Tuberculosis Takes Three from the Edward W. Abernathy Family

Edward W. Abernathy was born on 15 May 1887 in Appleton, Missouri, a village located along the south bank of Apple Creek, the boundary line between Cape Girardeau and Perry counties. Appleton Bridge, originally built in 1879, connects the two counties.

A source for E.W.'s birthplace is his World War I draft registration. Edward's parents, Henderson William Abernathy and Rachel M. Hemrich, were residing in Apple Creek Township, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri seven years before his birth. A June 1900 U.S. Federal census record places the teenaged Edward in Salem Township, Perry County, Missouri.

On 26 January 1909 in Perry County, Edward Abernathy married Mary L. Cox, one of the more than ten children born to Elizabeth Cotner and Rev. William Marion Cox. The younger couple would go on to have at least eight children of their own.

Though we can be sure this Abernathy family experienced times of joy and sorrow in every decade, the 1930s proved to be especially challenging. While persevering through the throes of the Great Depression, the infectious disease of tuberculosis would exact its terrible toll on the family three times over seven years.

First, there was son Ivan E. He was born on 16 January 1916 at Crosstown, Perry County, Missouri. He quite possibly began battling the disease in early 1931 at the age of fifteen. According to Ivan's death certificate, influenza was a contributing factor to his demise. This piling on of a second infectious disease proved to be too much, and Ivan died of Tuberculosis of Lungs on the morning of 3 April 1932.

Next, it came for the patriarch. About the time the Works Progress Administration was being created, the Rural Electrification Act was being implemented, and the United States was battling a near country-wide heat wave, Edward Abernathy was diagnosed with Pulmonary Tuberculosis. By April 1937, the prognosis was grim with the additions of Tuberculous Meningitis, Enteritis, Emphysema, and Pericarditis. He was gone less than two months later, with Pulmonary Tuberculosis still being the official cause of death not long before midnight on 6 June 1937. Edward breathed his last breath at the Mt. St. Rose Sanitorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

And then there was daughter Alma Rachel. She was born on 14 June 1918 in Perry County, Missouri. On 8 October 1938, the twenty-year-old married Edgar J. Rubel. Six months later, Alma was dead. She died of T.B. of Lungs on 11 April 1939. Her death certificate implied she'd had the disease for months, at minimum.

According to "The Forgotten Plague," an American Experience documentary, "As the scientific knowledge of tuberculosis progressed, so too did the prejudice toward people with the disease. Once it was learned that TB was not in fact hereditary, but was transmitted through person-to-person contact, those who suffered from the disease were ostracized from society." Even apart from the obvious sorrow, it's likely all members of the Edward W. Abernathy family were burdened by their connection to tuberculosis.

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Note: all documents highlighted above and used to tell part of the story of the Edward W. Abernathy family were found with an Ancestry membership. Interested in learning more about your family history? Try a 14-day free trial today with Ancestry® (affiliate link).

Emma Abernathy Eagleton, a Gold Star Mother

On 1 April 1866 in Ladonia, Fannin County, Texas, 18-year-old Nannie Hawkins and 23-year-old Lafayette Abernathy welcomed baby Emma into the world. Nancy A. "Nannie" Hawkins was a daughter of Sarah and William A. Hawkins. Lafayette was one of at least eight children born to Emily and Alphonzo Abernathy (1809-1893).

Emma Abernathy married Exile C. Eagleton (1863-1924), a native of Tennessee, on 1 January 1890 in Fannin County. He was a son of Mary Ethlinda "Ethie" Foute (1836-1917) and Rev. George Ewing Eagleton (1831-1899), both also from Tennessee. Emma and Exile had nine children over eighteen years: Nancy Ethie (1890-1973); Statire Jane (1893-1902); Lafayette Ewing (1892-1918); E. C. (1896-1974); Mary Ross (1897-1975); Marcus D. (1899-1966); Amelia Abernathy (1900-1979); Foute Wilson (1905-1984); and Marvin Dunlap (1909-1969).

City Hall, Ladonia, Tex. abt 1909. From DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

I feel compelled to note - according to the 1910 Fannin County, Texas, U.S. Federal census, Emma had fourteen children. Eight were living at the time. My gut says this is inaccurate, but I don't know for certain.

Emma Becomes a Gold Star Mother

Emma's auburn-haired son Lafayette Ewing Eagleton was inducted into the U.S. Army at Dallas, Texas on 28 April 1918. He trained at Camp Travis for little more than a month before heading overseas in June. Lafayette was part of the 359th Infantry, 90th Division (Texas-Oklahoma Division known as the "Tough 'Ombres") which participated in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel in northeastern France mid-September 1918.

Though Lafayette survived this battle, he would not survive the next. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive began on 26 September 1918, and this is the date the U.S. Army notes Lafayette was killed in action.

After reading George Wythe's A History of the 90th Division, and given the location of Lafayette's "isolated grave," it seems plausible the young man died during the raid on Preny. From Mr. Wythe's book:

"The plan for the raid contemplated that the raiders would strike due north...while the detachment from the Texas Brigade was to turn east along the valley south of Bois de Beaume Haie and circle Preny...The 37-mm platoon of the 359th Infantry fired 600 rounds on Preny. The barrage was timed to advance at the rate of 100 meters in 2 1/2 minutes. The infantry found it impossible to keep up with this speed. This fact enabled the German machine gunners to crawl out of their concrete pill-boxes after our artillery had passed over and set up their guns to catch the advancing infantry.

...Machine guns from these positions, as from the woods to the north and west, completely dominated the open space across which the raiders were forced to pass. There were two lines of trenches...each defended by bands of wire. The men were not able to get beyond [the first trench], and only a few reached this position. None who reached it came back to tell the story...

Such was our part in the initial phase of the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The mission was to make a demonstration which would lead the enemy to believe that an attack was impending, thus causing him to hold reserves which he could not spare from the real point of attack. The Division succeeded in this mission."

Cpl Eagleton's Burial Card

Lafayette's mother, possibly in early November, "received a message from the War Department stating that her son, Corporal Lafayette E. Eagleton, has been missing in action since Sept. 26..." I don't know when the status was updated to K/A. Still, his burial card shows his body was disinterred from the "isolated grave" at Preny on 10 April 1919 and reburied at the St. Mihiel American Cemetery.

Ten years later, in 1929, the same year the American Gold Star Mothers organization was incorporated, Congress executed legislation that authorized pilgrimages paid for by the U.S. government to European cemeteries "by mothers and widows of members of military...forces of the United States who died in the service at any time between April 5, 1917, and July 1, 1921, and whose remains are now interred in such cemeteries."

A list of all eligible mothers and widows was compiled, and Emma's name can be found on it. The "Yes" in the final column indicates she wanted to make the sponsored trip to visit her son's grave.

(Click to enlarge.)

A subsequent Ladonia News article and passenger list for the S.S. President Harding leaving Cherbourg, France on 19 August 1930 suggest Emma, at the age of 64, indeed made the trip.

"Among the gold star mothers who sailed from New York Saturday was Mrs. Emma Eagleton of Commerce, but a lifelong resident of Ladonia until a few years ago. Mrs. Eagleton goes to visit the grave of her son, Lafayette...Eagleton, one of Ladonia's gallant soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice on the battle fields of France. Mrs. Eagleton's friends are happy for her over this pilgrimage and anxiously await her return that they may hear the many items of interest they are sure she will remember to tell."

Lafayette Ewing Eagleton
Corpl. 359 Inf. 90 Div.
Texas Sept. 26, 1918

The first Gold Star Mother's Day, proclaimed to be on the last Sunday in September, was observed in 1936. Emma Abernathy Eagleton died on 15 January 1939 in Lufkin, Angelina County, Texas. This September 24th, I'll be thinking of you, Emma.

Now on my to-read list:

The Gold Star Mother Pilgrimages of the 1930s*

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases.

More About Harry Joseph Abernathy (1901-1984)

(Cropped from original by Kbh3rd. Arrows added.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.)

My second great-aunt Gladys Marie Campbell's marriage to Harry Joseph Abernathy opened the door to my Abernathy family research. I quickly learned many Abernathy family members in Harry Joseph's ancestry came to southeast Missouri from North Carolina. Specifically, they began settling in Cape Girardeau and Perry counties, filtering south into Scott and Stoddard counties. And lest I forget Bollinger. Harry was born there in 1901.

In Harry's direct line, a Robert Abernethy emigrated from Scotland to colonial Virginia. A grandson, also named Robert, later took his family from Virginia to North Carolina. And, finally, a grandson of the latter Robert left the Old North State for Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. (That's an oversimplification, of course, but you get the idea.)

As stated previously, Harry Joseph was one of ten children born to Marry Elizabeth Kirn (1877-1950) and Joseph Noah Abernathy (1875-1957). Harry spent his life as a farmer. Even as a young adult, he labored on his father's farm.

A month and a half before his 24th birthday, Harry married Gladys Campbell. They would have six children together before Harry became a widower at the young age of 39 when Gladys died in January 1941. He was suddenly a single father with six children, all under the age of 15, including a son of just 6 months.

Though the loss of his wife was a tragic, life-changing event, Harry did not come to that circumstance as a stranger to the circle of life and death. When he was 11 years old, Harry's sister Olga Mary died at the age of 3 years. Three weeks later, his sister Bertha Mae was born.

When Harry was 27, his youngest brother Hersel died at the age of 7 of acute nephritis after contracting pneumonia. Four months later, wife Gladys gave birth to Harry's second son, Lentice Melvin.

Three years after the death of his wife Gladys, Harry married Helen Huffman Williams on 1 February 1944 at Jackson, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. Four years later, tragedy would strike the Abernathy family in a likely unimaginable way.

Sikeston Herald (Missouri), 10 June 1948

"Willard Abernathy, 12-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Abernathy, who live near Whitewater in Cape Girardeau county, was fatally shot by his grandfather, George M. Campbell of Morley, who was visiting in the Abernathy home." I cannot fathom the trauma.

Notes from young Willard's death certificate: Immediate cause of death was Shock & Hemorrhage due to being shot by a 12 gauge double barrel shot gun. The charge going into the right frontal bone. Death was ruled an accident. Injury occurred at Crump, Cape Girardeau County on Roy Grindstaff's farm.

Harry Joseph Abernathy was 83 when he died on 10 December 1984 at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. During his lifetime, Harry witnessed his country go to war four times, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, the assassination of a U.S. president, and the Apollo moon landing. What a life.

Finding Julia:
The Early Development of Southeast Missouri*

*As an Amazon associate I earn from qualified purchases.

My Abernathy Connection: Gladys Marie Campbell (1903-1941)

My connection to the Abernathy family comes from a 2nd great-aunt, Gladys Marie Campbell. She was born on 15 September 1903 in Scott County, Missouri, the first of twelve children, to Hattie Ann Lancaster (b. 1883) and George M. Campbell (1883-1974). Her siblings include Jessie Mae (b. & d. 1904); Chester Wesley (1906-1994); Marvin (1907-1974); Raymond S. (1909-1997); Arlen M. (1911-2004); Elmer Lloyd (b. & d. 1913); Pearl Olivia (1914-2000); Ovie (1916-1946); Veda Inez (1917-1918); and Roy L. (1920-1995).

On 7 September 1925 in Benton, Scott County, Gladys married Harry Joseph Abernathy, third son of Marry Elizabeth Kirn (1877-1950) and Joseph Noah Abernathy (1875-1957). Harry was born on 23 October 1901 at Shrum, Bollinger County, Missouri. His siblings include Henry William (1896-1969); Walla Brazzal (1899-1947); Lydia Margaret (1904-1996); Lona Loretta (1907-1980); Olga Mary (1909-1913); Bertha Mae (1913-1995); Sadie S. (1915-2003); Cora Irene (1918-2012); and Hersel Harold (1921-1928).

Over the course of thirteen years, Gladys and Harry had six children, including Raymond Winston (1926-2001); Lentice Melvin (1929-2010); Loudean Olleva (1932-2021); Willard Ervin (1935-1948); and Hersel Eugene (1940-2022).

Gladys's mother Hattie died on 8 June 1933, at the age of 49. Gladys was 29 at the time and had given birth to her fourth child just six months prior.

In April 1940, Gladys and family were listed in the Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, U.S. Federal census. At the time, she was a little more than three months away from giving birth to her final son, Hersel Eugene. She was also just nine months away from her own death.

Gladys was just 37 years old when she died of a coronary occlusion. A couple items on her death certificate provide clues to what might've been going on in this still-very-young woman's life.

First, Gladys died in Farmington, St. Francois County, Missouri at State Hospital No. 4. This hospital housed and treated the mentally ill. The death certificate does not provide the length of Gladys's stay, however.

Second, handwritten under "Other contributory causes of importance," is Manic Depressive Psychosis, Manic type. The date of onset is given as 6 January 1941. I suppose it's possible Gladys had been at the hospital for less than a month.

My definitely-not-an-expert / uneducated guess regarding Gladys's life circumstances at the time of her death involves postpartum psychosis. From the National Institutes of Health National Library of Medicine:

Childbirth is considered a major physical, emotional, and social stressor in a woman’s life. Following days to weeks after childbirth, most women experience some mental disturbance like mood swings and mild depression (also known as post-baby blues), but a few can also suffer from PTSD, major depression, or even full-blown psychosis. This change in maternal behavior and thought process is due to several bio-psycho-social factors...Postpartum psychosis is the severest form of mental illness in that category characterized by extreme confusion, loss of touch with reality, paranoia, delusions, disorganized thought process, and hallucinations. 

I imagine this was a scary time for Gladys and her family.

Noted in the Missouri Department of Mental Health's history of State Hospital No. 4 (now called Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center), are popular treatments during the times surrounding Gladys's stay: "In 1924 one of the favored treatments was hydrotherapy, followed by lobotomies in 1940 and electro-shock therapy in 1942." At least Gladys and her family were spared that madness.

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Next up: more about the life of Harry Joseph Abernathy.

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Note: the census record and death certificate highlighted above and used to tell part of the life story of Gladys Marie Campbell Abernathy were found with an Ancestry membership. Interested in learning more about your family history? Try a 14-day free trial today with Ancestry® (affiliate link).