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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Durham => Topic started by: Elliven on Saturday 05 July 25 14:01 BST (UK)
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Can anyone please help to solve an intriguing mystery regarding the McKenna family of Hill Top, Dipton. Two members of that family are buried in Jesmond Old Cemetery within about 8 weeks of each other in 1908. They were Thomas McKenna buried 6th May 1908 grave ref Ward 3 Section 4D and Catherine McKenna buried 2nd July 1908 grave ref Ward 3 Section 3D.
At that time, Jesmond was a fairly well to do area and Hill Top was a very poor area so I find it hard to believe that their family could afford to have them taken there for burial.
Has anyone any idea if there was any sort of epidemic at the time - something bad enough to have them taken there for the purpose of isolation and treatment? Perhaps even serious enough to make carriers refuse to transport the bodies home.
Any information would be welcome. Many thanks
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Both deaths occurred in Lanchester Registration District, so they weren’t in Newcastle at the time of death.
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You can purchase both death certificates as digital copies for £3 each, that would answer their cause of death
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JenB,
Thank you. Do you know if it was compulsory to register deaths that occurred outside your home area both in the place of death and at home or would it be acceptable to register it at the place of death only? I can't understand how the family could have afforded to take them so far away for burial or why they would do that since they were both born locally.
Neville
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rosie99
Thank you. I think I will have to do that anyway. But I have to take advice from people like yourself and JenB because I am used to tracking buildings rather than people.
Neville
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3 July 1908: Consett Guardian
DEATHS
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McKENNA.—At O'Neill's Buiidings, Hill Top, Dipton, on the 30th June, Catherine McKenna, widow of the late Thomas McKenna.
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The death would only be registered in the district in which it took place.
As Rosie says, you can purchase the death certificates, as digital images, you will get them instantly and they will only cost £3 each.
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There is a record of exhumation and reburial from 1971 for Ward III, Section 4D, No. 1 [plus annotation that may be UNCON] Four names are listed including Catherine McKenna.
Ann Walton 1860
Margaret Nattrass 1905
C McK 1908
Mary Eliz Layton 1953
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Here is the relevant burial index entry from Old Jesmond Cemetery (not that it helps as to why?)
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSJ7-Z7VP?cat=828520&i=350&lang=en
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Hill Top may have been a poor area but Catherine did leave a will and probate was granted 1910
Her effects were recorded as totalling £1910 10s 7d - which was a fair old chunk of change in those days.
Her executor would have been able to release funds from her estate to cover the cost of burial. A copy of her will (£1.50 via https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#wills ) 'may' give clues as to why they were buried at Jesmond Old Cemetery.
Boo
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Here are the relevant grave register entries at Jesmond: Thomas D3 5 and Catherine the next entry D4 1.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSJ7-CSW1-X?cat=828520&i=786&lang=en
The note against their names indicates, I think, and as Alan has mentioned, an exhumation and removal to another plot.
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Consett Guardian, 8th May 1908
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There was also a notice in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle 4th May, page 2
Which says he was to be buried at Jesmond Old Cemetery
Boo
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There is a record of exhumation and reburial from 1971 for Ward III, Section 4D, No. 1 [plus annotation that may be UNCON] Four names are listed including Catherine McKenna.
Ann Walton 1860
Margaret Nattrass 1905
C McK 1908
Mary Eliz Layton 1953
Apparently a large number of bodies were exhumed in the early 1970's in order that some of the land could be used for a new dual carriageway, which was never built.
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Hill Top may have been a poor area but Catherine did leave a will and probate was granted 1910
Her effects were recorded as totalling £1910 10s 7d - which was a fair old chunk of change in those days.
It seems that she had owned property at Hill Top.
Consett Guardian 18th September 1908
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The 1901 and 1891 censuses indicate that Catherine was born at Hill Top, Dipton.
It looks as if she was the daughter of Henry O'Neil a publican of Hill Top (hence, presumably your interest in this family, Neville :D )
RG 10/ 4955/141/47
1871 census, Hill Top
Henry O'Neil, head, mar, 57, publican, Ireland
Mary do, wife, do, 46, Scotland
John Maswell, stepson, unm, 17, coal miner, Northumberland, Newcastle
Catherine O' Neil, daur, unm, 7, Durham Collierley
Arthur do, son, 5, do do
Eleanor McKenna, niece, do 18,, general servant, Northumberland, Newcastle
Alexander Morgln, boarder, do, 21, tailor, Ireland
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Here are the relevant grave register entries at Jesmond: Thomas D3 5 and Catherine the next entry D4 1.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSJ7-CSW1-X?cat=828520&i=786&lang=en
The note against their names indicates, I think, and as Alan has mentioned, an exhumation and removal to another plot.
Looking at these grave register entries along with the info JenB posted about the 1871 census, I wonder if the choice of burial at Jesmond was because at least some of Catherine's family were buried there?
In the next grave to Thomas McKenna there is a Mary O'Neill buried 09 Oct 1904 - she was Catherine's mother
In the same grave as Thomas there is an Arthur O'Neill buried 17 Jan 1906 and he was Catherine's brother
Boo
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Catherine and Arthur were both baptised at Brooms, Our Blessed Lady & St Joseph.
Parents Henry O'Neil and Mary [Maxwell]
The church is 2 miles down the road from Hill Top towards Lanchester.
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Brooms, St Cuthbert and Pontop Hall
1st September 1862
Henry O'Neil of Dipton married Mary Maxwell (widow of James Maxwell, daughter of Francis McKenna)
[my transcription of a transcription of the 'Latin' record]
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Thank you JenB,
I found confirmation that you were right about them dying at home but why they were buried in Jesmond is still a mystery. How the family could afford the expense is an even bigger mystery. They were beerhouse keepers in the Hilltop area of Dipton so they were not paupers but Hilltop was a very poor area of Dipton so their wealth was not great either.
Neville
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Thank you AlanBoyd,
From JenB's reply, you will see that there was a mystery about why they were buried there at all. Now, the mystery is increased as to why her body was exhumed after such a long time.
Neville
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To JenB, AlanBoyd and Tickettyboo
It is hard for me to thank you all enough for your help. By putting all the information together with my own, I have been able to form a reasonably clear picture of events. The O'Neil family ran the beerhouse which would give them a little capital to buy and run the lodging house and, in fact, they were slum landlords. From the newspaper descriptions, the lodging house was in very poor condition but it would be an ideal place to stay for the itinerant workers at the local mines and on their way to the nearby huge steelworks at Consett. It also provided a customer base for their pub which was very close by.
Many lodging houses in the area would not accept the Irish but the O'Neils were an Irish Catholic family and did not discriminate against the Irish itinerant workers. Far from it - this is where they made the real money! They probably charged the same rates as other boarding houses but for inferior accommodation. The hamlet of Hilltop contained several such boarding houses but most would not accept Irish workers.
So Thomas McKenna made his money from the pub and his wife Kate (nee O'Neil) made hers from the boarding house. The pub and the boarding houses are long gone and a new (1970's) road caused the compulsory purchase and demolition of most of the buildings in the immediate area. To make matters more complicated, there were TWO Bird Inns in the Hilltop area (both now demolished). But, if I can find out when Henry O Neil died, I can probably pin down the exact location of this one. Many thanks to you all.
Neville
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Death of Henry O'Neil?
Since I cannot find the O'Neil family in 1881 I can only narrow down this death to between 1871 and 1891 (when Mary O'Neil is a widow). [I have searched for Arthur, and for Mary's son John Maxwell, who seems to have always lived with her; and I have gone through all of Hill Top, 1881 without success.]
There is this, although the age doesn't match (from 1871 Henry's dob was 1814 so he would have been 64 in 1878).
8 March 1878: Consett Guardian
DIPTON — At Waterson's Buildings, on the 3rd inst, aged 71, Henry O'Neil.
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Death of Henry O'Neil?
Since I cannot find the O'Neil family in 1881 I can only narrow down this death to between 1871 and 1891 (when Mary O'Neil is a widow). [I have searched for Arthur, and for Mary's son John Maxwell, who seems to have always lived with her; and I have gone through all of Hill Top, 1881 without success.]
There is this, although the age doesn't match (from 1871 Henry's dob was 1814 so he would have been 64 in 1878).
8 March 1878: Consett Guardian
DIPTON — At Waterson's Buildings, on the 3rd inst, aged 71, Henry O'Neil.
the funeral register at Brooms shows that the Henry O'Neill who died 3rd Mar 1878 was buried on 7th Mar at Jesmond Cemetery - though the entry 'says' he was 30!
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSJ7-5S32-D?cat=720895&i=399&lang=en
matching Probate Calendar entry - though the occupation is draper rather than publican, the name of his widow looks right.
A copy of the will/grant may well contain other info which could confirm/deny this is the right Henry.
Boo
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Now, the mystery is increased as to why her body was exhumed after such a long time.
Please see my reply #13.
You can see from the record on Family Search (link in my reply#8) that a lot of bodies in that section were exhumed, not just Catherine’s.
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Now, the mystery is increased as to why her body was exhumed after such a long time.
Please see my reply #13.
You can see from the record on Family Search (link in my reply#8) that a lot of bodies in that section were exhumed, not just Catherine’s.
This page tells us there were at least 600 graves (1000 burials) which were exhumed and re-interred.
All in aid of a road widening that the council changed their minds about. :-(
https://www.geni.com/projects/Jesmond-Old-Cemetery-Burials/29648
Boo
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Your posts appeared in the correct time order and place whilst I was actually reading through the posts. I don't understand how this happened but I was glad to see the information they contained!
What really surprised me was that the copy record sheets JenB supplied gave some amazing detail but the headers stated that the reburials were in unhallowed ground. I suppose this was an error or the new burial area was consecrated later because the removals and reburials were done in a hurry in anticipation of work starting on the new road.
Neville
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The burials weren’t in unhallowed ground.
They were in the so-called ‘Unconsecrated’ section of the burial ground.
I explained this to you here https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=863097.msg7329672#msg7329672