View Thread
 Thomas Newton
|
|
| rosie2121 |
Posted on 12/07/2010 12:27
|
 New Member  Posts: 2 Joined: 24/04/2010 |
Thomas Newton was my gg grandfather. His record at Kew suggests that he 'died by his own act' in Co. Mayo in 1860. Does anyone know of a way I could find out more about this please? |
|
|
|
| bpa |
Posted on 22/07/2010 15:18
|
|
Senior Member  Posts: 134 Joined: 11/11/2009 |
As I understand it, the phrase "by his own act" meant that it was unsure if * the person was sane and committed suicide; * the person was mentally unbalanced/insane ; * the person was reckless (e.g. accidental poisoning) where it is not clear whether the act was deliberate or not. I think in Victorian time unless there was a legal issue (e.g. life insurance), this sort of action was not discussed and I think there may not be more official documentation. So you may have to do a bit of speculation and then see if there is any corroborating evidence to support any hypotheses. Thomas Newton has been stationed in Inischrone, Sligo for about 20yrs and there are three contemporary Sligo newspapers whose archives could be searched to see if there is any reference to the event but I doubt it as they were not sensationalist and death notices seems to be used by more well off people. I looked at church records and there is burial notice and 3 weddings which reference a Thomas Newton and my speculation assume it is your Thomas Newton but it should be confirmed that it is the same person. 1. There is a church burial record for a Thomas Newton in Killanley(Castleconnor) C of I parish in 1860. There may be additional information in the church records or possibly on the grave marker if it still exists. Since it was unusual at the time for people who committed suicide to be given a Christian burial, this may indicate that Thomas was considered unbalanced. On the other hand the church may not have been told of the cause of death especially as Thomas Newton had lived for about 20 yrs in Kilglass parish (Griffith valuation record) and 2 daughters (Susanna, Mary Anne) got married in Kilglass in 1857 and 1861 but one daughter Alice got married in Castleconnor in 1860. 2. The CG record showed Thomas Newton died on 9 Dec 1860 just a few days before daughter Alice married on 15 Dec 1860. This may be considered tragic and so warrant an entry in a newspaper. 3. Thomas Newton was transferred from Inishcrone to Ross on 24 Nov 1860 and he died just 2 wks later on 9 Dec 1860. Ross is only on the other side of Killala bay from Iniscrone so separation from family is unlikely to be a reason but changing station after 20yrs could be traumatic. Since the move is short it looks like CG mgmt were being considerate. 4. It looks like all staff (Chf Boatman, Commissioned Boatman and 2 ordinary boatman) in Inishcrone were transferred to different stations on 24 Nov 1860. I'm not sure if it was common to change all the staff at a station at once. If it is unusual then it looks like for some reason, CG management were breaking up a team who been together for 10yrs. The newspapers may be worth checking to see if something happened to cause CG to change staff at the station. |
|
|
|
| rosie2121 |
Posted on 22/07/2010 20:50
|
|
New Member Posts: 2 Joined: 24/04/2010 |
Thank you, bpa, whoever you are, for this very detailed reply. I'm impressed that you have taken so much trouble and am very grateful. I guess there are many ways in which a boatman's behaviour could be considered 'reckless'. he was in his 50s by this time so perhaps just not as attentive as he used to be. The three weddings you found are indeed three of Thomas's four daughters and I have the record of his burial too. As you say, it could be that the church was not told the details of the death. I will try to get further information from the newpapers at the time or the grave if I can. Thanks again. |
|
|
|
| Jump to Forum: |
