Stockton Street, Middlesbrough

[Girl Guide]

Is this Mary's death?

Deaths Dec 1894   
Cockayne    Mary    40    Hayfield    7b   456

Same year and quarter as John.  Age is about right going by the 1891 census.

[Girl Guide]

I've just found a newspaper report - rather unpleasant.  Title of article is Shocking Murder and Suicide at Glossop.

It seems that John killed his wife and then himself.

It is in this newspaper here:-

Yorkshire Gazette 08 December 1894

[Jomot]

Oh my.  It would perhaps explain the name change though.

[Girl Guide]

Yes it certainly would and Hill is a suitably common name so less likelihood of anyone making any connection.

Must have been awful for the children, coping with that horror.

[Jomot]

There is a longer report in the Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser dated 5 December 1894. 

It says there were five children in total aged from 3.5 - 11 years.  Three were from John Henry's previous marriage, and his second wife had one prior to this marriage, which had been over 4 years ago.

Sarah Frost, wife of Samuel Frost of Bosscroft, was Mrs Cockayne's sister, and and the murder/suicide happened at their house.

[Girl Guide]

Quite a few children involved there then.

Taradem will have quite a bit of work to do sorting all that out.

[Jomot]

Indeed... if this is even the correct family!

The step-daughter is with them in 1891
BOWERS, MARGARET mmn SCHOFIELD  GRO Ref: 1887  D Quarter in HARTFIELD  Volume 07B  Page 783

And this seems to be the child they had together:
COCKAYNE, JAMES SCHOFIELD mmn BOWERS  GRO Ref: 1891  J Quarter in HAYFIELD  Volume 07B  Page 856

Sarah Frost's maiden name was Schofield, so there seems to be an error in how James' birth was registered.

So if this is the correct family then William Henry's mother had presumably already died, then his father re-married and within a few years had murdered his second wife and killed himself.  Utterly tragic.

Added: 'Hartfield' RD seems to be a GRO error.  FreeBMD has it as Hayfield

[Girl Guide]

I wonder if this is William's parents marriage then?

Marriages Dec 1881 
Bowers    Edmund        Hayfield    7b   1347    
----Cockayne    John Henry        Hayfield    7b   1347    
HALL    Mary        Hayfield    7b   1347    
----MELLOR    Annie        Hayfield    7b   1347    
NALL    Mary        Hayfield    7b   1347

[Girl Guide]

This looks like Annie's death

Deaths Mar 1890   
Cockayne    Annie    29    Hayfield    7b   545