Poor John Edworthy died aged only 12 years old, in a horrific accident.
In my blog post last week, Churchyard Mysteries, I wrote about my discovery of three children's graves in the corner of a Devon churchyard where the wild daffodils grow. Since then I've learned what happened to one of them, John Edworthy, who died on 18th November 1889.
Family
John was the third son of Charles and Elizabeth (nee Ware) Edworthy. Charles was a thatcher and the family lived in a cottage adjoining the churchyard where the grave now stands. (I can see the cottage from where I live.)
John appears on the 1881 census, aged 4 along with brothers - Frederick 8, William 5, Charles 2, and Harry 6 months. Before John died, another brother would arrive in the household - Ernest, born in 1888.
The Accident
We can only imagine how the accident happened (so far I've not been able to track down the details of the inquest, which took place in 4 days after John's death, or found a report of the incident in the online newspaper archives) but the shocking cause of John's death was a broken neck as a result of a cart overturning.
I see his father, Charles, died fairly young, at 47 years old. A fall from a roof, perhaps? A high possibility, being a thatcher. I've sent for his death certificate too, so I'll let you know what it reveals in due course.
Meanwhile, "Rest in Peace", both.
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