by Katie Hanzeli I’m sure you’ve heard more than you want of pandemic news.  That said, see my previous blog .  Did anyone note the timing of my missing marriage record?  Actually, I may not have given it, a huge oversight on my part!  Miscellaneous records pinpoint the date to somewhere between September 1918 and August 1919. What happened during that time?  You guessed it - the Spanish ‘Flu Pandemic, which was caused by the H1N1 influenza virus, which also caused problems in 2009.  They called it  the “grippe” in 1918 and the “Swine ‘Flu” in 2009.  We are encouraged to not just gather dates and hard facts about events in our ancestors’ lives.  We should be understanding the times and places in which they lived.  For me and my marriage record, that means understanding the impact of the Spanish ‘Flu Pandemic on the citizens of Boston, which is where it appears the marriage took place. Here are some of the basic facts as applied to Boston, Massachusetts.  The

“Batty Brock and the Research Plan: The Search for the Marriage Record for Charles Beverly Brock Raymond and Marie Marguerite Richards” as inspired by Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS      My fifth cousin, Carol, is in the process of identifying all the descendants of her ancestors, Azariah Perkins and his wife, Elizabeth Moss, of New Brunswick, Canada, of which she and I are two.   She inherited the project from her mother.   In the midst of her research, she saw my query asking about another descendant, my great-grandfather William Samuel Winslow Raymond, also of New Brunswick.   Her question, “How are you related to William?   He never married and had no children” and my answer, “He did marry in Boston in 1902 and had seven children and I’m the granddaughter of the eldest!” sent us on a merry chase, which included much sharing of information, photos and more research.   I’m happy to say that it also led to a wonderful friendship.      During this process, C