Genealogy Chat

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I recieved a death cert today of a little girl aged 3. May 1864. cause of death.. Injuries caused by a quantity of oil of vitriol being thrown over her. She died 3 days later :-(( This stuff is sulfuric acid! This child was the daughter of my g/g/grandmother Matilda. On the death cert there is NO mention of the mother Matilda! only her father who was deceased at the time. I can only assume that she was in the Police cells while they investigated it! She must have been innocent as she remarried only 9 months later. There was a coroners report and I have the date of the inquest 31/5/1864 Staffs. Is it possible to see this report does anyone know? Poor little mite :-( Gerri x

Oh, Gerri, that's awful. Not all records like that survived, unfortunately - but please do write to the records office for that area where they would have a copy. I have some from the records office in Ipswich for two in the 1870s. If not, you could see if the local newspaper had a report.

You could try googling for Coronors in your area, but not many coroners reports have survived. You may be better off searching local newspaper archives for the reports, as they often carried more detail. The British Library can do a search and send you photocopies for you at a cost. I had the initial report and the inquests report photocopied for £13.50 jsut to give you an idea. It was well worth it.

Hi Gerri It is very moving, isn't it, when you get certificates like that. My grandmother committed suicide and I was able to get the newspaper report on her suicide and then the inquest. This was from the Local Studies dept of the Central Library of the area where it happened. Can I suggest you look up the library on the web - they might even have an e mail address. You can give the date of death and inquest from the certificate and ask them to look in the local papers for those dates. They will probably charge £1 a sheet to photocopy it and send to you. There was another thread about inquests - might be worth you searching in name of inquest on tips board... Good luck. Liz

Thanks for your tips girls......looks like I will be busy tonight! I googled oil of vitriol and it says its a clear,odourless,tasteless oil! maybe the Mother thought it was water? Just for interest....when that mum,Matilda remarried, she had my great gran and when SHE had her 1st baby she named her Annie matilda<<<<that was my gran. Annie after that poor little mite and matilda after her mum. Only took 142 years to work that one out... Gerri x

I have a photocopy of a death cert for a relative, aged three, he died from 'Inflamation of the windpipe caused by drinking boiling water from the tea kettle' ouch! poor mite.

Oh, Gerri, the poor little thing. I can't bear to think of her suffering. And Keith, drinking from a kettle? Poor baby. Gerri - I have sent for inquest papers before in the past and I remember getting them from city archives (birmingham in this case). They gave lots of information, including a description and personality. Well worth getting if you can. I'm sure a case like this would have been in the newspapers too. Mandy XX

Terrible injuries are caused by Vitriol, but not life-threatening as far as I know. There are many recorded cases of Victorian women either throwing the stuff or having it thrown at them. The intention was not just to inflict dreadful pain but to permanently disfigure; thrown in the face it would frequently cause blindness. There are communities now that find it perfectly acceptable for adulteresses to have Vitriol thrown in their faces - these poor women are disfigured for life and have no recourse to the law. I cant imagine any circumstance in which a toddler would be deliberately assaulted in this way, but I wonder if she was in her mother's arms and simply got in the way. I suppose if it got in the child's mouth it could prove fatal.

Hi Gerri, I found a would-have-been great aunt who was raped by a complete stranger in the park so brutally that she subsequently died of peritonitis - she was only 12. I was amazed how upset I was when I discovered this- it kept me awake at night for quite a while.

Possibly another child was involved and it was a bit of horseplay that went terribly wrong. Or, maybe the mother was just randomly picked on the street and the child got in the way. I cannot imagine what would possess a mother to even HAVE vitriol in the house, let alone throw it at a child. I too have seen a death report (of an adult) who died from drinking boiling water from a kettle. OC

Can anyone out there help me on my way with finding out how I get a copy of the inquest? Coroners report even? Please pretty please? The child lived in Willenhall Walsall Staffs. Birth and death registered Wolverhampton. Ann (Annie) Maria Horton died 30th May 1864 aged 3. informant..... says.... Information recieved from William H Phillips, Deputy Coroner for staffordshire. Inquest held the 31st day of May 1864. Death registered 22 june 1864. How do I find out where old records are kept from those times please? Any clues to start me on the right road much appreciated. Gerri x

I doubt if the Coroner's report has survived. Your best bet would be the local newspaper of the time, which would certainly have reported this. OC

Thanks OC...will start Googling for newspapers,Walsall. Fingers crossed for me Gerri x