Family History fatalities . . .

 I have been very late to realizing that Find my Past has actual access to Newspapers so I am making up for lost time as my subscription runs out in October I think it is (note to self: must check).

    Anyway, I was doing searches on various family members and now know that one member did not die of natural causes, as I had assumed.

In late summer 1853, my 3 x g. grandmother had been visiting her sick father in Brixham, and was setting off for home in Totnes, when Mr Mingo, who had delivered a corpse to Brixham in his hearse, asked her if she wanted a lift home.  She was pleased to do so and sat on the "dickey" of the horse-drawn hearse.  They proceeded safely until "they reached Black Post, where the road being steep, Mrs Brown preferred to get down and walk, and whilst in the act of getting down, something connected with the hearse [Jennie: I believe it was a spring] broke, and the horse started off down the road, dragging the poor woman along the road, she being entangled with some part of the hearse.  The horse was, however, soon stopped by coming in contact with a gentleman's gig, which was much damaged.  The deceased, Mrs Brown, was then conveyed home in an omnibus, but was quite dead.  Mingo, the driver, was also much hurt.  At the Coroner's Inquest held on Saturday Morning, a a verdict of "Accidental Death" was recorded."

    How sad . . . and you would think a fairly unusual accident, but no, and again it was another family member - my g. grandmother, who also suffered an accident when alighting from a horse-drawn wagon when driving into the country to see friends.  She too decided to dismount from the wagon at the hill by Bourton Hall.  "Her dress was caught as she alighted and she was thrown under the wheel.  Dr Cuppridge was passing at the time, and superintended the removal of Mrs Bow to her home, where on examination he found that two ribs were broken and that she was suffering from shock to the system." She escaped lightly, only to die still young (40s I think) just 5 years later).

    I carried on searching and whilst not looking for them, found another fatal accident, involving another relative in Totnes.  This was George Albert Rogers, aged just 31.  He worked in the timber trade and this brought about his demise.  "John Penwill, who was working with the deceased at the time, said that the piece of timber which fell on the deceased was 44 feet in length.  Deceased had got off the top of the tree which was 8 to 10 feet long from the wagon, and which was on the ground, and while deceased was trying to move the other piece, it suddenly shifted and knocking deceased down caught his head between the tree that slipped and the tree that was on the ground.  In reply to the Coroner, the witness said the deceased and himself were not in the habit of using dogs (I assume these are metal grips to fix on the trunks for moving them) although they had them in the wagon.  The Coroner remarked if the dogs had been used, the accident would not have happened."

    I will spare you the gruesome details which came next but suffice it to say his head was crushed between the two trees. A verdict of accidental death was recorded.

    Then dang me, another brother in the same family lost his farming job after the woman running the farm retired.  Before his last days at work, he took his own life, with a shotgun, as he could see no way forward.

    My own g. grandfather also took his life because of early onset Parkinsons, death by drowning in the Leat at Totnes.  

    Life here is a bit difficult at the moment.  You may remember Keith had a private blood test to check his thyroxine levels and whether or not his Thyroid was working properly.  He was found to have excess Thyroxine in the blood and the GP said to alter (lower) the dose and they would do a blood test after two months.  That is due on 16th August, but in the last week he has been going downhill steadily and barely able to get around - it took him 3/4 hour to get from his chair and up to bed a couple of nights ago.  Today he went up to the loo late afternoon, very slowly and announced he would have to go to bed as he knew he wouldn't be able to get up the stairs again.  So first thing in the morning I will be on the phone to the GP for advice.  He had his tea in bed and is currently being cared for by Ghengis and the two girls :)

I am having a glass of wine . . .