Two Stories Of Neglect

Track of the day Jazz Me Blues - Eddie Condon - Baby Dodds.

Two horrendous stories of similar accidents involving children.

I've spent the last few days lost in early 1900 newspaper stories about drownings, suicides, limbs crushed in work and street accidents, drunken brawls, weddings, funerals, thefts of vegetables and coal and scarlet fever epidemics. Add to that stories of men being sent off to fight or returning home from the Boer War and I'm finally discovering the kind of history lesson that I hoped to get in school all those years ago.

Here's one that upset me,

"A shocking burning fatality occurred on Thursday evening at Broseley. Agnes May Hanley, aged two years and nine months, the daughter of Harry Hanley, a moulder in the Coalbrookdale Works, was placed in the charge of a neighbour, Louisa Williams, whilst the mother was at work in the pipe manufactory.
About five o’clock Mrs. Williams went out of her house and locked the door, leaving three children inside, including Agnes, but when she returned in five minutes she saw through the window the child Agnes in flames.
She failed to unlock the door, and two men with Harry Southern broke open the door, and brought the children out of the house. Agnes was burnt beyond recognition and expired shortly afterwards.
The boots of a 10 months-old baby were also burnt, but the daughter of Mrs. Williams fortunately escaped injury."

At the coroner's inquest, a few days later, it became apparent that

"Miss Williams had left the house at about five o’clock to fetch a pint of paraffin, leaving Hanley’s two children and her own child, aged 5½ years, in the kitchen, in which there was a small fire. She left the fireguard produced in front of the fire. She locked them in for safety.
She also went to the King’s Head for a pint of beer. She was not away more than five minutes, but when she reached the wicket she heard screams, and on looking through the window saw deceased in flames standing up near the fire, outside the guard. There was no doubt in the Coroner's mind that this was an accident, contributed to to some extent by the children being left alone in the house, He did not think there was any evidence to say that there was a case of manslaughter.
The verdict of the jury was that the deceased died from burns accidentally received.
The Coroner cautioned the witness Williams to be more careful in the future how she looked after any children committed to her care."

Yesterday The parents of two young boys who died in a fire after being locked in their bedroom, were jailed for neglect. Another horrendous event but I'm not convinced that yesterday's verdict in Northamptonshire was superior to the one passed in Shropshire in 1912.