Historic Hood River
Etta McKay
Notes
I thought this was a striking cabinet card, but it turns out to have much more of a story behind it. This woman is identified as Etta McKay, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas McKay. Searches through The Hood River Glacier and records of Idlewild Cemetery burials tell the story. In 1891, 19 year old Etta was a teacher in District 61 (the Crapper/ Oak Grove school, I believe) when both she and her 9 year old sister were struck by what was believed to be diphtheria. Both died in August, nine days apart.
The sad intelligence reached us Saturday morning that Miss Etta McKay had succumbed to that dread disease, diphtheria. What makes it more sad is the fact that she in the second one from the same family taken within ten days, The parents are almost heart broken, and serious doubts were entertained as to whether Mr. McKay would survive the shock, being affected with heart trouble; but we are glad to state that he is out of danger. Miss McKay was a very intelligent ad agreeable young lady and had many friends in this community. The funeral took place Sunday.
Elsewhere in the newspaper it was explained there could be no services at the actual burial due to the nature of the disease.
This may remind you of the discussion we had a few weeks ago about the Hood River city council’s 1895 actions to address quarantine and infectious disease. You can be sure this event and many others like it were in their minds when they instituted those rules.
The Hood River Glacier also explains why this cabinet card was from Port Townsend, Washington. Thomas McKay was a construction supervisor on the streetcar project in Port Townsend, which took him away from Hood River for a period of time.
L.E.
How sad.
She is most likely wearing a very uncomfortable corset.
In our local Mt Adams cemetery there are three little graves of three children from the Troh family that died within a week of each other during the diphtheria epidemic. I think they were first buried at the family homestead and then later moved to the cemetery.
As a parent I can’t imagine dealing with that.
Kevin
As bad as things are now with COVID-19, deaths like this were far too common in the 19th and early 20th centuries. My grandmother gave birth to her first son the day after her first husband died of TB. That baby died two years later of diphtheria.
After reading Billy Bryson’s book The Body: A Guide for Occupants, I realized I (and a lot of other people) have been mispronouncing diphtheria all these years. Correct pronunciation is diff-theria and not dip-theria.
Kenn
Kevin, thanks for the proper and logical way to pronounce this, I was one of those wrong…
Kyle
Me too. Obliged.
Mike
This is my relative. Her mother came was Henrietta Rowe, born in Frankfort, Germany. The family migrated next to England, then New Brunswick, and then East Boston.
L.E.
I was looking for some weather history for the month of August and came across this in the
August 15, 1891 HR Glacier p.2
Card of Thanks.
We hereby tender our sincere thanks
to our friends and neighbors for kindly sympathy and aid in our recent bereavement.
MR. AND MRS. THOMAS McKAY.
L.E.
August 15, 1891 HR Glacier p. 3
DIED
“At the home of her parents, four miles southwest of tow, Thursday morning, Aug 13th, Jessie daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas McKay, aged 9 years. The funeral took place Friday morning. It was rumored that the death was caused by diphtheria, but this does not seem to be well authenticated, it being also stated that she died of lung fever, which latter seems more probable, as the child had not been exposed to the disease”
L.E.
AUGUST 22, 1891 HR GLACIER P.3
“As we go to press (Friday afternoon), Miss Etta McKay is reported very low and there is little hope of her recovery. There can be no doubt but that the case is diphtheria. Precautions have been taken to prevent the spread of the disease, and it is thought this has been accomplished.”