This is the story of the end of Louisa’s life although it was the first thing I found out about her when I started researching our family’s history in the 1980s. My father had gaven me a box of old cards, letters, papers and other ephemera that came from my great Aunt’s house when she died. How wise of him to keep it rather than just throwing it away. It has greater value than any antique vases, paintings or jewellery !
,Around that time I had joined the West Surrey Family History Society who had monthly meetings and a magazine where you could list the families that you were researching. In the hope that some other members might have information to share, I listed all the Caesar, Beldham and Smith names that I knew of and, much to my surprise, I soon received a letter from a man called Eric Smith who said he thought that we were distant relatives. I certainly wasn’t expecting to hear from a Smith as it seemed such a common surname.
It turned out that Eric Smith’s great, great, grandfather was also Louisa’s grandfather, making Eric a 3rd cousin of my grandmother and her siblings. Once we had established this connection, Eric kindly sent me a photocopy of a letter that he had which was from Louisa’s daughter to her cousin, describing the shocking circumstances of her mother’s recent death. The letter reads........
My Dear Cousin, Thank you very much for your kind letter. You will be grieved to hear how my poor mother met her death. She was able to get up and dress herself by degrees and sit in a chair and done so for several mornings at about 5.30. On the morning after the very severe storm we had, when partly dressed she was evidently overcome by faintness and went out onto the balcony for air, she must have fainted away out there and she fell over into the street. The doctor said she was dead before she fell, so I am thankful to say she didn’t suffer from the fall. We had to have an inquest, the jury brought the verdict in accidental death. I hope you are quite well, you will see I am staying with my Uncle for a holiday, please give my love to Witt also Alice hoping they are both quite well. With love, I remain, your affectionate cousin, L.J.Caesar As I now had an exact date for her death from the memoriam card and also knew the address from the death certificate, I decided to go to the National Newspaper Library at Colindale in North London where there is an archive of newspapers going back hundreds of years. I didn’t really know what I was expecting to find but after an hour or two of searching through microfiched newspapers I found what I was looking for - an article in the Westminster and Pimlico News dated August 5 1904. What a great find !.
The coroner’s officer explained that the sash of the window was broken and consequently the window would not stay open unless propped up.
Witness, continuing, said that the deceased was in her nightdress. Deceased apparently struck the area railings before she reached the pavement. Deceased was in the habit of rising at 5 o’clock. She frequently used the balcony. She had never threatened suicide. Deceased had had fainting fits. George Cooper, a horsekeeper, of 28 Cumberland Street, stated that he was crossing Clarendon Street just after 6 o’clock on Tuesday morning. He saw deceased lying on the balcony as if in a faint, then she fell over and down to the pavement. Witness’s impression was that deceased had come out for fresh air. The Coroner ‘She did not jump over?’ Witness ‘No’ ‘You have no doubt that it was an accidental fall?’ ‘No’ PC 72B spoke to being called. He said deceased was quite dead. There were no suspicious circumstances. A doctor was called. Dr Freyberger stated that a post-mortem examination revealed an extensive fracture of the skull and laceration of the brain. The internal organs were healthy with the exception of a somewhat large stone in the kidneys. That set up excruciating pain and might have caused deceased to faint. Death was due to shock following the injuries to the head. A verdict of ‘Accidental Death’ was returned. So that was the story of the very sudden and sad end to Louisa’s long and interesting life.
I went to London in the 1980s to see the house where the family had lived and Louisa had died and I was pleased to find that the outside of the buildings were preserved in their original condition. In fact, when I later looked at the photograph that I had taken, it looked familiar and I remembered that I had seen it before - in the original box of letters and photos given to me by my father! I wonder who those children are?
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About MeI've always been interested in the Past Stories of my family and have recently found the time to delve deeper into the lives of the people who went before me. Previous Posts
1. Making a new start 2.The Qui Vives 3. From Ruby to Silver 4. A postcard and a passenger list 5. Louisa's story Part 1 6. Louisa's story - the second part 7. Three generations of Joseph Shearsbys 8. The Down-Under Adventures of Thomas and Catherine Skitteral Categories |