Hello David, Thank you very much for your reply to my inquiry. I do have the death certificate from the marine extract. For cause of death it lists "suicide by drowning" with no other notation. I would expect that some sort of inquest would be held in such matters but can't find any record of such as yet. (Another ancestor of mine drowned in Wales about a year previous to this incident. An inquest was held the very next day and all the details appeared in the newspaper. What a find that was!) I also have the crew agreement from the Newfoundland but there isn't any type of notation there either-just name, age, place of birth, position (my ancestor was a fireman aboard the ship), and previous service. I've never seen any other crew agreements so I have no way of knowing if what I have is typical. I've written to local studies in Dundee and Glasgow to check for newspaper accounts with no success. The folks at Kirkwall found an article that appeared in the Orcadian 4 days after the incident. But the article itself doesn't provide any "why" information and at the time of its publication states that the body had not yet been recovered. There just seem to be a lot of unanswered questions that are really bugging me about this incident! It's been pretty frustrating! Thank you again for your help. I greatly appreciate your time and assistance. P.S. I notice an Oman in your sig line-I have a Jane born abt. 1808, died 14 April 1860, married Donald Morgan, Caithness. Any connection? Bye for now, Karen www.geocities.com/ksteel.geo "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia." Charles M. Schulz ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Armstrong" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, December 12, 2005 12:36 AM Subject: Re: [Orkney] MAXWELL/Longhope Harbor incident > Have you seen the Death Certificate? I haven't come across a suicide in > Scotland during my research and so I'm unable to comment on the legal > requirements there. However under English law a suicide would normally be > the subject of a Coronial Inquiry and the Coroner is the informant on the > Death Certificate. > > Also, have you seen the Crew Agreements for the ship? (You don't state > whether your ancestor was a member of crew or a passenger). The crew > agreement should also throw some light on the circumstances as to how he > "signed off " as a crew member. > > The vast majority of crew agreements are now held by the Maritime History > Archive, Memorial University, St John's, Newfoundland. > > Regards > David Armstrong > Maylands, Western Australia > Researching Stewart, Baikie, Heddle, > Malcomson, Stout, Gray, Cromarty, > Oman, Anderson, Sutherland > ----- Original Message ----- > Looking for anyone who can provide information or assistance in locating > information related to an incident which occurred in Longhope Harbor in > 1882, aboard the ship Benalder. My ancestor, Thomas MAXWELL purportedly > committed suicide on January 10th, 1882 by jumping overboard. However, I > have conflicting reports of the incident. The Orcadian reported the it on > 14 January as a suicide while the Scotsman reported that Thomas was blown > overboard by a gust of westerly wind. I would be interested in any > additional information or accounts of this incident including whether or > not the body was ever recovered and where Thomas might have been buried. > More information at: > http://www.geocities.com/ksteel.geo/curious.html > > With many thanks and a wish for happy holidays to all! > > Bye for now, > Karen > www.geocities.com/ksteel.geo > "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already > tomorrow in Australia." Charles M. Schulz > > > ==== ORKNEY Mailing List ==== > >>>>TIP: When when posting your research interests, include the surnames > in your subject line - this will improve our list archive and assist > future researchers.<<<< > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx > > > ==== ORKNEY Mailing List ==== >>>>>TIP: To unsubscribe, send an e-mail message to: >>>>>[email protected] In the body include only one word: >>>>>unsubscribe > Use Orkney-D if you're receiving digests.<<<< > > ============================== > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx > >