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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Durham => England => Durham Lookup Requests => Topic started by: cerilogan81 on Friday 06 September 24 07:54 BST (UK)
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Im currently researching a family where both father and son died on the same day and the father was the foreman of a pit in the durham area.
Could it be a mining disaster that killed them both?
I tried searching the durham mining museum website but it keeps telling me it's not secure.
Can anyone access it without this warning?
Any help would be great, thanks
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At DMM the only disaster listed for 1825 in Northern England is 3rd July, Fatfield Juliet Pit.
I’m not advsing you to ignore security warnings, but at a site that you know about from previous visits they usually arise simply because a certificate is out-of-date. I’ve seen quite prestigious sites suffer from this in the past. Judging by the slow speed of loading at DMM, they are operating on a shoestring.
Can you say where they lived so that there is a keyword for newspaper searches?
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There was one on 3 July 1825
Fatfield Colliery Judith Pit Explosion - Chester-le-Street - 1825 - Northern Mine Research Society (nmrs.org.uk) (https://nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/accidents-disasters/durham/fatfield-colliery-judith-pit-explosion-chester-le-street-1825/)
You can check all mining disasters on this site:
Accidents & Disasters - Northern Mine Research Society (nmrs.org.uk) (https://nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/accidents-disasters/)
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There is also a list of Durham Mining Disasters on Wikitree. (I googled Durham mining disasters). They are listed in place order. You can click on the place name and a list of the names of the casualties comes up.
Chris
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It could be cholera of course.
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I tried searching the durham mining museum website but it keeps telling me it's not secure.
Can anyone access it without this warning?
There are still many sites that continue to use the http:// prefix rather than the more modern and more secure https:// prefix. I can't think of any browser that will not tell you in some way that the connection isn't as secure as it could/should be.
This page explains the 'not secure' message.
https://www.digicert.com/blog/not-secure-warning-what-to-do
The scenario that AlanBoyd mentioned is when a site 'does' use the https:// prefix in the url but the site owners haven't updated the security certificate that is checked each time someone tries to access the site and you only get the message when the cert has expired.
I'll send an email to the museum to make them aware that people are getting very wary about accessing the site.
Boo
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I stand corrected.
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I stand corrected.
Hope you don't think I was criticising you Alan, I was just trying to explain so the OP understands and can decide whether or not to go ahead and access the site.
Boo
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Thank you for all your help so far, the Northumberland and Durham MIs have the headstone on record and it advises their DOD is the above date, could this have been mis-transcribed and could it actually be Jul 1825 and they were 2 unrecorded deaths in the pit disaster?
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I stand corrected.
Hope you don't think I was criticising you Alan, I was just trying to explain so the OP understands and can decide whether or not to go ahead and access the site.
Boo
Not at all Boo, apologies if my response suggested that I was miffed – you explained something that I had never fully understood,
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Thank you for all your help so far, the Northumberland and Durham MIs have the headstone on record and it advises their DOD is the above date, could this have been mis-transcribed and could it actually be Jul 1825 and they were 2 unrecorded deaths in the pit disaster?
Are you willing to name them? There may be more information about their deaths that rootschatters could unearth. Are there any details about them on freereg.org
Chris
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Thank you for all your help so far, the Northumberland and Durham MIs have the headstone on record and it advises their DOD is the above date, could this have been mis-transcribed and could it actually be Jul 1825 and they were 2 unrecorded deaths in the pit disaster?
As you haven't given either names or 'where' in Durham they were its difficult to help.
Have you looked for their burials? When/where were they buried? Burial would have been within a short time of death. was it in or near Fatfield in July ?
Free Reg, Family Search (both free), Durham Records Online (pay per view) are all resources that spring to mind that may help you find the burial date and answer your question.
Boo
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Are you by any chance talking about Edward Barrass, overman of Penshaw Colliery and his son Thomas, both of whom died on 8th March 1825?
Link for those who use FindMyPast https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FNORTHUMDURHAM%2FMIS2%2F00040234&tab=this
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That's the conclusion I came to as well JenB, though I then firkled and believe the MI is incorrect and both of these men were buried 09 Mar 1815 at Penshaw All Saints
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DCX3-DVH?i
Boo
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Nothing like a good old firkle on a dreary day ;D
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So, if we are talking about the right men, they were killed in a pit accident.
For some reason all the newspapers thought that Penshaw was in Cumberland.
On Wednesday week at Painshaw Colliery, Cumberland, four men having occasion to go down to examine the state of the air, they met what is called chock damp, and were struck senseless, when three of them Edward Taylor, E. Barrass and T. Barrass, being precipitated to the bottom, were killed on the spot, the fourth was fortunately caught by the heels, and being pulled up, soon recovered.
Caledonian Mercury, 1st April 1815
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Several of the other newspapers have it as ‘choak damp’, see Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackdamp?wprov=sfti1# (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackdamp?wprov=sfti1#)
This incident and these names are not mentioned at the Durham Mining Museum site.
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The earliest report I find at BNA gives the names as Jeremiah Taylor, Edward Barrass and Thomas Barrass. It also states "Painshaw colliery" with no other location. This is from the 21st March edition of the Tyne Mercury; Northumberland and Durham and Cumberland Gazette.
The reports in the London papers start on the 24th March and include Cumberland in the location (but the Carlisle Journal of 25th March does not.)
It's clear that the London papers were all based on a single text. The initial report in the Tyne Mercury says 'on Wednesday week' and the reports in other papers go on using this phrase right up to the Royal Cornwall Gazette of April 8th (over two weeks later).
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As this was a Co. Durham newspaper, they did not specify a county for Painshaw (Penshaw) as their readership would know where it was
11 Mar 1815 Durham County Advertiser
page 2, col 4
A distressing accident occurred on Wednesday last at Painshaw Colliery. Four men having occasion to go down to examine the state of the air, (although by agreement they were to be instantly drawn up on giving notice) incautiously did not fasten themselves to the descending ropes: they met what is called the choak damp and they called up, but not in due time; they were struck sensless and three of them, Jeremiah Taylor, Edward Barrass and Thomas Barrass, being precipitated to the bottom, were killed on the spot; the fourth was fortunately caught by the heels, and being pulled up soon recovered. Mr Castle, of this ciity, the Coroner, on investigating the cause on oath, gave the usual orders for interment.
Boo
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I went off on a tangent looking for when the spelling changed from Painshaw to Penshaw. In terms of OS maps the shift seems to have occurred between 1895 and 1915. In the tithe record the map of 1848 uses Painshaw but the apportionment document of 1842 uses Pensher.
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So, if we are talking about the right men, they were killed in a pit accident.
For some reason all the newspapers thought that Penshaw was in Cumberland.
On Wednesday week at Painshaw Colliery, Cumberland, four men having occasion to go down to examine the state of the air, they met what is called chock damp, and were struck senseless, when three of them Edward Taylor, E. Barrass and T. Barrass, being precipitated to the bottom, were killed on the spot, the fourth was fortunately caught by the heels, and being pulled up, soon recovered.
Blimey thank you so much, I did think it may have been a pit disaster, I was also right that the MIs were mistranscribed, sorry I didnt reply with their details earlier, I was at work and shouldnt rlly be doing this at work either, but I get so bore between calls....I have to to keep me awake and my mind occupied
Caledonian Mercury, 1st April 1815
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I have 2 Barrass relatives that died in a Penshaw mine in Oct 1812. Thomas and William. Related?
Janis
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I have 2 Barrass relatives that died in a Penshaw mine in Oct 1812. Thomas and William. Related?
Janis
Maybe possibly...are you on ancestry? Barrass is such an unusual name but it's also increasingly popular in County Durham so there is a possibility.