Two of the bodies were also picked up by the boat, but both were quite dead.
Dundee Courier, 12 February 1872, p2, c6

The Two Recovered

Of the five men who drowned when their boat was overturned near Rattray Head on 9 February 1872, only two were recovered. The bodies of Andrew Buchan (34) and Andrew Bruce (24) were taken ashore in the boat that rescued James Buchan, the sole survivor.

Andrew Buchan

Andrew Buchan was the son of fisherman Andrew Buchan and his wife Elizabeth Buchan. He was the eldest of eight siblings, all born and bred at St Combs.

Andrew married Catherine Buchan on 7 November 1861.

In 1871, Andrew and Catherine were recorded at 54½ Mid Row, St Combs with their four young children, Mary, Elspet, Andrew, and James.

After Andrew’s tragic death, his widow Catherine was recorded in the 1881 census still at 54½ with their sons, Andrew and James, now 13 and 11.  She appears to have at least had some support from Andrew’s parents who were ‘next door’ in number 54 (54 and 54½ appear to be attached). 

Eldest daughter Mary married James McLean in 1886 and Catherine was recorded in their Peterhead home on the 1891 census. Catherine appears not to have remarried.

Daughter Elspet (15) appears to be working as a servant for Peter Bruce in 1881. She later married fisherman William Shand in 1886 and lived in Peterhead.

Son James broke with family tradition and became a baker in Govan, Lanarkshire, marrying Willamina McDonald in 1893.

It is unclear what became of Andrew – due to his common name, tracing him reliably (and cheaply) was not possible. Any information would be welcome.

Andrew Bruce

Andrew Bruce was the son of fisherman Peter Bruce and his wife, Isabella Murray. He grew up with at least six other siblings in St Combs.

Andrew married Ann Buchan, daughter of fisherman John Buchan and Elizabeth Cow in 7 April 1870. Their first child, Peter, was born only five months later. He was born at Peterhead, which may have been the home of a relative. Andrew stated that he was present at the birth when registering it a few days later.

In 1871, Andrew, Ann, and 6-month-old Peter were recorded in the census at 81 East Row – the home of his father. Nine people were in the house that night (2 April).

Less than a year later, Andrew was drowned. At the time, his wife Ann was a few months pregnant with their second child. Their daughter was born in July (at 96 St Combs) and was named Andrew Ann in honour of her father.

Ann never remarried. In the 1881 census, she was recorded with her son Peter, and her widowed father, John Buchan at 96 St Combs. Ann was described as a grocer. In 1891, she and her father were still at Number 96 but Ann was now recorded as a ‘merchant (Bread-seller). This time, 18-year-old daughter, ‘Andrewina’ was with them.

Son Peter had broken with family tradition and become a joiner. He had moved to Lanarkshire by 1891 and married Margaret Anderson the next year, staying there until his death in 1924.

Ann died at 96 St Combs in 1895, aged 45, of “Influenza Bronchitis”. Two years later, daughter Andrew married fisherman William Strachan and lived in St Combs until her death in 1954.

Next post: Five Men Drowned – Three Buried At Sea

The post Five Men Drowned – Two Recovered appeared first on Geneageek.

Under the shade of trees in a rural Suffolk churchyard of Combs, there stands a gravestone with an intriguing epitaph.

In Loving Memory
Of
SAMUEL The dearly beloved husband of
ALICE SCARFF
Who while saving the lives of his
wife and children was knocked down
and killed by a runaway horse in
Lea-Bridge Road, Leyton.
JANUARY 19, 1896.
AGED 29 YEARS.
“Therefore be ye also ready.”

Also Of
LILIAN PHOEBE
Youngest daughter of the above
WHO DIED SUDDENLY AUGUST 16, 1896.
The shepherd hath himself removed,
The lamb to which His care was given,
For He on earth whom children loved,
Hath called His child from earth to heaven.

Samuel Scarff was born in Combs to woodcarter John Scarff and Elizabeth Grimwood. By 1891, he had moved to London and was working as a carman in Marylebone. His future bride, Alice Horne, was also from Combs and working as a general servant in nearby Blenheim Road at the time.

In 1894, Samuel and Alice married at Walthamstow, Essex and two daughters, Sissie and Lilian, quickly followed. Unfortunately, tragedy would strike this young family on a winter’s day in 1896.

SHOCKING FATAL ACCIDENT. -A MAN KILLED BY A RUNAWAY HORSE. -A shocking accident occurred on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 19. in Chesnut Walk, Walthamstow. Samuel Scarff, aged 28, in the employment of Spiers and Pond, and living in Boundary Road, Walthamstow, was walking towards the Forest on the broad footway, accompanied by his wife and by their two little children in a basinette. A horse attached to a hooded buggy, driven by Joseph Lyon, of Lower Clapton, who was accompanied by Samuel Pearce, of Forest Gate, and John McDougall, of Leytonstone, bolted at Whipps Cross and galloped down Chesnut Walk at a terrific rate, the young men being unable to control it. At an opening in the row of trees opposite the residence of Mr. Helme the horse turned on to the footpath, and continued its mad career. Scarff managed to get his wife and children clear, but he was himself knocked down with terrible violence, and was conveyed in an unconscious state to the Walthamstow Hospital. His injuries were very severe, and he died the same evening the presence of his wife, who was distracted with grief. The runaway horse eventually came to a standstill through crashing into a fence. The three occupants were thrown out, but were not injured.
Essex Standard, 25 January 1896, p7 c4

An inquest was held which ultimately returned a verdict of ‘Accidental Death’ and deep sympathy was expressed towards his young widow Alice.

Mr. C. C. Lewis held an inquest, at Walthamstow, on the body of Samuel Scarff, aged 28 years, a carman in the employ of Messrs. Spiers and Pond, lately residing at 220, Boundary-road, Walthamstow, who died in the local Hospital on Sunday. -Mrs. Scarff, the widow, said on Sunday afternoon, about a quarter-past three, she left home with the deceased and her two children, with the perambulator, to go for a walk in the forest. They were returning home, and on reaching Chestnut-walk, just off the Lea-bridge-road, a noise attracted her attention in the rear. Witness and her husband looked round, and saw a horse and trap galloping towards them, in fact, it was nearly upon them. It then ran on to the footpath, striking the perambulator, which Witness was wheeling, and knocking it sideways. The deceased, who was walking on her right, was knocked down. A crowd collected and the deceased was taken up and carried to a doctor, and then to the Hospital, where he expired the same night. -Mr. J. J. Baker, an insurance clerk, residing at 30, Fraser-road, Walthamstow, said he was in Chestnut-walk, when a friend drew his attention to the horse and trap. The horse was at full gallop, and appeared to have run away. It ran into the footpath between two trees, and Witness saw it knock the deceased down, the near-side wheel of the trap passing over both legs. The horse continued its career for some distance, and then dashed into the fence, and threw the occupants of the trap into the roadway. -Dr. Wise, house surgeon, said the deceased’s skull was fractured, and death occurred three hours later from that injury. -Mr. Joseph Lyons, of Downs-road, Clapton, master builder, said he left Pembury-road at ten o’clock on Sunday morning, with a horse and gig, which he had hired from Mr. Atkins, of Hackney. At the Eagle, Snaresbrook, he met two friends, and they drove to various places, and finally to the Castle at Woodford, and then started for home. Witness was driving. The horse had shied once or twice, and when at Whipps Cross it broke into a canter. He tried to ease it, but then found that it had got the mastery. On reaching Chestnut-walk the horse shied again, and then dashed into the pathway. Witness did not see anything of the deceased. Witness and his friends were thrown out, and Witness was rendered insensible. They were all sober having been drinking sloe gin and soda. -The Jury returned a verdict of Accidental Death, and expressed their deep sympathy with the widow. London Evening Standard, 23 January 1896, p7, c5

It was heartening to discover that shortly after the accident, a committee was formed to raise funds to assist Alice and her children. Samuel’s employers and colleagues at Spiers & Pond, had also contributed and in February, Alice received over £100 – at least £15 of which “two little children named Beresford” had, heartwarmingly, “got together… in small sums”.

Unfortunately, poor Alice would receive another blow in August the same year when little Lilian Phoebe, not yet a year old, died suddenly. The child’s death was registered in Stow district which suggests Alice had returned to her family in Combs after Samuel’s death.

Samuel and Alice’s surviving daughter Sissie, recorded with Alice’s parents in 1901 and Alice’s sister in 1911, would grow up to marry a man named James Alexander Donaldson and live a long life.

Alice never remarried and died in 1964 at the ripe old age of 94. 

The post A Scarff Tragedy appeared first on Geneageek.

(Continued from previous posts Bigamy Blues and Bigamy Blues Part 2)

Records show that Reuben and Mary eventually remarried in 1963 – 25 years after the bigamy trial. I wondered how that came about. Had they met up again years later and rekindled the romance? Had Mary stuck by Reuben despite the dishonesty? It seemed unlikely I would ever find out.

A Brave Act

Back in 1937, Reuben was reported in the newspapers as having rescued a child that had fallen in the River Derwent. For his efforts, the 16-year-old Reuben received a Royal Humane Society Certificate while a patient at the Royal Infirmary.

DERBY RIVER RESCUES
HONOURS FOR MAN AND YOUTHS
The Royal Humane Society has awarded testimonials on parchment to two Derby youths and a Derby man in recognition of the parts they played in drowning rescues…

George William Gamble (23), of 4, Back Colyear-street, Derby, who rescued Geraldine James (9), of 175, Osmaston-road, Derby from the Derwent, was assisted by Reuben Alfred Lamb (16), also of 175, Osmaston-road.
The child fell into the river while attempting to recover a ball.

(Derby Daily Telegraph, 17 December 1937, p1, c3)

RESCUE RECALLED
Presentation to Patient in Derby Infirmary
The Mayor of Derby (Ald. E. E. Paulson) on Saturday made presentations of three Royal Humane Society Certificates, two at the police court and the other at the Royal Infirmary.
In the latter case the recipient was Reuben Alfred Lamb (16), of 175, Osmaston-road who is a patient in the institution. He had been instrumental, in conjunction with George W. Gamble (24), of 4, Colyear-street, to whom the award had also been made, in saving the life of a girl who, while playing on the river bank near Siddals-road, over-balanced and fell into the water…

(Nottingham Journal, 21 February 1938, p3, c2)

The article annoyingly failed to mention why Reuben was in the infirmary.

I had resigned myself to probably never knowing the answers to any of my questions, when I remembered asking Rose (Reuben’s sister) about this incident before she died. Luckily I found the conversation…

[after being asked about her brother’s bigamy]

I had forgotten about that. She said she was pregnant, he believed her and said he’d marry her. Then he and his friend Bill Gamble saw a child in the river Derwent and Alfie jumped in and saved it. He got a certificate from the Humane Society for bravery, but got an infection and was seriously ill and likely to die so Dad, who had refused to let him marry, relented. The pregnancy lasted two years!!!! He was called up for the army, the yanks came to Derby and Cathy was in heaven, but Alfie left her and later married Mary. They had four or five children and were very happy. Cathy (Morgan) had a sister – Nellie Cash. She had a baby and hid it in the chimney. It was found by firemen I think. I don’t know what happened to her. How’s that for a tale?

(Rose Richards, 6 August 2016, punctuation edited for clarity)

It was such a joy (and a relief!) to reread this message. Of course Rose may have been biased, but although Cathy’ isn’t painted in a very positive light, this family version of events really helps to clear things up. It even alludes to the ‘associating with other men’ mentioned in the trials. I had previously seen articles about ‘the rescue’, so it was interesting that a seemingly unrelated incident had also played a part in this story.

And so, a rough timeline appears as follows:

1937 – Reuben (16) and Kathleen (18) discuss getting married; his father refuses
1937 – December – Reuben rescues child from river and comes close to death

1938 – February – Reuben receives award in hospital; his father consents to the marriage
1938 – abt June – Reuben marries Kathleen Morgan

1939 – Reuben is living with wife Kathleen and her father in Derby (30 Bradshaw Street)

1945 – Reuben separates from Kathleen (unclear whether this was before or after meeting Mary)
1945 – April – Reuben meets widow Mary Evans Mitchell at Nottingham Castle NAAFI canteen

1946 – Feb 2nd – Reuben marries Mary
1946/7 – Reuben visits Kathleen in Derby (in response to a telegram)

1947 – Jan 21st – Kathleen visits in Mansfield and reveals all
1947 – Jan 29th – Reuben is charged with bigamy
1947 – Feb 18th – Reuben is sentenced to 3 months prison for bigamy

1962 – Kathleen dies

1963 – Reuben and Mary marry

All’s Well That Ends Well

Reuben and Mary’s marriage in early 1963 appears to coincide with Kathleen’s death the previous year (no evidence of divorce has been found and Kathleen’s death was registered under the surname Lamb).

So there was a happy ending after all. Despite not being legally wed, Reuben and Mary remained a couple and built a family together before they were able to ‘make it official’ in 1963.

As for the baby in the chimney..? Now, that‘s another story altogether…

The post Bigamy Blues – Part 3 appeared first on Geneageek.

Oh, if only there were photographs!

…The bride wore a gorgeous dress of maroon plush, surmounted by an immense hat covered with waving ostrich feathers.  Her bridesmaid was attired in a costume of golden plush. The bridegroom and his friend were in velvet with vermilion neckties…

This fourth wedding was a lot less ostentatious but nonetheless interesting:

And lastly, the funeral.  The journalist obviously thought the deceased’s death was interesting enough to write about, but apparently not enough to include her name:

The post Four Big Fat Gypsy Weddings and a Funeral appeared first on Geneageek.