Unusual Deaths

George Fradd was born about 1812 in Devonport, Devon, Cornwall and married Mary Collins date and place unknown. He was employed as a Boot and Shoemaker in 1861 and lived in 19 Fore Street, Bodmin, Cornwall, England.  He lived in St Ives for the last eight years of his life.

Consternation was caused at St. Ives one Saturday morning in 1893 when it became known that George had met his death by being drowned in what seemed to be a suicide.

He was a much esteemed and respected, genial old gentleman of 82 when he died, and had been in ill health for a considerable time. This included suffering from a seizure and pains in the head; and since then, he had at times, acted rather strangely. His daughter stated that her father was being treated for a nervous complaint and was subject to twitching and giddiness. He was also being treated for sleeplessness.

At 10:30 am on the morning of his death he was observed walking through the warren quickly, but, as he was out and about a great deal, no particular notice was taken of him. Indeed, a nurse who had been living with him for the past 9 months met him on the street and asked him where he was going, in which he replied "I am going for my usual walk".

At the inquest into his demise, various people who had known George well had commented that he was never thought to be "out of his mind".
People, however, saw him jump or fall off Pednolver rocks. These at once raised the alarm; whereupon boats immediately went to his assistance, and picked him up when it was thought he was alive.
An account by William Burrell:
"I am a carpenter and have known the deceased for three or four years by sight; I did not know that he was out of his mind, but have heard so since the sad event.
On Saturday I was working in the warren and had occasion to go over the steps towards Pednolver rocks, when I saw the deceased standing on the rocks close to the sea. He had his clothes on. This was about 11 o'clock.

There was a heavy sea on and I saw it run in round the rock on which the deceased was standing; and, as the tide went back, I saw him take off his hat, place it on the rock beside him, make a little run, and plunge into the sea. There was about 10 feet of water where he jumped in.

He went in just like a man going bathing. I then ran and summoned assistance and a boat went off as quickly as possible and picked him up".

A doctor was promptly fetched and was on the beach by the time the body was landed.
Everything that could be done for the unfortunate and much respected invalid was done, but without avail.
The Coroner reviewing the evidence, thought it was best to give an open verdict, as it was not, in his opinion, clear that George had met his death by an accident or by suicide.
The jury, after lengthy and careful consideration of the evidence, unanimously agreed to a verdict that George had drowned himself off Pednolver rocks, St. Ives on the 25th June whilst in a state of unsound mind. Great sympathy was felt for his widow Mary and family.

Thomas Fradd was born about 1833 in Torquay, Devonshire, Cornwall.

He died in a work accident on the 28th June 1873 whilst engaged in shelving away the cliffs on the South Devon Railway between Langstone and Dawlish so as to admit of a second line of rails being laid down.

The plan had been to dig the cliff away in blocks - cutting a large piece out at the back and sides, and then undermining it. Thomas was engaged one Saturday in the undermining work when quite unexpectedly the block of sandstone commenced to slip and carry him down with it to the line below; falling across the middle of his body, doubling up one of his legs, and injuring him in the bowels in a frightful manner.

A surgeon was brought speedily from his house to the sufferer, but within a very few minutes Thomas was dead. An inquest was held before the coroner returned a verdict of "Accidental Death". Thomas was described as a quiet man survived by a wife Emma Eliza Fradd nee Waymouth and four children at Torquay. His wife Emma was pregnant with their fifth child.

William Fradd was born about on Christmas Day 1840 in St Day, Gwennap, Redruth, Cornwall. In 1839, there were 7,000 children employed in Cornish mines.
By eight or nine, a miner’s son or daughter was old enough to make their contribution to their family's limited income.

Until the age of 12, children worked mainly above ground doing menial jobs such as sweeping or, perhaps, tending the tin buddles or settling strips, but many complained about the effects of over-exertion in the 1842 Children’s Employment Commission report.

Eventually, changes in legislation regulated the use of child labour on mines, and increasing mechanisation gradually reduced and finally removed the need for this.
Unfortunately this wasn’t the case for William, who, at 15 years of age, died on the 13th of July 1855, at the St. Day United Mines.

He was set to work but when he was checked about twenty minutes afterwards, it was observed that William had fallen forwards and was lying with his face in a buddle pool of tin stuff which he had just begun to clear up.
On lifting him up he was found to be dead. It appeared that he had had fits before, and no doubt he had fallen down in one on this occasion, and there being no person at hand to assist him, he died.

In February 1851, a man named Fradd, a shoemaker of Plymouth, attempted suicide by cutting his own throat.
His wife was in the room at the time and attempted to wrest the knife from him, on which he turned upon her and inflicted several wounds on her neck, hands and arms.
She succeeded in getting the knife from him, but he was so severely injured that he is not likely to recover.

Martin Collins Fradd was born in 1867 at St Austell, Cornwall England and died on the 10th May 1895 at St. Budeaux, Cornwall where he suddenly vomited blood after tea and was soon dead.  In the 1891 census, Martin was listed single and boarding at Clarence Place, East Stonehouse, Cornwall where his profession was that of a clerk working in a Co-operative Store.