A Weird Occupation and a Weird Cause of Death
John Ford Wilson: 1854-1920 (Husband of Paternal 2nd
Great-grandaunt)
Susan Smith Goode: 1835-1918 (Maternal First Cousin 4x
Removed)
Sometimes I run across delightful small discoveries that
aren’t quite worthy of a full blog post, but that are so weird or charming or
funny--or even horrible-- that I hate to consign them to a mere “note” on an
Ancestry file, never to be read again. Here are two of those small but
memorable discoveries.
First, while examining the death record of my husband’s 2nd
Great-Aunt Bethia Sutherland Wilson, I noted a peculiar notation under the name
of her late husband. The entry read as follows:
“Widow of John Ford Wilson. Abattoir Supervisor.”
What a career! What exactly was John supervising? The proper
way to kill whatever animals were being slaughtered? Why abattoir and not
slaughterhouse? I pulled up the 1881 Scotland Census, and it shows John’s
occupation as “Superintendent of Slaughter house.”
I wonder what his workday involved. He left an estate valued
at 2500 pounds in 1920, a bit higher than the average estate for the period, so the
position must have paid a decent wage. This was a fascinating and timely discovery
to make right before Halloween!
Second, death certificates can sometimes provide bizarre and
shocking information. I was looking at Ancestry hints for a Smith cousin, Susan
Smith Goode, and found that someone had posted a copy of her death certificate.
I always read certificates when I find them, as they can provide important
information about parents, occupations, and health issues. This one was grim
reading:
“Cause of Death: Internal injuries from being crushed by
street car. Duration: About 2 hours. Contributory: Deafness.”
So a deaf 87 year old woman, unable to hear the approach of
a street car, walked into the road in front it and was mowed down. She suffered
for two hours before dying. The poor woman.
I suspected that this type of accident would have been covered by the local newspaper. I was correct, finding the following article.
Susan
had been living with her nephew, and was carried to his home after the
accident. She never regained consciousness, but at least she was with family
when she died on May 3, 1918.
While these two discoveries were small and involved
collateral relatives rather than direct ancestors, they were still strikingly
memorable. I’m glad this prompt provided an opportunity for me to write about John
and Susan.
Sources:
Death Record for Bethia Sutherland Wilson. Posted on
Ancestry.com.
Death Record for John Ford Wilson. Posted on Ancestry.com.
Probate Summary for John Ford Wilson. Scotland, National
Probate Index (Calendar of Confirmations and Inventories), 1876-1936. Ancestry.com.
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