She has been very kind in passing on some BMD certificates to me - 2 of which I'll go into in later posts, but first here I'll tell you about the earliest one...
We knew only a little of James Keay (son of John & Mary Keay, and brother to our David Keay 1886-1918) from our family history passed down. The main thing we knew about him was simply and tragically that he had died in a rowing accident on the Tay, aged only 20.
You may remember that I have posted a photograph of his family's gravestone in Wellshill Cemetery, Perth. I have also seen a few notes about him in my searches - we know that James was born in Abbotshall, Fifeshire. Found in the 1891 census at 8, Cross St., Perth as a 15-yr-old Dyer's apprentice. He was the eldest son of John Keay and Mary Keay (nee Innes).
Now, thanks to Susan, we have been passed a copy of his Death Certificate.
Death certificate of James Keay, August 15th, 1895.
He died of drowning, after an accident on the River Tay which happened on 15th August, 1895 at 8pm. James Keay is listed as aged 20, single, a Dyer, of 13 Union Lane, Perth.
The prior person listed in the register also died in the accident; a 22 yr-old Dyer named James Galloway. (I've been unsuccessful in a brief attempt to find descendants of James Galloway's family; I did find him in the 1891 census at 300 High St., Perth with his parents James Galloway (Tailor) and Ann, and his 4 younger siblings. He is described as a Dyer's apprentice, aged 17.)
There is a note in the margin of the death certificate giving a reference for a Coroners' record - which is wierd as in Scotland they don't use the term 'Coroner'. The Procurator Fiscal office was very kind in looking up the details for me but found no records - they do usually dispose of them fairly soon after the end of the inquiry. The National Archives store records from the Sheriff Courts on inquiries into fatal accidents, beginning only in the year 1895 - but they are not searchable online, only from the records office in Charlotte Sq., Edinburgh.
There was an additional note attached to the Death Certificate details (at Scotlands People, the original source). It was an RCE or corrected entry, which holds details about a report into the death. No details in addition to those already seen, however. The inquiry was not a lenghty affair, the date of the report is early September 1895.
Stumped!
In such cases, the local press are usually a mine of information. An article in the Perth newspaper (Perthshire Advertiser, 16th August, 1895; page 3, col 3) covers the incident - copies are kept at the A.K. Bell Library, Local Studies Department, Perth. (There is also an article listed in the Perth Constitutional and Journal {PJ?}, 24/8/1895, page 4).%%%%%%%%%
Following a marvellous dollop of assistance from Isabel, a kind soul who lives in Perth, I am now able to bring you snippets from the articles mentioned above. Isabel went to the library and sent me copies of the 16th August article, and also found some follow-up articles in later editions. These included the Editorial of the paper from the 19th August.{I've added a few snippets here - contact me if you'd like to read them in full. You'll need to click on the image to view it more clearly... then use the back button of your browser to return to this post.}
Sadly the text did not include any photographs of the young men (we have no photos of James, so far as I know). However, the details covered in the clippings really bring the drama to life, and show the level of sympathy which Perth felt for the families at the time.
I'm sure when you've read the text of the clippings you'll be as moved as I was and will be very keen to show your appreciation to Isabel for the effort she put into this. Pay it Forward, guys!
%%%%%%%%%%%
First of all the story broke the day after the incident, on the 16th August 1895.
Perthshire Advertiser:
The crew of experienced rowers, members of the Perth Rowing & Sailing Club, took a 27-foot-long outrigger gig onto the River Tay at Perth to practise for the forthcoming Regatta (7th September 1895). It was the evening of the 15th August.
The reason for the accident seems to have been the very strong force of water down the Tay, due to abundant rains in the previous days. The crew made the "imprudent" decision to pass the Perth Bridge - rather than stopping before it as they had been advised at the Friarton Boathouse. The current around the bridge structures was clearly much more unpredictable and their boat, the "Bonnie Lass", capsized. Despite being prize-winning Rowers & swimmers, the crew were all drowned.
As you can see in the above clipping, this was a fourfold fatality. The paper goes on to tell of how the bodies of two young men were recovered fairly quickly (our James Keay, and James Galloway) whilst the search continued for several days until the bodies of Charles McQuhae (a blacksmith, and Stroke of the crew) and George Fleming (a hammer-man) were recovered. All the men were aged between 20 and 23.
It seems that two of the rowers (Fleming & McQuhae) bravely tried to help the young Coxswain (Robert Allan, also an apprentice Dyer) to safety, but were themselves swept away by the current, "to rise again no more". The Cox was rescued soon after, found "sinking for the third time and in a very exhausted condition". Thankfully, he survived and later spoke to the press:-
The Springland Tower he mentions was built on the river and used as a marker then for boat races - it is a mile upstream from Perth, overlooking the North Inch.The Editorial of the Perthshire Advertiser (19th August, 1895) stressed the sympathy of the people of Perth, while also conjecturing on the cause of the tragedy:
Also on the 19th August, there is an article about the funerals, for which the streets were "crowded with an immense concourse of people". The Campbell's dye-works shut down for the afternoon so that workers could attend the funerals of James Galloway and James Keay. The funerals were also attended by the Perth Rowing Club, and by the local Artillery Corps (with which the men were also connected).
%%%%%%%%%%%
James Keay 1875-1895
Rest in Peace.
%%%%%%%%%%%
A few links for further study:James Keay 1875-1895
Rest in Peace.
%%%%%%%%%%%
Map here of the area of the Tay where the incident took place, though perhaps it's also useful to view the old maps - a 1912 town plan can be viewed here (zoom in on Perth).
- Perth Bridge as of 1895 would now be seen on maps as West Bridge St., the A85 leading to Charlotte St.
- Friarton (quoted in papers as the site of the Boathouse) is downstream (South) of Perth city - the island midstream was known as Friarton (now King James VI Golf Club), and you can see Friarton Bridge takes the M90 across the river just before it becomes the A90.
- Photos linked to the Google Map - here, and here.
A little on Rowing on the Tay - here's a link purporting to show the attire of a Mr. Allen of Perth Rowing Club, year unknown. Could this be the Coxswain, or a relative??
An image of the interior of Campbell's Dye-works, year unknown. Also a Campbell's advertising novelty described in this online museum site. I think Campbell's works was in the South of Perth, near Friarton - see the old town plan, 1912.
Also an image of another Perth dye-works, Pullar's. It is in North Perth.
More on Perth from Wikipedia, and from books (here).
1 comment:
James Keay is my 2nd cousin, twice removed.
Not that close, I suppose, but still sad to read of his tragic death.
Post a Comment