Sheffield Daily Telegraph – Wednesday 24 December 1879
The Alleged Child Starvation at Kilnhurst
Yesterday afternoon Mr. Coroner Wightman concluded the inquiry into the case of the death of Gertrude Dawson, aged two years and two months, fifth illegitimate child of Mary Ann Dawson, whose death was said to have been caused by starvation, under circumstances previously reported. The following additional evidence was taken:—
Mary Ann Dawson, the mother of the deceased, said that the deceased had never been vaccinated. Both Mr. Blythman and Mr. Hills, surgeons, had told her that it was not fit to be vaccinated. After deceased’s death Mrs. Cooper said to her that she blamed herself for not nursing the child more than she had been in the habit of doing. None of her neighbours had ever told her that Mrs. Cooper was not properly attending to the child. She put the child out to nurse after her other daughter got burnt, which was about 14 months ago, and since that time she had been with Mrs. Cooper. She put the child out to nurse because she kept her awake at night.
Annie Cooper, wife of George Cooper, miner, Kilnhurst, in addition to the evidence she gave on the former occasion, said that on October 31st she gave the child some magnesia to allay the pain consequent upon cutting two double teeth. That was the only time she gave her any medicine. On the following Sunday the child’s mother brought her a new laid egg, and said she had made it straight with the club. Witness said to her, “Mary Ann do you mean that the child is going to die?” She made no reply, and witness said that “it will live to torment you.” She solemnly repeated her previous assertion that on the day before her death she gave the child some beef and kidney to eat, and some tea. Jane Bisby saw the child eating this food. She gave the deceased to her mother about four months ago, and wanted to give up nursing her regularly. That was because the mother was not paying her regularly. After keeping the child one night, the mother persuaded her to take the child back again. The child was one mass of sores before she took to nursing her, and previous to that time the deceased had been under the care of her mother and a niece of hers.
Mr. Rowland Hills, surgeon, Conisborough, said he saw the child about twelve months ago at deceased’s grandmother’s, at Kilnhurst. He found that she was suffering from dysentery, and was very much emaciated. He told the mother that he was afraid that the bowels might become, if they were not already, ulcerated. The emaciation was the result of chronic dysentery. He told the mother that the child would always require great care. He had not seen the child since, but her mother had told him that she could not retain any nourishment on account of the dysentery. He thought that death had probably arisen from want of nourishment, arising from being unable to retain any food which might have been given to her. Chronic dysentery must necessarily prevent deceased from retaining food, because of the constant diarrhœa with which the disease was attended. If the disease was prevailing up to the time of her death he thought food given to the deceased six or eight hours before death might have entirely disappeared.
Jane Bisby, living next door to Mrs. Cooper, and wife of William Bisby, said that at half-past five o’clock on the night before her death she saw the child with some bread, beef, and kidney in front of her, and she gave her a drink out of a cup of warm tea. She saw deceased eating bread and treacle several times during the day.
Mrs. Morris, a neighbour, said she believed that Mrs. Cooper had always attended to the child properly.
Dr. Cobham maintained that the child had died from want of proper nourishment. She had died from sheer starvation.
Mr. Hills said it was probable that the child would have recovered if she had continued under medical treatment, but under the circumstances he was surprised that she had lived so long.
After considerable deliberation the jury returned the following verdict:—“That the child died from emaciation, probably brought on by dysentery and neglect, and that the mother and Annie Cooper were highly censurable for their neglect in not procuring medical or other attention to the deceased.”