Attitudes to a suicide in the 1920s

[Suzy W]

I have been reading an interesting article regarding suicide.  Sorry it is a bit upsetting for those who have lost family this way.

In the 16th century, termed "felo de se", a felony against oneself.  By committing suicide the person was considered to have abandoned all hope of salvation.  And declared as self-murder.  The victim was not allowed a funeral or burial in consecrated ground..

Until 1823 the body of the suicide victim would be pierced through the heart with a wooden stake.  (I guess that is where  Vampire stories get that little detail) then the body would be buried at a crossroad.

By 1882 the body of a suicide victim would be buried at night.  (In Scotland between 16th and 18th century the poor person was dragged through the streets and hung for public view)  Suicide cases were a criminal act until the Suicide act became law in 1961 (England and Wales).

Thank goodness there is help out there now for people with depression.

Kind Regards
Suzy W

[oldcrone]

Quite a few months later, just updating...  I told my mum about the suicide of her grandfather.

I asked her initially if she wanted to know something rather unpleasant/unhappy about her paternal forebears.  On this Davies side of the family, my mum knows literally nothing; her father was pretty absent when she was young, and then disappeared off to Australia, apparently marrying bigamously while he was there (he then died of a heart attack, after fighting a forest fire in Victoria, aged 56).  But mum wanted to know!

My mum's grandfather cut his own throat with a cut-throat razor.  Apparently, he almost severed his head from his neck.  I can't for a minute imagine how desperate this man must have felt at the time.  But he'd survived WW1.  Perhaps this says it all in terms of how he might have felt at that time.

Anyway, I told my mum.  She was actually pleased to hear about this branch of her family, which she knew nothing about.  Even the gruesome suicide...

clarabelle X

[Redroger]

Personally I believe it is always best to tell these things out right. They almost always leak out causing further distress.

[oldcrone]

Thank you, redroger, I totally agree; although I did 'probe' a bit before I told my mum the gory details.  X

[Jeuel]

My gt x 3grandfather committed suicide in 1884, cutting his throat with a razor, though the death cert said that he had lived for 20 days afterwards

He gave his son a cut-throat razor to use many years previously and the son used it to cut his fiancee's throat.  Son was found insane and spent the rest of his life in Broadmoor.  Not sure if there was a streak of insanity in the family already, or whether my gt x 3 grandfather was depressed following the death of his wife, as I have yet to see a report of the inquest.

Just to add a hint of spookiness - the house where the fiancee was killed was a block of cottages which has been converted into a house.  During the conversion a cut-throat razor was found plastered into the wall.

[coombs]

My ggrandfather committed suicide in 1894 with strychnine.

[Jeuel]

My gt x 3 grandfather committed suicide in 1884.  His death cert said he'd cut his own throat but lived for 20 days afterwards.  He used a cut-throat razor.  He is buried with a headstone in his wife's grave.

His son (my gt x 3 uncle) used a cut-throat razor given to him by his father to kill his fiancee in 1862 and spent his life in Broadmoor.

Just to add a bit of spookiness, the place where the fiancee was killed was a block of cottages which has been converted into one house.  During the conversion a cut-throat razor was found plastered into the wall.

[stonechat]

Interestingly I am one step forward an my possible suicide

My grandfather's aunt Mary Jane Clarke was said by my grandmother to have hanged herself

I could never find anything.
Now the publication of the national probate calendar has revealed that Mary Jane from Oundle died in 1920 in her sister's Baker's shop in Egham.

I still need to find newspaper reports to see if this was suicide.

There is a GRO index for the death, but I reckon to wait on finding newspaper report

[Redroger]

A really scary one Jeuel.Hope bricking the razor up in the wall broke the spell.