Doris Clara (Martin) Nash

In the fall of 1918 my mother Doris Martin (age 7) was living on a small dairy farm in Lancaster, NH, with her parents John and Bertha, sisters Hazel (age 8) and Cecile (age 5), and brother Millard (age almost 4.) The flu epidemic had probably spread into northern New Hampshire by the crews who went from farm to farm to thresh the oats used as winter food for horses.

Bertha became ill first, soon followed by the rest of the family. Doris and Cecile were sent to their grandmother Myrtie Marshall’s nearby farm. Eventually Myrtie left Doris and Cecile with their aunts and uncles in order to help an exhausted Bertha. Doris and her mother each had a mild case, but John, Hazel, Cecile, and Millard were gravely ill. Despite the family being teetotalers, they had an emergency bottle of whiskey to use as a last resort. Hazel died on October 11, 1918.

Because the family was under quarantine, Hazel’s little white coffin was placed on the front porch, and her funeral was conducted in the dooryard. Her parents bought a plot in Summer Street Cemetery, where many of the family have since joined her. Neighboring farmers shared the chores until my grandfather could return to work.

My mother had been very shy and Hazel’s “shadow.” Devastated by the loss of the sister she idolized, she became very withdrawn and barely spoke for the next year. The adults were either too overwhelmed to notice or didn’t know how to respond to her. It took her years to regain some confidence.