Saddest find in my tree-Great Grandma fell out of window.

[groom]

I have two in my tree - my great x 3 maternal grandmother managed to set herself alight when filling an oil lamp. Apparently she over filled it and tipped the excess onto the fire. It caught her clothes alight and she died a week later.

My paternal great grandmother died after being thrown into the Thames whilst watching the launch of the HMS Albion. A jetty on which hundreds of people were standing collapsed under the force of the backwash from the waves. She and my great grandfather were rescued, but she died a few days later from pneumonia. She is buried with the rest of the victims and her name is on the monument erected in their memory. She left behind 7 children, my grandmother was the eldest at 15 and the youngest was 3.

[Ruskie]

'Fraid not!  I didn't investigate further but crinolines should have acted as a partial parachute if she was wearing those.

That sounds a bit flippant.

I'm surprised you haven't tried to investigate this further. I'd be desperate to find out the circumstances if I were you.

Crinolines were in vogue in the 1850s/1860's so I'm not sure if that works out time wise with your great grandmother? 

Some very sad stories always emerge when this subject is broached.  I think we all have at least one in our family history - often many more ....

[Emjaybee]

My "Uncle"  6yrs of age (well he would have been) was burned to death at about 8am in 1900, when drying his wet nightshirt before the fire. He ran down the garden screaming and a neighbour came to his aid. The newspaper report says he was not taken to hospital immediately as it was Bank Holiday. The poor child was left all day as a carter could not be found to take him. Finally arriving at the Infirmary at 7.30pm, he died the next day

It is said the fact that he was delayed in getting to hospital did not accelerate his death. My mother never mentioned him, I wonder if she knew, she was born a year later.

[jacquelineve]

My grandparents buried their daughter 10 days before my dad was born.She was 17 mths old,
physically + mentally handicapped. They already had five children and were living in lodgings (two
rooms)

Hard times.

Jackie

[snowyw]

I always think the saddest thing is when you find a young child, who probably knew no better, died of an accident.  My grandad's brother died age eighteen months having fallen into the fire. The story went that he was sitting in the high chair and my grandad's other brother aged three, knocked the chair over and the little one fell into the fire.  His death certificate stated that he died of shock due to the incident.  The incident was never spoken of and until I found the death, I thought the child was a girl.  I assume the two (remaining) brothers never forgot the incident.