Summary: Russian immigrant Anna Kelson, age 20, died at her Chicago home on North Talman Avenue on October 19, 1918.
Who Was Anna?
Anna Kelson had been born Anna Kuznetsova around 1898 in the Russian Empire, one of the children of a poor farming family. Her name was anglicized when she came to the United States in 1916 via Ellis Island. Her name might sometimes have been spelled Kielson or Kelsona.
Anna found work at a seamstress in a garment factory in Chicago's west side. She lived in walkup flat at at 2142 N. Talman Avenue, an area popular with immigrants from Eastern Europe. Anna shared the flat with two other women.
The Fatal Decision
In early October of 1918, Anna learned that she was pregnant. No records ever identify the baby's father. Anna asks around her circle of friends and acquaintances and finds an abortionist likely operating under an alias.
Over October 15 into the 16th, the unnamed abortionist went to the flat while Anna's roommates were out and used instruments and some caustic chemical to trigger an abortion. Anna paid $20 cash for dubious services (about $430 in 2025).
Anna took ill, suffering fever, chills, and abdominal pains. On October 17 and 18, her landlady, Olga Petrova, called in Dr. Virginia Johnson to care for her, believing that her tenant was another victim of the influenza pandemic. Dr. Johnson found a woman identified as a "nurse" at the flat. The nurse wasn't particularly helpful in deciding on a course of care and told Dr. Johnson that Anna had just suffered a miscarriage due to the influenza. Dr. Johnson likely decided not to try to send Anna to a hospital because they were overwhelmed with all the influenza cases.
In spite of Dr. Johnson's efforts, Anna died at around 11 pm on October 19.
Actions Taken
Dr. Johnson summoned the coroner to have Anna's body taken to the morgue, and the following day she went to the police to express her suspicions that the "miscarriage" was actually a criminal abortion, and that the "nurse" was likely an abortionist.
The coroner held an inquest on October 21. The witnesses were Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Petrova. Over the next two days police canvassed the neighborhood. They traced the unnamed "nurse" to a boarding house on Maxwell Street, but she had vanished.
Due to all the chaos caused by the pandemic, with over 500 deaths a week in the city, police did not prioritize tracing where the mystery "nurse" had vanished to. She might have fled or she might have herself been a victim of the influenza.
Final Page
The only known family Anna had in the United States was a sister living in New York. She was notified of her the death by telegram.
Anna was buried in Jewish Waldheim Cemetery in an unmarked grave.
Sources:
- "Girl Dead, Police Work on Charge of Abortion," Chicago Tribune, October 20, 1918
- AI case summary by Grok, October 18, 2025
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