Talking of Tragic

[BigShaz McCreadie]

I have been trying to find a death.... happened between 1851 and 1859 in Scotland (keeping fingers crossed it was after 1855)

I found one (not the one I want) in 1855.

Female, aged 17yrs 6mths died of Scarlatina, at 8.45pm.
Her Father was the informant.

I then noticed the same surname in the registration above and discovered
Male, aged 5yrs 11mths, died of Scarlatina at 12.05 (Noon) on the same day and his father was the informant.

They were brother and sister!

Now I know this is common back then and I have come across many deaths (in my own line) just like this. Ancestors who lost 3 of their under fives within the space of 30 hours and such like and all cases are tragic.

It's just that this one saddened me even more so because the daughter was 17 and half. I wonder if parents felt slightly safer when children reached a certain age??

To lose a little one and then, hours later, one who has made it through childhood must have been awful. Maybe they took comfort in the fact that Little Thomas wasn't going to be alone. Big sister Margaret went to look after him.

[Olde Crone Holden]

Shaz

I must admit I wept when I discovered all six of my 5 x GGM's children dying in less than 3 weeks. The last to die was the eldest, a ten year old girl. She must have been a friend to her mum at that age and probably helped her look after the others when they were ill.

5 x GGM went on to have another 13 children and only two survived to adulthood. She outlived them all.

OC

[Little Nell]

Yes, children's deaths are always sad and I have felt it really sad that my gt grandmother had 3 babies that died between 5 weeks and 3 years. When she registered 2 of the deaths she was pregnant with another baby.

[BigShaz McCreadie]

OC that is so sad.

I find it especially sad when a parent outlives all of their children especially so many children. Whilst I have outlived one of mine I have never really tought for a minute that I might outlive anymore.

I pray to god that I don't.

We'll I don't drink usually but there is a bottle of wine chilling away with my name on it and I'm very tempted to open it

[Christine in Herts]

Sad, indeed.

It's impossible to imagine how anyone would feel in such a situation, unless it's one you've experienced for yourself. Ten years ago there was a nasty crash in our area in which two "girls" of about 18, and the younger brother of one of them, were killed as a result of a drunk speeding along a road in our "village" who found himself facing oncoming traffic and drove the car they were in into a tree. All but three of the occupants survived. The brother and sister were the whole generation of one nuclear family.

Even now, I feel sad to think about it, and they weren't my family - just contemporaries of my sons at school.

I attended the funeral: the church was full of students - sitting in places I didn't know you could in that church. Full as it was, the church was almost silent for fully half an hour before the start of the service. I sat in the choir, so I could see the parents. You hear the expression "prostrate with grief", but it's the first time I've seen it: the mother could hardly stand up. And who can blame her?

The road now has humps all along it. Whenever they annoy me, I remind myself that my name for them is The Lucy, Catherine and Matthew Memorial Road Traffic Calming Scheme: they don't seem anything like so bad, then.

Christine

[Little Nell]

This touched me too

North Cerney, Gloucestershire burial register:

William Gegg of Woodmancote 7 Jun 1842 age 12
Reuben Gegg of Woodmancote 12 Jun 1842 age 5
George Gegg of Woodmancote 2 Jul age 7
Anna Maria Large of Woodmancote 10 Jul age 15
Mary Gegg 10 Jul age 5
Henry Gegg 10 Jul age 3
Elizabeth Large of Woodmancote 31 Jul age 6
William Large of Woodmancote 3 Aug age 10
Eliza Large of North Cerney 27 Aug age 7

The first 3 children were brothers. Mary and Henry Gegg were their 2nd cousins. The Large children were their 1st cousins once removed.

[Helen Smith Too]

I had the death certificate of my Gr-grandfather's mother, Hannah, for quite a while. She died on 30th July 1880 after suffering with Phthisis for 2 years, and the death was registered by her mother Caroline. My gr-grandfather was only 3, and he had a sister aged about 6.
When the 1871 census came out I discovered another child Catherine, who at that time was 1. I spent ages looking for this Catherine, before finding her birth registration as Caroline - after Granny.

The younger Caroline died 4 days before her mother, after suffering from Scarletina for a month. She was 11. Her death is on the same page as her Mum's. I sometimes wonder if Hannah lost the will to live after Caroline died. It must have been a devastating blow, to a very ill woman.

[BigShaz McCreadie]

That is devastating Nell.

Christine, I will also think twice before I curse speed bumps from now on.

One of my Great Grandfather's had two brothers who both died in 1890's in first 6mths of life and I can only assume that they were victims of sudden infant death syndrome as both were found dead and no mention of illness.

Both boys had the same name.

Apart from my own parents and my Grandparents every other ancestor seems to have lost at the very least one child.

[Little Nell]

I attended a funeral just under a year ago for a boy who was a year older than my elder son. He died of leukaemia. His Mum and one of his sisters spoke at the service as did his best mate and one of his teachers. It was so sad. They had a slide show of photos of Joe and it just made you think how awful that he had his whole life ahead of him all stopped. His twin sister will always feel he is missing on their birthday, and his father has been robbed of the son who was going to work in his building business with him.

Oh dear, Shaz, I am going to open my chilled wine!

[Olde Crone Holden]

Not really the same, but when I was a child we had an elderly very scary neighbour who used to shout at us kids. Oddly, my mum never took up the cudgels on our behalf and neither did any other adult.

Years later I suddenly remembered this woman and asked my mum what her big problem was.

She had lost all five of her sons in WW1, her daughter died in childbirth giving birth to her sixth set of twins (she was my mum's friend and died in the same ward that my mother was giving birth in) and her husband was killed in a freak bus accident - a bus toppled over when turning a corner and killed several passengers and passers-by.

I don't know how she had the strength to carry on.

OC

[BigShaz McCreadie]

Oh dear, Shaz, I am going to open my chilled wine!

I'll be right behind you Nell.... just waiting for eldest son to arrive home and let me know how tonights performance went and then my glass will be filled.

This one saddens me.... My beloved Grandpa (great grandfather and father of my maternal grandmother) His father, William Corbet Grant, passed away just days before his 81st birthday. It was 1939 and 81 was considered a good age.

Grandpa still hurt though. The following morning Grandpa's son, (Great Uncle William) who had just turned 18yrs weeks before and was also named William Corbett Grant didn't want to go to work.

He was possibly upset too following his grandfathers death?

A row took place between Father and Son and Great Uncle William stormed out of the house slamming the door behind him and went to work.

His mind must have been on other things, Grandfather's death and row with father, because on three occassions that morning his co-workers had to yell at him to look out for the overhead crane .... he heard them the first two times. Sadly he didn't here them the third time.

Just a little less than 24hours after my Grandpa had watched his father pass away he watched his only son pass away too.

Grandpa's life was to change forever.... Great Gran never forgave him and never got over it dying herself 5yrs later aged 44.

[Little Nell]

Shaz

I've just finished the bottle!

[BigShaz McCreadie]

Shaz

I've just finished the bottle!

Nell!!!

Less than an hour??

I'd be falling off my chair and lying sprawled on the floor probably with legs in the air :D.... well I've raised my glass to you on general so you'll have to open another bottle :p

[Little Nell]

well it was only a half-bottle and there wasn't much left.

OC's story is so awful.

[BigShaz McCreadie]

I agree Nell....

The loss of a child is the loss of a child no matter what age.

I agree with OC I don't know how she found the strength to carry on.

[Little Nell]

Mind you, you have to carry on, there isn't really a choice, is there? I suppose if you've lost everyone you don't have to worry about them any more. The worst has happened so you no longer fear it.

[BigShaz McCreadie]

Mind you, you have to carry on, there isn't really a choice, is there? I suppose if you've lost everyone you don't have to worry about them any more. The worst has happened so you no longer fear it.

And this is where life strikes its cruelist (sp) blow of all.

You know longer fear it or worry about it and don't want to even be bothered with life yet life continues to be bothered with you and won't let you go.

Oh My I'm getting all weird sounding.... told you I don't drink.

What I mean is.... I'm sure that this lady spent years wondering when life would just let her go yet for years it kept her here.

[Olde Crone Holden]

Nell

I used to occasionally work with an older woman - in her 60s at the time. She raised money for a little project she had going in the Gambia, to rescue and house schizophrenics, and people with other serious mental illnesses,who don't stand much of a chance out there ordinarily.

I remarked that this was extremely brave of her and wasn't she frightened stiff of them - she was only a little dot of a woman.

She sort of laughed and said "There is nothing left for me to be frightened of - I have lost my husband and I lost my daughter in the most horrendous circumstances, which put me into a mental hospital for five years. Try as I can, I do not seem able to die so I might as well do something a bit useful while I wait"

She is still going strong and has recovered from breast cancer. She is outwardly cheerful and chatty but I always want to burst into torrents of tears when I speak to her. My life seems charmed by comparison.

OC

[Little Nell]

OC

There's a saying that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I suppose doing something for others is much better than sitting at home moping and weeping.

Life gives all of us knocks, I cried my eyes out when my Mum gave me a lot of papers belonging to her mother, my lovely Grannie. They included letters of consolation after Grannie's father had died and after her eldest son died aged 15. Grannie and Grandad were very poor then, and about to be evicted for non-payment of rent, when Grannie luckily got her share of a large estate left by her uncle.
But it was only after Grandad died that she saved the money to put up a gravestone for her son John.

Oh dear, I must find a hankie!

[BigShaz McCreadie]

Now you've got me at it.... Thats a lovely story Nell.