Help please: Newspaper lookup for 1861

[Martin Guthrie]

Hi All,

I'm looking for some help please to do a local newspaper lookup - probably the Alloa Advertiser - for 1861...

My g.g.g. grandmother, Mary Paterson (née Harrower) was a miner's wife.  Her husband, Daniel, worked at Kennet Colliery just outside Clackmannan.  To cut a long story short, Mary committed suicide fairly dramatically - she cut her own throat - apparently at the colliery on April 18th 1861.  My guess is that an incident like that may well have been reported in the press and I'm looking for anything that records it.

All help and/or comments appreciated.

Kind regards,
Martin

[JSHC]

This is from the Glasgow herald, Saturday 20 april 1861:

Alloa
Distressing Suicide – On Wednesday morning a woman named Mary Harrower, wife of Daniel Paterson, a miner, living at Kennetpans, made an attempt upon her life. She had risen from bed at an early hour, and was in the act of applying a razor to her throat, when her husband happened to awake, and, starting up, ran to prevent her. Before he reached her, however, she had inflicted a deep gash on her throat, from which the blood flowed profusely. Medical aid was promptly procured, but, on examining the wound, the wind pipe was found to be completely severed, and no hopes were entertained of her recovery. She lingered, however, till the following day, when death ensued. The unfortunate women had been in a desponding state of mind for some time previously.

Joyce

[Martin Guthrie]

Wow - thanks Joyce!  Do you know if it's possible to get copies of the original article from the newspaper?  How/who would I ask?

Can anyone else offer anything from any other newspaper please?

Many thanks,
Martin

[Hannah29]

Hello Martin

This is from the Alloa Journal and Clackmannanshire Advertiser, April 20th 1861, p2.

SUICIDE - On Wednesday morning, about seven o'clock, Mary Harrower or Paterson, wife of Daniel Paterson, collier, Redrow, Kennet Colliery, attempted to commit suicide by cutting her throat with a razor. She had been in a desponding state for some days, and rose from bed in the morning in question, and was discovered by her husband in the commital of the rash act. She was attended by Dr Crawford, Kincardine, and Dr Cameron, Clackmannan, who dressed the wound, and gave faint hope of her recovery, but the unhappy woman only survived till Thursday morning. It is stated that the deceased had swallowed a quantity of vitriol which was the cause of death.

The newspapers are on microfilm and at the moment only one of the reader/printers is working. Someone was using it when I was in Alloa Library today, and anyway it's very dark.

Regards

Hannah

[paulsplace2009]

hi

this story is fascinating...as you have got evidence of it in the newspaper, but how very sad for mary and her family at that time..

paul

[Martin Guthrie]

I managed to get up to Alloa a few weeks back and was able to spend a few hours in the library poring through the microfiche records.  I got a copy of the above plus quite a few others! Interestingly, one of her sons also seemingly committed suicide by jumping off a railway bridge - these were hard times indeed!

So a tip perhaps for anyone else with 'reportable' events in their family's history - it's worth looking in the local paper records if you can.

Cheers,
Martin
(Who is now making a mental note to stay away from sharp objects, tall buildings, speeding busses...  )

[Fionaca]

Hello, my mother and auntie have recently been looking up our family history, my gran was called Mary Paterson from the hillfoots and if we go back far enough Daniel Paterson was my g g g g grandfather who married Mary Harrower. We got told she lost her  youngest children through death, but no explanation what happened to them that's why she was feeling suicidal.

[Martin Guthrie]

Hello Fiona - we are clearly related!

It's been a while since I looked at Mary Harrower but I wrote the following notes in my tree at the time:

"Mary had a dreadful time of it.  Of her 9 offspring, 4 died as children.  And in her parents' family, she and her brother John were the only survivors from 9 siblings when she ultimately killed herself.  She must have felt cursed.  On her death certificate you can see that John Wright Paterson - her 8 year old son - died the same day as she did (after 2 months of chronic enteritis)."

I guess the death of her 8 year old the same day may have been what pushed her over the edge - very sad.