General Chat

Pleased to have found that the FIL of my gt aunt was murdered in 1894.

He had been arrested for trespassing on the Marquis of Bath's land poaching rabbits and convicted. He was also arrested for using obscene language,charge dismissed, not exactly whiter than white.

He was drunk and challenged another man to a fight who defended himself by knocking my ancestor down causing a fracture of his skull and he died the next day.
The chap who did this was charged with manslaughter.

The publicans were accused of not keeping an orderly house and were unable to determine whether a patron was drunk or sober and if they had this man may not have lost his life.

The deceased was referred to as a respectable tradesman (a hurdle maker).... he obviously mended his ways.

Sue

Edit: They were brothers-in-law too

One of the Thynne young ladies, though fat, married a guy in my tree, judging by results he was satisfied with the deal ;-)

Yr ancestor was fortunate that the Thynnes had not at that time indulged their taste for lions and such. A friend of mine, a Mr Aspinwall, liked his tigers and they had a certain way with poachers.

Today of course it is the leisure pursuits of the landowners rather then the poachers which takes the time of the constabulary up dale and under hill.

"The thunder of bowls echoed from the backyard; swingels hung behind the blower of the chimney; and ex-poachers and ex-gamekeepers, whom squires had persecuted without a cause, sat elbowing each other—men who in past times had met in fights under the moon, till lapse of sentences on the one part, and loss of favour and expulsion from service on the other, brought them here together to a common level, where they sat calmly discussing old times."

(Hardy)

I just knew there was a criminal element about you Sue :-D :-D :-D

One of my lot was accused of manslaughter by being negligent (probably drunk) in charge of his horse and cart - he knocked a young person into the canal and they died. He was acquitted :-D

one of mine was transported to Oz just for writing a nasty letter to his boss!!

One of my uncles, Ralph Atkinson, was killed while serving on Corvette Bluebell during WW11
Bluebell was a minesweeper. Blew up after being hit by a German torpedo that had been aimed at another vessel escorting the Russian convoys.

I get excited about the strangest of things...my GT. Grandma was in the workhouse and her dear children left her there.

I have all sorts of disabilities mentioned, none of them politically correct nowadays.

My reply to Ann's comment :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P

I got excited some time back to discover my 2xg.grandfather died in an asylum - do not panic - fits etc come to mind. Sent for death certificate , did not recognize cause of death - googled - it was syphilis! I was tickled pink however I became depressed when I realised that my mother (who was a dreadful snob) was no longer about to be told about her g.grandfather! :-|

Were the publicans brothers in law, or the drunk poacher and his adversary?

...bit awkward in the 'family relations' department, when a brother in law murders his brother in law.... :-S

Like you ChrisWessex I found that my paternal GF had died in ab asylum.
Purdysburn Belfast, March 1940. I wrote to someone senior at the hospital and after a very long wait I did receive a reply, which was rather negative. No records existed as it was so long ago. I'd have thought records would be on micro fiche before the advent of computers. Data protection in the extreme I found, despite furnishing proof of my ID.
At least I got the date and exactly which grave yard he is interred in with his wife.