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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => West Lothian (Linlithgowshire) => Topic started by: Seoras on Wednesday 14 August 13 11:03 BST (UK)
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I've been going through what I have on my 4xG grandmother and noticed below the registration of her death, this one. It's not related to me but might be of interest to someone. Also my curiosity is pricked. It's for a Peter McTague/McTaig, looks to be 53 and unmarried and living in Livery Street Bathgate. No parents mentioned.In the informant column it says 'from information of the procurator fiscal'. Would there have been an inquest or possibly a newspaper report.
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A Scottish procurator fiscal is a bit like an English coroner, so yes there'd have been an inquest. There might have been a report in the local newspaper.
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Hi JM, I figured there would have been an inquest. Just scanning newspapers at the moment to see if I can spot anything.
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Actually, no, there would not have been an inquest, because an inquest is a procedure in English Law (and the law of many countries whose legal system is based on English Law), but not in Scots Law.
Wikipedia says, "There are no inquests or Coroners in Scotland, where sudden unnatural deaths are reported to, and investigated on behalf of, the Procurator Fiscal for an area. The Procurator Fiscal has a duty to investigate all sudden, suspicious, accidental, unexpected and unexplained deaths and any death occurring in circumstances that give rise to serious public concern. Where a death is reported, the Procurator Fiscal will investigate the circumstances of the death, attempt to find out the cause of the death and consider whether criminal proceedings or a Fatal Accident Inquiry is appropriate. In the majority of cases reported to the Procurator Fiscal, early enquiries rule out suspicious circumstances and establish that the death was due to natural causes." (Full article on the subject at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquest)
So there might have been a Fatal Accident Inquiry, but more likely not if it was fairly obvious what caused the death. However in such cases the relevant space in the death certificate is sometimes left blank, and the cause of death is recorded in the Register of Corrected Entries. (Was there an RCE with this one, a Sheoras?).
I have failed to find any report in 'The Scotsman'.
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Hi Forfarian, thanks for explaining that. This is in the margin, the first line does appear to say see the register of corrected entries.
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It does indeed. That means that there will be a separate document which, in this case, will probably not tell you much more, given that the cause of death has been written in the body of the certificate.
There is a a Peter McTague, aged 20, born Ireland, a soldier in Edinburgh Castle, in the 1841 census. The majority of the soldiers there were born in Ireland, and the rest in England, so it looks as if it may be an Irish regiment stationed in Edinburgh.
I thought there might have been a report in the West Lothian Courier, which was first published in 1873, but there is no mention of Peter McTague or McTeague in the online index at http://wlhas.westlothian.gov.uk:8080/ipac20/ipac.jsp?profile=
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I couldn't find anything in the papers either Forfarian. I did wonder if he might be Irish from the surname. It was just one of those entries you come across from time to time, lumped in with your own, that pricks your interest. Seemed a sad end, unmarried and no parents mentioned.
Thanks for you help with it.
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Falkirk Herald, 14 Nov 1874
BATHGATE RAILWAY ACCIDENT
At the Upper Bathgate Station on Thursday a serious accident occurred to a platelayer named Peter M'Taig. It appears that M'Taig, while carrying out certain operations on the line, heard an engine coming in his direction, and in order to get out of its way he stepped over to another set of rails. He had no sooner done so, however, than another engine, which was coming in the same direction as the first, passed over him, whereby one of his arms was severely bruised. Fortunately he sustained no other injury. The wounded man was conveyed to the Poorhouse where Drs Kirk and Doig attended to his injuries
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Well found, hanes teulu.
But that begs the question how he came to die of it if he suffered only bruising of his arm. It must have been much more serious than that - and conversely, if it was really only bruising, why did the Herald describe it as a serious accident?
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My thoughts exactly - the item was headed "Narrow Escape"!!
The Glagow Herald carried a similar report on 19 Nov, describing it as a "serious accident", mentioning "arm severely bruised" and "Fortunately, he sustained no other injury".
The accident occurred on Thursday 12 November. What was the date of death?
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One would suspect undiagnosed internal bleeding/organ damage, perhaps causing him to collapse or pass away in his sleep 24-48 hours later.
Incidentally, there could not have been a Fatal Accident Inquiry in 1874/75, as they were only introduced in 1895 - prior to that the investigation of sudden deaths fell under the common law jurisdiction of the procurator fiscal, who did not, as now, require to be a legally qualified civil servant holding a Commission from the Lord Advocate, but could be a part-time appointment held by a local lawyer.
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Good find hanes teulu, it looks like he died three days later. Which makes it odd that the Glasgow Herald on the 19th doesn't mention that he had died.
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Hello,
Peter McTaig is buried at Paulville in common ground, buried on 17/11/1874. As already posted, lived in Livery Street and was a plate layer. Age is given as 46 years and cause of death through accident.
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Hi there Mags, how are you. Quite a few of mine in common ground in Paulville, including I believe, the lady I was looking at in the first place.
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Glad I came across this. My great grandmother's half-brother was knocked down and killed by an engine near Blackridge in 1923 and his death certificate had the extra information in the column on the left hand side, but I didn't know what it said. Now I know it's about the coroner's report. Now going to see if I can find anything in the papers!
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Iain - Have you tried searching the National Archives [sorry - new name Records] of Scotland website
nas.gov.uk
for the fatal accident inquiry?
Josey
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Iain - Have you tried searching the National Archives [sorry - new name Records] of Scotland website
nas.gov.uk
for the fatal accident inquiry?
Josey
Hi Josey. I'm going to do that next. I found his corrected register entry, which gave me one more piece of information, mainly that he was last seen 35 mins prior to being discovered.
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You have missed djct's post above in which he pointed out that Fatal Accident Inquiries did not take place before 1895, so there will not be one in this case.
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You have missed djct's post above in which he pointed out that Fatal Accident Inquiries did not take place before 1895, so there will not be one in this case.
I didn't miss the post, Forfarian, as you can see I directed my post to Iain & was suggesting he looked up the 1923 fatal inquiry.
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My apologies, I am entirely to blame for not noticing that it related to an entirely separate accident, nothing to do with the heading on the thread.
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My apologies too - I should have sent a pm.
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My apologies, I am entirely to blame for not noticing that it related to an entirely separate accident, nothing to do with the heading on the thread.
Sorry about that. :) I was just saying thanks for this discussion, because it gave me some ideas.