Sentenced to Hang! (Convict Interred at Boot Hill Cemetery)

Hello Friends,

Photo by Kati - unknown found in vicinity of Convict #2304's grave

In 1918-1919, influenza swept the world. According to Sarah Buchanan's (B.Sc., Queen's University, 2007) thesis titled "Spanish Influenza in the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, 1918-1919", in the Abstract on page iii it states: "During the last year of World War I (1918), a second deadly foe was causing mortality around the world. Spanish Influenza killed an estimated 50-100 million people worldwide, including 50,000 people in Canada during the 1918-1919 pandemic." It goes on to say "...those who were between the ages of 19 and 39... showed higher odds of dying from influenza during the epidemic." Her thesis examined the period between June 1918 to June 1919.

"Four Walls in the West, The story of the British Columbia Penitentiary" written by Jack David Scott, page 54: "In 1919 the Spanish influenza epidemic, which had hit the western world, made its appearance in the prison. Eighty-four convicts were hospitalized and five died."

Meet Convict #2304 - William Chinley: was a victim to the epidemic, and according to his death certificate, he lost the fight and passed away on January 05, 1919.