Report of Inquest into death of John Farrar , Hartlepool , Saturday, 23rd July 1864.

Extracts from the Stockton & Hartlepool Mercury, Wednesday, July 27th. 1864.
Melancholy death from drowning at Hartlepool
On Friday afternoon, July 22nd, a melancholy accident, resulting in the death of a young man named John Farrar, occurred at the works in course of construction near the Hartlepool Slake. It appears that the deceased, a carpenter, was engaged in the wood work at the sluices, he was about to step on the scaffolding, when the chain that held it gave way, and the unfortunate man was precipitated into the current, which was running very fast at the time, and has not been seen since. A fellow workman was also immersed, but fortunately seized hold of the hanging timber and was thereby saved from inevitable drowning. The body had not yet been found up to the time of this edition going to press. (Friday Evening, July,22nd.1864 )



From our Second Edition of Saturday. July 23 rd 1864.

Finding of the body--Coroners Inquest , &c.

The body of the young man, drowned under the melancholy circumstances reported in our second edition of Friday evening, was found at a late hour the same evening,( Friday 22nd. July ) in the Slake, having been washed through the sluice gates by the heavy current of flood-tide which sets in through this narrow opening. The place where it was found was about a hundred yards from the spot where the melancholy accident occurred. The deceased was a highly respectable young man in his own rank of life, and had, with a brother who was also drowned, been for some years the only support of a widowed mother, now some time deceased. He was married to a daughter of Mr. Colling, the deputy Harbour Master of Hartlepool, and leaves a wife and a young family bereaved by his sudden and melancholy death.

An inquest was held on view of the body on the following (Saturday ) evening, before John Settle, Esq and the following jury,

John Lawrenson, Foreman. Chas. Ferrier, Benjamin Roome,?

David Myers, Daniel Ellwood, Robert Brown, Jabez Smith,

Adam McKenzie, Christopher Hoggett, Thos. Hudspith,

Wm. Wilson and Jas. Brown,



The first witness called was :- my Great-Great-Grandfather :-

Wm. Colling, Deputy-Harbour Master, who stated that the deceased was his son-in-law, aged 28 years, and a ships carpenter to trade.

Wm. Banks, acting foreman of the works, said that the deceased and he were working together, rigging a stage upon the side of the slope at the head of the old harbour. After they had it erected, deceased jumped upon it from off the pile head, and the stage went down in consequence.

The stage was merely a temporary one, and there was no necessity for the deceased to jump upon it. The distance he jumped would be about 3/ feet. Witness said to him , just when he jumped “What business had you to jump on the stage before I had it secured?” He replied “Oh Bill, I am nervous and with that the stage went down, taken with it himself and witness.

Witness escaped by swimming to the chain which crosses the sluice gate, leading to the Slake. Deceased could not swim. The depth of the water would be about 20 feet. There is no life -buoy within 300 or 400 yards of the place.

Wm. Sheffield, mariner, said he found the body of the deceased about half past 10 at night, 100 yards from the place where he was drowned, washed in the Slake

Dorothy Sharp said, I laid out the body and I saw a piece of flesh had been cut out of his right eye, His left ear was cut, and there was a large wound on the back of his neck.
William Nipper, shipwright, said I assisted the deceased to hang the stage, I saw the deceased jump upon it, I was on the opposite side of it, The chain broke and the deceased vanished from view, The chain which broke was merely temporary. The same chain bore the weight of four of us before, besides two deals, about three weeks ago. At the time it broke there were only two men and one deal resting on it. I had confidence in the chain , and risked my own life on it. I have examined the chain, and the link I now produce is the only bad one in the chain. If I had been in Banks position on the stage, or in the deceased’s when he jumped, I should have had no fear. The chain 3 weeks ago was double and Banks did not say whether the stage was right or wrong. The stage was only one plank, and quite safe to walk over.

The jury after a short consultation returned a verdict of “Accidentally Drowned .”

FUNERAL OF THE DECEASED.

The deceased, who was a member of the St. Hilda Court of Foresters, was interred in the Hartlepool cemetery, Hart-Warren, (Spion Kop) on Sunday Afternoon,( 24th July or 31st July ) and was followed to his last resting place by 230 of the brethren of the various Courts, and by a large number of his friends and fellow workmen.

John Farrar (many different spellings ) was my Great Grandfather, John Farrar had married my Great Grand Mother Ann Colling on Wednesday the 23rd.May 1860 in the Independent Chapel, they had one child, a daughter Jane Isabella Farrar my Grand Mother, On Monday the 6th.August 1866, John Farrars widow Ann remarried in St Hildas Church to John Horsley, a widower and Sea Pilot, they both lived at 2 Chapel Street for the rest of their lives. On the Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates, their surnames are spelt differently, it is likely that the people spoke their names and the correct spelling was left up to the registrar, priest, or enumerator, you have to bear this fact in mind at all times that the spellings of Surnames was far more flexible in times gone bye.

Ancesters on my Mothers side. " Colling "

My Great Grandfather William Colling was I believe born in Hartlepool  on the  14th March 1815.
He was the son of Richard Colling, born in Hartlepool in 1771. his mother was Hannah Sharp, born  in Hartlepool  the same year, 1771.
They had three other  children,
John Colling     Born Nov.1798   died   Jan. 1799.
Mary Colling    Born Nov.1799   died   Jan. 1806.
Isabella Colling Born Apr. 1802   died   ?     1887.

William Colling ,    a seaman later Assistant Dock Manager,  ( West Hartlepool )
 I believe he  married twice, his first wife was named Isabella ( surname  unknown  at the moment ) born possibly 1815 in Sunderland. they concieved the following children ?

Ann Colling,   Born 1839   died   March   1919. in 2 Chapel St. ( aged 80 years ) (my Great Grand Mother )
she was married twice, her first husband  was John Farrar, my Great  Great Grandfather , who was drowned while working on the building of the Town Docks, in 1864. a report recording the accidental death and the coroners report at the inquest to be published later. a quick summary of the events as follows,

My Great Grandfather, John Farrar, was a carpenter, employed in building the new quay and  docks in the area of the Slake, when on the afternoon of Friday,22nd July 1864, a scaffolding structure he was working from, collapsed, and he fell into the water, near to the sluice gates and was drowned.

My research revealed that an inquest into John Farrar death was held in the Borough Buildings by the coroner Mr.John Settle, Stockton Ward.the day  following his death, Saturday 23rd July, 1864. I have a report of this inquest. among others given evidence was John Farrars  father - in  - law, William Colling deputy Dock Master . ( my G.G.G Grandfather ) ?

John Farrar, was later buried the next day, Sunday 24th July 1864.?  in "Hart Warren " Cemetery , now locally named " Spion Kop " Cemetery Grave Number K189. It appears that that John died on the Friday an Inquest was held the very next day Saturday and he was buried the next day Sunday, if this report is correct. ?

I obtained  much of the above information from the Hartlepool Free Press, dated Saturday July 30th, 1864.
It as taken me many years of research to obtain what little information I now have, one of my most dificult tasks was to establish the correct spelling of the name of Farrar, in some cases Farrer, and on John;s death Certificate it is spelt Farrow ? so please , choose the spelling that suites yourself. no sensible person could complain.
John Farrar left a Widow ( Ann Colling ) and one child, a girl Jane Isabella Farrar ( my Great Grandmother )


Ann Farrar  (Nee Ann Colling ) later married John Horsley,a Sea Pilot, in St Hilda's Church  on Saturday 6th August 1866,  they lived the remainders of their lives in 2 Chapel Street,

I will continue to update when new information is discovered, I still honestly get a little confused whether people are my Grandfather or G. G Grandfather, I will endeavour to correct any mistakes I make.

The North Sands, views from Marine Drive. my childhood play ground.





Looking towards the Headland                              Looking to  Spion Kop  

External Views of St.Mary's Church, Whitby

St.Mary's Church, Whitby

New Entrance to St.Mary's Church, Whitby

Old Entrance to St.Mary's Church, Whitby

Both Old and New Entrances to St. Mary's Church, Whitby

John Graham and Alice nee Dickinson, move to Hartlepool

John Graham and  his wife Alice remained in Whitby after their wedding for a short time and lived with  Alice's mother, Mary Dickinson. their first child George  was born in Whitby in  1851,
The family then  moved to Hartlepool between 1852 -1855, their second child  was born in Hartlepool in 1855.