Local Newspapers For Bampton Area C1861

[Claire Gardiner]

I was wondering if anyone had any idea which were the local newspapers for the Bampton area (Oxfordshire) in 1861.

I inadvertently ordered a death certificate which I thought would be my Gx4 Grandfather Charles Gardener, but which turned out to be his grandson also called Charles.

It transpired that this Charles Gardener died aged 9, when he was thrown from a horse pulling a cart and was crushed under it's wheels. The incident happened in Chimney, near Bampton in Oxfordshire & the death certificate said there was an inquest. I wondered if this may have been recorded in the local newspaper at the time but I don't know which one? Any pointers would be gratefully received!

[arthurk]

The guide I have doesn't mention anything as early as 1861 for the Bampton area, so your best bet might be Jackson's Oxford Journal. You can find this at Oxfordshire Studies, in Oxford Central Library, and they would no doubt know if there were any other papers worth looking at.

Arthur

[Geoffers]

As Arthur mentioned, Jackson's would be the first newspaper to try.

If you need to look for what newspapers where available in an area in future, you might try a search of British Library's Newspaper Catalogue (http://catalogue.bl.uk/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b&local_base=NPL) - you can search it in a number of ways, either by name of newspaper (e.g. Jackson Oxfordshire), entering a town name (Witney), county (Oxfordshire), district of a county (West Oxfordshire); you can include a year as well - e.g. Oxfordshire 1860 will show all newspapers in the county for that year.

[Kerrywood]

Jackson's Oxford Journal, Saturday, September 14, 1861; Issue 565

"FATAL ACCIDENTS. -- Two accidents, fatal in both instances, of similar character, have occurred during the past week. The first happened at Chimney, the sufferer being a boy, aged nine years, named Charles Gardner. In this case the evidence given at the inquest held by Mr. Westell, on the 5th inst., showed that the deceased was taking a team of horses and an empty wagon into a field; he was riding one of the horses, and slipped off; the horse kept going on, and his head laid in the rut; he was taken home, and a surgeon was sent for, but he never spoke afterwards or opened his eyes. The Jury returned a verdict of "Death from injuries received by a wagon wheel accidentally passing over him." -- The other case happened at Chipping-Norton. The lad was 11 years of age, named Joseph Smith. The evidence of the witnesses, and the statement of the lad himself, proved that one of the horses had struck the deceased with his foot as he was walking before him. The deceased must have been holding only the traces; it was ten o'clock at night, and quite dark and windy. In this case the verdict of the Jury was similar to the one above."

Kerrywood

[Claire Gardiner]

Thanks for your help everyone! One query down, a trillion to go!