A Pandemic Family: How the 1918 Pandemic Shaped My Family Tree

In this genealogy presentation, Rick Gatewood will discuss how a small community in the Bootheel of Missouri was affected by the influenza pandemic of 1918 and how it changed his family forever. Researching this part of his family tree also led him to discover new relations that were hitherto unknown to the family.

Rick Gatewood was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee and has been researching his family history since he was 14 years old. The records available to researchers in this part of the country leave much to be desired, and he is thankful for recent technology that sheds a little light on the region and some of his relatives who lived in Tennessee and Missouri.

All are welcome! These meetings are now in a hybrid format with the option to join in-person in the Abbott Room or to join online over Zoom. To receive the Zoom link or for more information, please email Sharon Pietryka at [email protected].