Alice Jane SHRUBSOLE
b 8 Jun 1871 Pedlinge, Kent, England
d 1947 Ontario, Canada
&
George Alfred FINN
b 1872 Folkestone, Kent, England
d 11 May 1922 Folkestone, Kent, England.
You will see from the two trees that George Finn’s mother was Fanny Shrubsole – although she was not from the same branch of the Shrubsole family as Alice Jane. Alice Jane was my great aunt (my grandfather’s sister) & she married George Finn & they had a family of five daughters, the eldest daughter Alice sadly dying at the tender age of 6 in 1904.
In 1922 George died a terrible death by committing suicide whilst temporarily insane at the Folkestone Gas & Coke Company, known locally as the Folkestone Gasworks. He was found dead on 11 May 1922 at the Gasworks in a reservoir containing hot oil. There was
an inquest reported in The Dover Express & East Kent News on Friday 19 May 1922:
“FOLKESTONE
DEAD IN HOT TAR TANK. - The Folkestone Borough Coroner (Mr. G. W. Haines) held an inquest on Friday last on the body of George Alfred Finn, aged 50 years, a boiler stoker in the employ of the Folkestone Gas and Coke Company, who was found dead the works in a reservoir containing hot tar. - Dr. Stranaghan said that he had attended the deceased for about six years. In July last he complained of a dizzy feeling in the head and of being nervous, saying that he did not like being left alone. Witness found no disease to account for it. He treated the deceased until August, and then he went to work on the 6th of that month. He carried on until the 17th, when he complained of illness again, and he did not go to work again until March. He did not seem to be much interested in anything, and he did not like being left alone. He was always following his wife about. In witness' opinion, the deceased was suffering from melancholia, which sometimes developed suicidal tendencies. The deceased had said that if he did not get better he would rather “be out of it”. Witness spoke to Mr. Griffin about the deceased, and told him that if he (the deceased) could get some light work it would be beneficial. Mr. Griffin promised to do what he could. - The Coroner said that from his own observation of the place in question, he considered that it was impossible for anybody to have accidentally fallen in. He did not, of course, suggest for a moment that anybody could have put the deceased in there. Taking into consideration his health, particularly the condition described by the doctor, he found that the deceased killed himself by getting into the tar tank and that when he did so he was temporarily insane. He thought that every precaution had been taken to protect the workmen there.”
George was buried in Hawkinge Cemetery 15 May 1922 Section O Grave No 5775B.
How awful that must have been for Alice and the girls. There was also a terrible stigma around suicide in those days so you can almost hear the whispers behind closed doors. I wonder if that is what prompted her at the age of 58, to take her four remaining daughters, who were all still single & aged 24, 23, 20 & 18 & emigrate to Canada to start a new life where nobody would know their past circumstances, so they could all start out afresh.
They travelled from Southampton to Quebec on the SS Melita & all the girls stated they were going to Canada as domestics & they were going to live there permanently. Alice’s sister Sarah Gardner (nee Shrubsole) was already living in Ontario at the time so at least they had some family there & it was Sarah’s address that they gave to immigration as to where they would be initially staying. I don’t know the whole story & whether they did stay with Sarah initially, nor how long it took them to get established, but it would be nice to have a time machine & go back & visit! I do have a postcard sent by them to another of my great Aunts to say they’d arrived safely and were looking forward to living there.
What a brave thing to do after so much heartache in your life, and at age 58 too, which back then was considered fairly old, but the Shrubsoles are made of strong stuff, and Alice lived to the ripe old age of 76 & died in 1947 in Ontario & is buried in Windsor Grove Cemetery, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Life must have improved because I’m pleased to say all four girls married & even Alice married again, so I like to think it was a happy ever after story; from my point of view it is, as one of her gt x 2 grand daughters, Cherie, is also researching the tree & so we have met online via our research, which is really brilliant; we are 2C2R. It is so nice the way this hobby brings you in touch with family you never even knew you had.
