Graveyard Rabbits Carnival: Broken to Shivers

The topic for the May 2010 edition of the Graveyard Rabbits Carnival is: Cause of Death.

This is my entry. Poor Joseph!

Vollick, Joseph, News, appeared in Canadian Champion, 17 Jun 1869, page 2, column 3

FATAL ACCIDENT. - A fatal accident occurred on the 10th inst., at Mr. Hadden's mill, Nelson. A man by the name of Joseph Vollick was killed. It appears that he had been engaged at work on this mill for some time, acting in the capacity of fireman, and yesterday while in the act of throwing off the pump belt he was caught by it, and whirled around the main shaft at the rate of two hundred and forty times per minute. When they got the engine stopped his body was a mutilated mass, the bones of his legs were broken to shivers.

An inquest was held the same day on the body by Dr. Richardson, coroner, and a verdict of accidental death was given. No blame could be attached to either Mr. Hadden or Mr. Frazer, the foreman, as the mill is the same as any other mill, having a number of belts or straps, which always produce danger in dealing with them while in motion. He leaves a wife and five children to mourn his untimely end.

Graveyard Rabbits Carnival: Funeral Cards

Funeral Cards and Memorial Cards are often confused. Both are valuable genealogical finds as they contain information about a deceased person. Funeral cards were originally intended as an announcement type card - to be given out to friends and family when a loved one died. It had the time and place of the funeral so that mourners could attend.

Memorial cards were printed in remembrance of a loved one who had died. Often they were not printed until some time after the death. They were given out to friends and family members.

Some funeral cards like the one on the left, have photos, so if you are lucky enough to find one for an ancestor you may see an actual picture of the deceased.

AncestorsAtRest.com has a very nice collection of Funeral Cards online. A look at the index for surnames starting with "A" shows funeral cards for

Able, Fletcher, died 1912 unknown location
Abel, Nicholas, died 1893 Henry Illinois USA
FuneralCard Adams, Catherine, died 1888 unknown location
Adams, Willie, E., died 1889 unknown location
Adams, Elizabeth, E., died 1911 England, Minnesota USA
Anderson, James, died 1942 unknown location
Anderson, Johanna, M., died 1902 unknown location
Ashton, Ann unknown location
Ashton,Joseph, Alfred, unknown location
Atkinson, Florence, L., died 1885 unknown location
Anderson, Gertrude, Bogart, Broadwood, died 1951 Ontario Canada

The Funeral card for Abraham Neilson was found in an antique photo album that I purchased as part of my Lost Faces collection.

Genealogy Today also has many unique funeral cards and genealogy databases.

Graveyard Rabbits - Sisters killed on board Galway Castle in WW1

The new Graveyard Rabbits Carnival is starting! The topic for the premier edition of this carnival is "exceptional finds." Share with us those rare and unique cemeteries, gravestones, monuments, memorials, inscriptions, etc.

This is a Funeral or Memorial Card for two sisters who were killed on the same day in 1918 on board The Galway Castle

In Loving Memory of
Ivy and Freda
The dearly loved children of Howard and Frances Reeves of Johannesburg, who were lost in the Galway Castle which was torpedoed by a German submarine when returning home from England

On Sept 12, 1918
Aged 9 and 7 years

"An Enemy Hath Done This"