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Megan Roberts
14-03-2014, 7:40 PM
I came across the following article in the 1 April 1853 edition of the Welshman:

On Tuesday last, a girl name Martha Gambold, residing in the parish of Rudbaxton, near Haverfordwest, committed suicide by drowning herself in a winch on her father's premises. It appears that she was enceinte, and some angry words on the subject having passed between her parents and herself in a fit of passion committed the rash deed.

My mother was a Gambold and I have spent a lot of time researching them, and as the name is relatively rare, it is pretty safe to assume that I can identify most if not all members of the family residing in Pembrokeshire at that time. I knew that there were 4 girls named Martha whose ages were 17, 16, 12 and 11. Realistically that meant if had to be one of the two older girls, but I knew that the eldest married in 1862, so that ruled her out.

The 16 year old, was born illegitimately in the Workhouse, and other than her birth record there are no other records for her. So I thought I will have to get the death certificate and see if that sheds light on the matter. The trouble was that there was only 1 Gambold death registered in England and Wales in 1853 and that was for Ann Gambold.

I then remembered that I had been told that Ann had committed suicide, so it seemed a good idea to get her death certificate. She died 29 March 1853 in the parish of Spittal and that the cause of death was felo de se.

Therefore I have concluded that whoever wrote the original article must have been somewhat muddled (I am being kind here! :mad2:), because:

1. There was no Martha only an Ann (and she did not have 2 names);
2. The incident took place in the parish of Spittal rather than the parish of Rudbaxton (they are next door to one another); and
3. It was her step father's premises rather than her father, as he had died in 1837.

For those who don't know the old terms:
enceinte = pregnant
felo de se = suicide

cicilysmith
14-03-2014, 8:01 PM
Well done on your research and a good reminder to us not to trust newspapers from long ago any more than today's! cicilysmith

Allan F Sparrow
15-03-2014, 9:18 AM
They are still worth looking at, however, especially if you are lucky enough to find several accounts of the same episode, with different papers giving different slants. Sometimes they have the grace to admit they got something wrong!!! Or to publish a critical letter, by someone whose identity makes clear that he knew better than their reporter...

I've recently been using the Welsh newspapers online site to look into colliery explosions, in one of which my great grandfather was killed. The differences in the way the events, and the inquests, were reported by different papers is very interesting. Some of the people involved must have loved the sound of their own voices - and I'm thinking of a coroner and a couple of mine inspectors, not the witnesses!

Megan Roberts
15-03-2014, 10:10 AM
Allan

I couldn't agree more, because if nothing else they provide an insight into our ancestors life and times which we would struggle to get anywhere else.

We often don't realise just how much society's thinking has changed over the decades. Today we have a debate about what is and what is not in the public interest. In another newspaper round 1840 or so I found the account of friend's ancestor who was killed in an mill after becoming caught up in the mechanism. It was one of the most graphic things I have ever read, and I think that there would be many today who would object to it being published. Maybe that is where the expression "a picture speaks a thousand words comes from"!

Megan

mikejee
15-03-2014, 10:45 AM
I think you are a bit unfair on one point. It is not unreasonable for them to call his stepfather his father, unless it had specifically been pointed out to them, which while not impossible, I would not have necessarily have expected

cicilysmith
15-03-2014, 12:27 PM
I should add I have newspaper reports on my mother's extended Broadley family in Lancashire which have cleared up origins of illegitimate children and given me lots of other information. One distant relative was beaten badly outside a beer shop and the newspaper provided accounts from prosecution and defence witnesses. But I suppose nothing in this life is certain, except death and taxes. cicilysmith

Nannas
19-03-2014, 6:37 AM
Hiyas,
Same as today, newspaper reports are only as good as the "knowledge" of the people that provide the information...MORE than NOT you find the people involved who KNOW the facts are too upset/worried to provide information so the reporters get it from anyone else (Usually the loudest and bossiest who sound like they know something)


I cannot count the amount of mistakes/errors in newspapers I have seen BUT most of the time atleast they give a LEAD to something.
GEESH, my own sister was 52yo when our father died in 2003 and even she got the info wrong that she provided to the newspaper for dads death notice!!!

Kellie

Allan F Sparrow
19-03-2014, 8:19 AM
And of course the official records have a similar limitation: a registrar or census enumerator could only write down what he was told, or what he thought he was told. Ages and birth-places are often inconsistent from one record to another, as all the regulars here well know!