possibly where Estella was hospitalized in 1926 |
Tuberculosis was often a slow killer, as was apparently the case with Estella. She had been able to continue working until the previous February when, after a bout of flu, her tuberculosis worsened, forcing her to resign her teaching post and move into a Topeka sanitarium “in a vain effort to combat the white plague.” Of course now, in modern times, teachers are tested for exposure to tuberculosis and if they test positive, they are not allowed to work with children. Yet Estella apparently continued to work with children for some six years after contracting the disease. Hopefully, none of her pupils caught the disease from her.
Allen and
Estella were buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Dodge City.
The deaths
of Allen and Estella Elliott at such young ages are an important reminder of
the benefits of modern medicine. Today typhoid has nearly been wiped out in the
United States due to widespread vaccinations. Sadly, Allen was never immunized even
though the vaccine was available in 1926. He would never have gotten ill if he
had been born today. And thanks to the development of various antibiotics,
tuberculosis infections can now be cured. Estella’s “white plague” is no longer
a death sentence. The miracles of vaccines and treatments for the killer diseases
of the past and for new diseases like COVID should be embraced with gratitude.
Sources:
Typhoid
Rates in 1926. CDC Public Health Reports Vol 43, January 13, 1928. file:///C:/Users/bandr/Downloads/cdc_68406_DS1.pdf
Obituary
for Allen Leonard Elliott. Page 2 of The Dodge City Daily Globe, published in
Dodge City, Kansas on Tuesday, August 31st, 1926. https://dodgecitypl.historyarchives.online/viewer?k=elliott&i=f&by=1926&bdd=1920&d=07011926-09011926&m=between&ord=k1&fn=the_dodge_city_daily_globe_usa_kansas_dodge_city_19260831_english_2&df=1&dt=10&cid=3063
Allen
Elliott Dies of Typhoid. The Dodge City Journal, published in Dodge City,
Kansas on Thursday, August 26th, 1926
No comments:
Post a Comment