HER PITIFUL PLIGHT.
Waitahuna Woman's Death.
Jeannie McColl, a single woman, aged about thirty, who kept house for her brother, Dugald McColl, a miner residing at Waitahuna Gully, came to Dunedin on March 12. It is not known where Jeannie lived when she first arrived in town, but on March 15 she went to live with a Mrs Durston at No. 10 Havelock-street, Mornington though why she should have gone there isn't quite clear. On the morning of March 16, the day after she arrived at Mrs Durston's, Jeannie was taken ill, and her illness was followed by a miscarriage. Jeannie remained at Mrs Durston's, and on March 21 Dugald came down from Waitahuna, as he was anxious about her, though he didn't know where she was until his sister Lizzie, who lives at North-East Valley, informed him. Dugald went up to Durston's on March 23, and saw Jennie who, though still in bed, said she was better. He again went up on March 24, and on this occasion Jeannie was in such good spirits that she asked him to come up on the following evening and have some music. On Good Friday, March 25, Jeannie died about 1.30 a.m., just after Dr. Fitchett had been called in, and Dugald was knocked up by his other sister and taken in a cab to Durston's, where he arrived about, 3 a.m. Dr. Fitchett was unable to give a certificate, and, therefore, an inquest was held on March 26, before Mr H. Y. Widdowson, acting-coroner, and a jury. Mr B. S.. Irwin watched the proceedings on behalf of Mrs Durston.
Dugald, in his evidence, said Jeannie had not complained to him of illness. He was surprised to find her so ill, but he didn't ask her any questions, because she was, too bad.
Sub-inspector: Did you ask Mrs Durston the cause of death? — She said it was failure of her heart, or something to that effect.
Coroner: Did you ask what was at the bottom of it all? — No, and nobody else did in my hearing.
Coroner: Were you aware of her condition? — No. Nothing was said to me. None of us knew. We were all very surprised.
Coroner: Had you ever heard before of Mrs Durston? — No.
Coroner: Did you ever hear that your sister was engaged to anyone or keeping company with anyone?— No. She was not engaged to my knowledge.
Mr Irwin: Did you see any reason for calling a doctor when you saw your sister on the evening before her death? — No. I reckoned she was improving.
Coroner: But on the day previously did you not think she needed a doctor ? — No. I had every confidence in the nurse. She appeared to be very kind.
Mr Irwin: One of your sisters slept with deceased one night? — Yes.
Mr Irwin: And at that time your sisters were aware of the condition of deceased? — I do not know.
Mr Irwin: Were you not told that Mrs Durston had told your sister Lizzie the true position, and your sister said that it could not possibly be? — I believe that is so. None of us believed it.
Mr Irwin: I want to show the jury that Mrs Durston made no secret about the condition of the girl. — Oh, she made no secret to the girls, but she never mentioned it to me.
Mr lrwin: You believe Mrs Durston told your other sisters? — Yes.
Mr Irwin: And prior to the death of your sister you had been told about her condition, but would not believe what you were told? — Yes.
Mr Irwin: So far as you can say, did Mrs Durston do all she could for your sister? — I thought she was very kind and deceased said she found her so.
After the cross-examination of Dugald, the inquest was adjourned till the following Friday. -NZ Truth, 2/4/1910.
HOW SHE DIED.
Jeannie McColl's Fate.
On March 26 an inquest was commenced into the circumstances surrounding the death of Jeannie McColl, a single woman about thirty years of age, who had recently been keeping house for her brother Dugald, at Waitahuna Gully. Jeannie left Waitahuna on March 12 for a holiday, and she went to the house of a Mrs Annie Durston on the afternoon of the 15th. On the following day she was prematurely delivered of twins. Dugald came to town In the following week and saw his sister, and about the 24th she seemed to he getting on very well, but on the following morning she died at an early hour. On March 26 the only evidence taken was that of Dugald. The inquiry was continued on April 1, Mr H. Y. Widdowson acting as coroner. The inquiry was conducted by Station-Sergeant King, and Mr B. S. Irwin watched the proceedings on behalf of Mrs Durston.
Annie Durston, widow, said she was an unregistered ladies' nurse. Her house at 10 Havelock-street, Mornington, had seven rooms, of which she let some on occasions. About 3.15 p.m. on March 15 deceased came to the house and asked for the room for a week or two, saying she had been unwell for some time and wanted a quiet place to rest. The room was let to deceased. She said she was married, and that she would need some attention for a time, as she had had diarrhoea and had been vomiting for some time past. Her luggage, she said, had been mislaid when she changed trains at Milton, and she brought none with her. That night (the 15th) deceased and witness retired to the same bed about 9 o'clock. Deceased had a cup of cocoa for supper, which made her sick, but she advised witness to take no notice of her, as she had been the same way for the past six weeks. As the night wore on, deceased became worse, and witness asked her several times if she were ill, but deceased always denied this, until at last witness asked her straight out if she did not expect soon to be confined, when witness admitted that that was so; and added, farther, that for the past four months she had been taking medicine and pills. This admission was made at 3.30 a.m., and witness examined deceased, telling her that confinement was approaching. About six o'clock deceased was delivered of a dead child, about four months old, in such a state of decay as to suggest that it had been dead for a fortnight. At 8.30 another child (dead) was born. Witness destroyed the bodies, burning them in the copper fireplace at about 10 o'clock. The deceased appeared very well, considering, but she could not keep down solid food, and witness did not press it on her. Questioned by witness, deceased said nothing had been done to promote a miscarriage beyond the taking o£ pills and medicine. Her married sister, she said, knew of her condition. Deceased refused to give the names of her relations, but witness communicated with them as soon as she found but where they were. The name of Mrs Carr had been given by deceased when she arrived, and it wasn't until March 19 that witness knew Miss L. McColl, North-East Valley, was her sister. Deceased had promised to tell witness everything later on, for which reason no trouble was taken at the time to ascertain her name. On the 21st deceased wrote letters to her sisters, in Dunedin and Waitahuna, and witness also wrote to them. In response to a message from witness, Miss L. McColl came up on March 22, accompanied by her brother, and on the following day Miss Sadie McColl and Mrs Walker (another sister) also called. The sisters suggested that a doctor be called in, but witness said it wasn't necessary, as the patient was getting on nicely. On the 24th Dugald and Sadie called again, and deceased seemed very lively, but in bed that night she had fits of fainting and sickness. Late at night witness decided to get a doctor, and sent for Dr. Marshall McDonald, who deceased said had previously treated her. Dr. Macdonald couldn't be got, and nothing was done for a time, deceased urging that no doctor be sent for; but about 11 o'clock she became ill, and Dr. Fitchett was sent for, arriving about l a.m.. Ten minutes after the doctor came, deceased died, having been conscious, up to a short time before his arrival. Witness said she had considerable experience of confinement cases without a doctor. She had been nursing for ten years, but she wasn't in the habit of taking women to her house for the purpose of confinement. Deceased made no arrangement for payment. She (deceased) made no statement as to who was responsible for her condition, and witness didn't press her about it.
To Mr Irwin: From the time of her confinement deceased continued to get better, and each day there appealed less and less necessity for a doctor.
To the Coroner: Deceased's brother seemed not to want to know about her condition, and her sisters would hardly believe it. Witness told Dugald that in her opinion deceased bad died from heart failure. She saw no sign of blood-poisoning. Deceased never told witness that an instrument had been used on her. She said a lady in the tram had directed her to witness' house.
To Dr. Fitchett : On the morning of the confinement, deceased's temperature was 99, but thereafter it was normal. Her temperature was taken two or three times a day. Witness disinfected her hands when examining deceased and when attending her during confinement.
Dr. Frank Fitchett said he axrived at Mrs Durston's at 1.20 o'clock on the morning of the 26th, and found deceased pulseless, unconscious, and making occasional gasping respirations. She ceased to live at 1.30. The abdomen was found to be distended and tympanitic. Mrs Durston didn't seem to realise the gravity of the case, and spoke to deceased after death as if she would rally. On the 26th, eleven hours after death, witness made a post mortem examination under instructions from the Coroner. There were no marks of violence, there was no evidence of heart failure, and all the organs were healthy. In the abdomen there were marked evidences of septic peritonitis. The cause of death was general septic peritonitis, due to puerperal infection — in other words, blood-poisoning.
To Sergeant King: There was no injury, which he was at a loss to explain. The suggestion was that an instrument had been used. It was unlikely to have occurred in any other way, though he wouldn't care to deny that it might have happened naturally.
To the Coroner: If an instrument was used, it had been in the hands of a skilful person. There were two indications that supported the view that an instrument was used. If the pulse had been taken as well as the temperature, witness thought the gravity of the case would have been recognised. In witness' opinion, deceased had been dying for two or three days.
To Mr Irwin: He couldn't swear positively that an instrument had been used. At this stage the inquiry was further adjourned. When the inquest was resumed on Wednesday, deceased's brother was recalled, and deceased's sisters were examined. No additional facts of importance were elicited. The inquest was again adjourned. -NZ Truth, 9/4/1910.
JEANNIE McCOLL'S FATE.
HOW DID SHE DIE?
Was There an Operation?
A SISTER'S PATHETIC STORY.
"I Can Scarcely Believe it Now."
At, 11.30 a.m. on March 26 there died at the residence of Mrs Annie Durston, 10 Havelock-street, Mornington, Jeannie McColl, a single woman of about thirty years of age, who, previously to her death, had kept house for her brother, a miner, at Waitahuna Gully. She left her home on March 12 and reached Mrs Durston's on March 15. On the following day she had a miscarriage, twins being born. Thereafter she seemed to be getting on very well and was quite cheerful when her brother and sisters, who had found out her address, visited her on March 22 and following days, but on the night of March 25 Mrs Durston found it advisable to send for a doctor, and Jeannie died early the following morning.
An inquest was begun on March 26, before Mr H. Y. Widdowson, S.M., Acting-Coroner, and a jury, when the brother of deceased, Dugald McColl, was examined, and was continued in the following week, when Mrs Durston and Dr. Fitchett (who was called in on the night of death) were examined. The doctor was strongly of opinion that an instrument had been illegally, used on deceased, but would not positively swear to it. On April 6 the inquest was further continued, when deceased's two sisters were put in the witness-box. Mr B. S. Irwin appeared for Mrs Durston.
Elizabeth McColl, sister of deceased, residing at North-East Valley, said she last saw her sister alive about 9 o'clock on the evening of March 23, at Mrs Durston's house. Deceased was then in bed, and witness thought she looked ill, but she didn't say what was wrong with her. On the previous evening deceased said her chest and mouth were sore, following on an attack of influenza. On this occasion before seeing her sister witness saw Mrs Durston, and asked what was wrong with her sister that she should be in her house. Mrs Durston said deceased had had a miscarriage. Witness was very astonished, and couldn't believe it, and said it couldn't be her sister. Witness asked to be taken to dececased, telling Mrs. Durston she could later on tell her anything she had to say. Deceased and witness slept together that night, though witness could not rest much, and spent most of her time in a chair at the bedside. Deceased was very weak, and during most of the time she had arms round witness' neck. Mrs Durston assured witness that deceased was not so ill as witness thought she was. Deceased did not seem excited and was very quiet. Deceased did not tell her the cause of her illness, and witness was so glad to see her alive that she hadn't the heart to approach the subject. Witness didn't ask how deceased came to go to Mrs Durston's because deceased was very dear to them, and witness wanted to study her feelings. Witness suggested to Mrs Durston that deceased should go to the hospital, but Mrs Durston said she was getting on nicely, and, as deceased had been nursed through the worst of her illness, it would be unnecessary. Deceased also assured witness that she didn't want to go to the hospital — Mrs Durston had been very kind to her, and she begged not to be taken away from her. All that night (the 22nd) deceased was restless, though she was quieter when witness left her in the morning. On the evening of the 23rd (Wednesday), witness again saw deceased, who was not inclined, to talk, but who stared hard at her. Deceased said she would soon be able, to get out of bed, and Mrs Durston said she thought she was getting on very well, but if a doctor was wanted one would be sent for. Mrs Durston asked witness to ask deceased if she had brought any luggage or money, but deceased said she couldn't remember; — she couldn't remember things for some time past. She, however, said she could remember having two sovereigns, some silver and a railway ticket in her purse, but she didn't say what had become of it. Witness and her brother and sister were summoned to Mrs Durston's early on March 26, arriving about 3 a.m..
The Coroner: Were you surprised to hear she was dead? Witness: Yes, very surprised and shocked. Mrs Durston said something must have gone wrong with deceased's heart, as her death was very sudden and she couldn't understand it.
The Coroner: Was Mrs Durston upset and surprised? — She was very upset.
The Coroner: And surprised? Witness: I couldn't say.
Wintess first heard that deceased had left Waitahuna Gully on March 15. It struck her as surprising that deceased had not notified her that she was coming to Dunedin. After waiting until March 19 for a letter, witness went down to Waitahuna Gully, and was told by her sister, Sadie, who was there on holiday, that Jeannie had gone to Dunedin.
Sergeant : • Do you know Thomas Carr?
Witness: He is our next-door neighbor.
Sergeant: Did you speak to him on the matter?
Witness: I had heard that he had gone to Dunedin in the same train as deceased. He said he had not, but afterwards confessed that he had. He said he had parted with her on the Dunedin railway station on the morning of March 12.
Sergeant: Did he say how she was?
Witness: He only said he had left her on the station. He looked very nervous, and I suspected that he knew where she was. I asked him, and he said she was doing well and was with friends of his.
The Coroner: He didn't tell you the name of the people?
Witness: No. He said that if we went to Dunedin on March 21 he would take us to where she was. On the 21st Carr came to Dunedin with my brother and me. When I arrived in Dunedin I found Jeannie had written a note to me, there being no address on it. Jeannie wrote that she had been ill with influenza and other things. She said she would explain everything when she saw me that day (the 21st). I left Carr at the corner of the Octagon, for the purpose of sending telegrams home. Carr said he would go to Durston's to see if Jeannie had actually gone to North-East Valley. Dr. Closs had treated Jeannie for heart trouble — it wasn't that she had heart disease, but her heart was affected. We had understood so ever since childhood.
Sergeant: Dr. Closs has looked up his books for the past ten years and cannot find the name of deceased.
The Coroner: You can always expect a certain amount of cloaking in these cases, (To witness): When did you see deceased previously to her visit to Dunedin?
Witness: I was with her for a holiday at Waitahuna Gully about a fortnight previously.
The Coroner: How was she then?
Witness: She was bright and happy, and I did not suspect anything — nobody could have done so. Deceased didn't speak about her condition.
Sergeant: Did deceased know anything about Mornington.
Witness: She hadn't often been to Dunedin, and didn't know Mornington. I don't know Mrs Durston, and I never heard Jeannie speak of her.
Mr Trwin: Why didn't you speak to Carr on the way down?
Witness: We couldn't bear him near. us. He was in the guard's van, and my brother and I were alone. We were very indignant at his having taking Jeannie where he could not take us. We intended to deal with him after we had found Jeannie. Mrs Durston told me Jeannie had arrived without money. I know she left home without luggage.
Mr Irwin: Do you know where Jeannie was between March 12 and 15?
Witness: Certainly, not.
Mr Irwin: You didn't ask?
Witness: No. All we wanted for her was to get better.
Sergeant (producing letter): Do you know that hand-writing?
Witness (after a long examination): No ; I don't know it at all.
Sergeant: It is a note to Mrs Durston in some strange writing asking her to put witness' name on an enclosed letter. The post-mark is dated March 31.
Witness: I have only received notes of sympathy from friends during the past few days.
Dugald McColl, brother of deceased, recalled, said that before leaving Waitahuna Carr promised to take him and his sister to where Jeannie was, but on arrival in Dunedin Carr said he would go and see if she was still where he had left her. Carr went along Princes-street from the Octagon, as far as Dowling-street, but then vanished, and witness had not since seen him. In Jeannie's purse there was only a florin, but there was no railway ticket. Witness wasn't at home when Jeannie left for Dunedin.
The Coroner: Were you not surprised to see your sister Sadie at your home?
Witness: No; I knew she was coming down for a holiday.
Sergeant: Did Carr say why there was cause for so much secrecy? Did he say anything about her. condition?
Witness: He only said she was all right.
The Coroner: Did you not suspect your, sister' s condition as a result, of Carr's remarks?
Witness: No. I didn't suspect anything.
Sergeant: Did she have any money?
Witness: There was about £4 in the house which Jeannie could have got. She left a pound, so that she couldn't have taken more than £3.
The Coroner: Did Carr often come to the house?
Witness: Yes. He had been coming to the house ever since he was a boy. He is about thirty years old.
The Coroner: Did you notice any intimacy between Carr and your sister?
Witness: No.
The Coroner: Were they engaged?
Witness: No. I couldn't see there was anything between them.
Mr Irwin: You knew before Jeannie's death that she had little or no money?
Witness: Yes. I offered Mrs Durstan some money. She took one of the two sovereigns offered, and said she would let me know when she wanted more.
Sarah McColl (called Sadie by other witnesses), another sister of deceased, said she had been ill, and it had been previously arranged that she should go home and get her strength up. She went home on March 10, and Jeannie left for Dunedin on the 12th. Jeannie said she was going to see a Mrs Rodgers at Pine Hill (Dunedin). She said she would return on the following Wednesday. She took only a small parcel with her. Witness found out since that Jeannie hadn't seen Mrs Rodgers, or the Miss Johnston she said she was going to see m Dunedin.
Sergeant: Did Carr's mother go down m the same train as he did?
Witness: No. I spoke to Mrs Carr on the station and she said: "Oh, Tom went down by the same train." Witness continued that she was told Jeannie was suffering from an ulcerated stomach and throat.
The Coroner: When did you receive the last note from deceased?
Witness: I received it at Waitahuna Gully after Jeannie's death.
The Coroner: What was in the letter?
Witness: There were only a few lines.
The Coroner: What did she say?
Witness: She said she was sorry to have left me at Waitahuna Gully. There was no date on the letter.
The Coroner: Did deceased not tell you about her trouble?
Witness: No. I saw no intimacy between her and Carr, and didn't suspect anything.
The Coroner: When did Mrs Carr return?
Witness: I don't know. I haven't seen her since.
'The Coroner: Did you know of deceased's condition?
Witness: Mrs Durston said there had been. a miscarriage, but I couldn't believe it until I heard the doctor's evidence, and I scarcely believe it now. The inquest was then adjourned until April 18. -NZ Truth, 16/4/1910.
JEANNIE McCOLL'S DEATH (excerpt)
After twenty minutes’ retirement the jury returned the following verdict: — “The deceased, Jeannie McColl, died on the 25th day of March, the cause of her death being general septic peritonitis due to puerperal infection following on a mishap. The jury is of opinion that puerperal infection was caused by an instrument having been used, but by whom it was so used the evidence does not show; and the jury is also of opinion that Mrs Durston greatly erred in her duty in neglecting to call in a doctor at an earlier period." -Southland Times, 19/4/1910.
JEANNIE McCOLL'S DEATH
INQUEST CONCLUDED.
NO TRACE OF THOMAS CARR.
PRESS ASSOCIATION, DUNEDIN, April 18. The inquest touching the death of Jeannie McColl, of Waitahuna, who died at the residence of Mrs Durston at Mornington on March 25th, was concluded to-day before the coroner (Mr Widdowson, S.M.) and a jury of six. The inquiry had been adjourned from the 6th inst., to enable the police, if possible, to secure the attendance of Thomas Carr as witness. The police stated that exhaustive inquiries had been made regarding Carr, but no trace of him could be discovered. He was employed by the Railway Department, and was now absent from work without leave, which would probably lead to his dismissal. -NZ Times, 19/5/1910.
As far as I can find, Thomas Carr was not found. Jeannie is buried in Waitahuna Cemetery, and I will look for her grave next time I'm in the area. Annie Durston was fined five pounds for practising midwifery without a license.
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