In a message dated 11/10/2007 15:40:32 GMT Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: Does any one know if there may be anything more written about him anywhere or if there would have been an inquest in those days. I see his son William then took over as a Keelman - was this usual? _____________________________________________________________ Hi Judy, Yes, there would have been an inquest, usually held in a pub. In the 19th Century, public houses were preferred as Coroner's courts because of their size and other facilities. As I understand it the general requirement was that an inquest was held immediately upon the notice to the coroner of the death or discovery of the dead body. The inquest could either take place in the territory of the coroner in whose jurisdiction the body was found or where the death itself took place. The general practice was that the jury should be sworn in the presence of the body. Apparently statutes required that the coroner and jury must have a view of the body together except in cases where the body could not be found or was too decomposed for view. The purpose of this inspection was to ascertain from the appearance of the body how the death was caused. The jury also heard the summaries of various medical reports regarding the condition of the body to help it reach its determinations concerning the cause of death. There is nothing unusual in a son following his father in a job. The Keelmen were the principal means of supplying the port's coal until the 1850s, and had a monopolistic power, but eventually lost their livelihood with the opening of the staiths. Stan

My 3x great grandmother committed suicide in Bishopwearmouth in 1864...from the death cert I knew there was an inquest & finally contacted the newspaper (Echo?) & email their archives...a very nice man found an article in the newspaper & copied it & mailed it to me. But that is news that the body was usually at the inquest!! Nothing was mentioned about that in the article, but her daughter was allowed to testify as was a neighbor who first talked to my ancestor (she took arsenic). And the inquest was held at the Lansdowne Arms Pub on Deptford rd. Try the papers.... janet [email protected] wrote: In a message dated 11/10/2007 15:40:32 GMT Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: Does any one know if there may be anything more written about him anywhere or if there would have been an inquest in those days. I see his son William then took over as a Keelman - was this usual? _____________________________________________________________ Hi Judy, Yes, there would have been an inquest, usually held in a pub. In the 19th Century, public houses were preferred as Coroner's courts because of their size and other facilities. As I understand it the general requirement was that an inquest was held immediately upon the notice to the coroner of the death or discovery of the dead body. The inquest could either take place in the territory of the coroner in whose jurisdiction the body was found or where the death itself took place. The general practice was that the jury should be sworn in the presence of the body. Apparently statutes required that the coroner and jury must have a view of the body together except in cases where the body could not be found or was too decomposed for view. The purpose of this inspection was to ascertain from the appearance of the body how the death was caused. The jury also heard the summaries of various medical reports regarding the condition of the body to help it reach its determinations concerning the cause of death. There is nothing unusual in a son following his father in a job. The Keelmen were the principal means of supplying the port's coal until the 1850s, and had a monopolistic power, but eventually lost their livelihood with the opening of the staiths. Stan ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message