How can I find out more about my ancestor's death by train?

Question

A great great grandfather of mine died when a passenger train struck him. He was a Railway Labourer at the time and he died on 29th June 1899 on a GLAW railway line near Well Street, Paisley, Scotland.

An RCE entry for his death certificate states that the Procurator Fiscal confirmed this death on the 4th August 1899.

My question is how can I find out more about this accident? What other records from the Procurator Fiscal are available, both online and offline? Given that his death seems to have happened at work, would there be any sort of industrial tribunal or whatever that would have happened at the time, some sort of investigation into the accident by the railway firm?

His name was Owen McDonnagh (or McDonough or McDonnachie, or various other spellings) if anyone has access to such records.

Answer 1

A lot of the time, investigation and inquest records are lost or destroyed, so I recommend that you visit a library or local records office close to where the accident occurred and search through the local newspapers. It is almost guaranteed that an incident like this would have made it into the paper, and the article may give details about any inquest or negligence charges etc. giving you a better idea of where to go next.

Are you aware of this reference to him?

http://railwayroad.com/FamilyTree/Trees/...

Good Luck

Answer 2

I agree that old newspapers would be the best way to go.

I doubt there would have been any sort of industrial inquiry, I wondered the same about my ancestor that was killed in a coal crushing machine, but I think then accidents would have been more common and not taken as seriously as they are today.

It might be worth joining a Rootsweb mailing list such as this one

http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Oc...

and asking your question there.

Answer 3

I would try to see if there was a newspaper article about it. Contact the newspaper for the area and ask someone in the archive department to look it up for you. Sometimes you can find someone who will go above and beyond. Also, ask them to point you in the right direction if they can't help.

Contact the local library and ask someone there to look it up for you.

Contact the railway line and they may be able to send you something.

Contact the local county courthouse and ask if there was an inquiry made at the time, or perhaps a lawsuit.

Sometimes if you tell your story and are very sincere you can find the right person to help you.

Good Luck!