I recently stumbled across a fascinating episode in the newspaper archive – Disorderly Scenes at a Funeral. This is a local history matter and relates to Chadderton cemetery in Oldham. I regularly walk my dogs in this cemetery and have done so for decades. I am only just coming to consider the stories of those who lie in the grounds in which I walk. So, for my first article of this kind, I have decided to look at the story of Mary Hannah Thomas.
The Tragic Case of Mary Hannah Thomas
This story goes that one young lady named Mary Hannah Thomas commited suicide in 1901. Mary Hannah was born in 1875 in Oldham. In the 1901 census, she can be found living at 73 Burnely Lane, Chadderton. This road lies approximaltey a mile away from the cemetery. The current 72 Burnely Lane looks rather modern. And I am guessing that this is not the same house that stood there in 1901.
Mary Hannah was unmarried and lived there with her mother, Elizabeth and her step-father, James Thomas along with a host of siblings. I assume that some of these siblings must be step siblings as some of the children at the property are noted to have been born in America.
Interestingly, the census notes that Mary Hannah had been ‘an imbecline since childhood’. This would suggest that Mary Hannah had some type of learning disability. This was simply the crude and generic way that disabilities and learning difficulties were referred to at the time.
The reason that this young lady had made the news was a tragic one – she had recently taken her own life. An inquest was held and it was determined that she died by drinking carbolic acid. The jury was read a letter which was found on the body, addressed to her mother, which referred to her step-father: ‘You know the vow I made to him, and now I cannot work in the mill over here, and I am in the way.” 1Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. Volume: 77 , Issue: 13928 (1901). The verdict included a caveat – that although the casue of death was suicide, her step-father, James Thomas was morally and really responsilbe for her death.
We can only speculate as to what Mary Hannah referred to in her letter. We can perhaps assume that Mary Hannah had physical or mental limitations yet had taken employment in one of the local mills. Perhaps Mary Hannah felt unable to work and had felt she was a burden, unable to contribute to the household. It seems James, the step-father thought Mary Hannah was a burden and this was the reason she took her own life. A tragic case.
The Funeral
The story did not end there. The newspapers report that Mary Hannah was in fact a rather popular woman in the local area. She appeared to have a large number of friends. It is reported that her funeral in Chadderton cemetery was very well attended.
At the graveside, it appears as though some attendees sought revenge for the death of Mary Hannah. The reoprt reads:
‘At the graveside the scenes against the step-father (Mr James) were of a most unruly character, one woman going so far as to threaten to push him into the open grave.’ 2Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. Volume: 77 , Issue: 13928 (1901).
The article reports that the ceremony went ahead. But the chaos continued once the carriages returned to the family home on Burnely Lane:
…the man Thomas was surrounded by a throng of angry females who gave him several blows in the face and knocked his hat off, handling him very severely. When the man got out of their clutches he stood on the doorstep jeering, which only served to aggrevate the crowd, who vowed they would make it hot for him.’ 3Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. Volume: 77 , Issue: 13928 (1901).
Following the ‘Disorderly Scenes at a Funeral’, the family seem to disappear from the records. They no longer reside at 73 Burnley Lane in 1911 when the census was taken. Perhaps they moved away from the area? Perhaps some additional research is required to discover whether the women of Chadderton were successful in ‘making it hot’ for James Thomas, as he seemingly deserved.
Mary Hannah lies at rest along with Frederick Thomas who died in 1880. Frederick was perhaps the brother of James Thomas and therefore Mary’s step-uncle. The grave stone, if there had been one in the first instance, is now long gone. And little do passers-by know that in the shadow of the old, now crumbling and derilict chapel once witnessed ‘Disorderly Scenes at at Funeral’.
Rest in Peace Mary Hannah.
For a similar post, see Prisoner of War Camp, Glenn Mill, Oldham.
