The unlucky shoemaker

Rural scene, Scotts Creek near Timboon
State Library of Victoria image


A fatal accident occurred in the Heytesbury forest yesterday, to a man named John Brown, some time a resident of Cobden, where he carried on business as a shoemaker. Brown had recently selected land in the forest, and yesterday was at work on his holding in Cooriejong, clearing the land, when in attempting to remove a large fallen tree by the aid of a lever, the tree slipped and fell on the unfortunate man, crushing him so severely that he died in the course of a short time. Information was given to the police, and the coroner being telegraphed for, Dr  Hinchcliffe proceeded last night to Cobden for the purpose of holding an inquest, which, however, owing to the non-arrival of the body detained by bad roads, has been postponed until this day. The Hampden Guardian, December 31, 1875

Sixty year old John Brown was a shoemaker in Cobden where he resided with his wife and family. He had selected a bit of land in the parish of Cooriejong* (present day Scotts Creek), had erected a hut there and had begun the process of clearing the land of timber. One day in late December 1875 he was cutting a branch when it struck him in the chest. His son Francis, who was only twelve years old, found him and went to neighbours, Robert Howard and William Marshall, for help. He was carried to the hut where he died two hours later. An inquest was held at Cobden two days later with John's body present as was case in those days.



Cooriejong parish is south of Cobden, Victoria

John's wife, Maryanne, was left with a young family, including Martha who was not quite two years old. She was working as a housekeeper when she married a local farmer four years later. We have no way of knowing now but it must have been a huge shock for her to suddenly find herself a widow with dependants. She had a few shocks in her life. To find out more about this accident-prone family click on 'Brown' in the label list in the side panel.

*Cooriejong is also called Corriejong in some sources.

John BROWN, son of John BROWN and Jane PORTER was born in 1815 in Tyrone, Ireland. He died on 29 Dec 1875 in Scotts Creek, Cooriejong, Victoria, Australia. He married Mary Ann HOWE, daughter of Francis HOWE and Ann WEAR on 14 Mar 1850 (St Peters, Melb, Victoria, Australia). She was born in 1834 in Dublin?, Ireland. She married 2. John Lee at Camperdown on 26 May 1879. She died on 13 Jan 1907 in South Ecklin, Victoria, Australia.

Trove Tuesday: In which James falls off his bicycle

This is the next installment in a series about the accident-prone Brown family of Cobden. In previous posts here and here I wrote about two siblings who drowned in separate incidents. This time I tell the story of another sibling, James Wear Brown, who died at the age of 52. It appears that he was riding down a hill to work in Cobden, turned sharply to avoid a vehicle and fell off his bike. He died a week later as a result of the injuries.

The Argus, 10 January 1925, digital scan from Trove.

James and Agnes Brown, wedding photo 1900

Man faking fall from bicycle, SLV collection Image H84.201/90 accessed via Trove 'pictures, photos, objects'

James Wear BROWN, son of John BROWN and Mary Ann HOWE was born on 14 Feb 1872 in Cobden, Victoria, Australia. He died on 15 Jan 1925 Camperdown Hospital, Victoria, Australia as a result of injuries to head and mouth when he fell off a bicycle. He married Agnes Eleanor SPRUCE, daughter of James SPRUCE and Caroline FRANCIS on 19 Dec 1900 (St Mary's C of E, Cobden, Victoria, Australia). She was born on 22 Jul 1884 in Apsley, Victoria, Australia. She died on 04 Aug 1955 Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.

Verdict? Accidental drowning

Some families are accident prone. The Browns certainly were. This account, for Trove Tuesday, is about one of the sons who drowned. The fate of the other family members is a story for another day.

David Brown* was the son of John Brown and Maryanne (nee Howe). Both his parents were Irish but met in Victoria, Australia. They married in Melbourne and moved to Geelong where John worked as a shoemaker. David, the second of  twelve children, was born there in 1852.

In about 1857 the family moved to Camperdown and then Cobden about ten years later. By that time David was about 15 years old and would have begun working as a labourer in the district. Apart from his baptism record, at St Mary of the Angels Roman Catholic church in Geelong, David didn't generate a paper trail ... until he died accidently at the age of 20. Then there are newspaper reports and inquest papers as well as a death certificate.

This is one of the newspaper reports that I found on Trove.

BALLARAT.
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
FRIDAY, DEC. 20.

The Camperdown correspondent of the Geelong Advertiser reports the following fatality :-" On Saturday evening, December 14, about 8 o'clock, a young man named David Brown, about 20 years of age, met with a fearfully sudden death, being drowned in Lake Purrumbete, near the residence of the Messrs. Manifolds, about five miles from Camperdown. It appears that Brown, who was an expert swimmer, went out in a flat-bottom boat for a pull. Shortly afterwards, some lads who were fishing near heard screams, but could see nothing but the boat, it being just dark. They at once gave information, and drags have been continually going up to the present time without the body being found. Just about where the boat was seen the water is about 40ft deep, but a little further out it is upwards of 150ft, so that it is probable some considerable difficulty will be experienced in finding it. It is conjectured that Brown must have become cramped, for though the water is deep, it was but a short distance from the bank where the accident occurred."

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956), Saturday 21 December 1872, page 6

I also used Trove to look for pictures of Lake Purrumbete which is a freshwater lake near Camperdown and Cobden in Victoria's Western District. Under the 'Pictures, Photos, Objects' tab I typed 'Purrumbete' in the search box and found thumbnails of several interesting photos including this one and an oil painting (on display in the National Gallery of Australia) by Von Guerard that depicts the lake as it was in 1858, 'Purrumbete from across the lake'. Von Guerard is well-known for the detailed accuracy of his paintings so I can readily imagine the scene of the accident. Here is a photo of what the lake looks like today.

I've also used the Trove website to start a List for the Brown family, called, well, Brown Family. OK, OK. It was my first List. I'll use a more useful title next time. If you've haven't yet started a List (or two or three) on Trove I can fully recommend that you give it a go.

*David BROWN, son of John BROWN and Mary Ann HOWE was born on 19 May 1852 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Baptised: 10 Jun 1853 (St Mary's Catholic Church, Geelong). He died on 14 Dec 1872 in Lake Purrumbeet, Victoria, Australia. Inquest: 24 Dec 1872 in Camperdown, Victoria, Australia