This is such a sad story. You can only guess at the circumstances behind it. The poor child never got a chance at life but at least he is not forgotten.Thank you for sharing it
Thank you for sharing the truth Daniel. Tragic stories can so often become rumours and then facts can become blurred. Heart breaking for all concerned.
My father told a similar tale, actually. He was in the Royal Navy during WWII and was on shore leave in England and booked into a hotel. Upon opening the wardrobe he saw a suitcase and being curious, opened it and to his horror saw a newborn baby, dead of course. After notifying the management who presumably must have called the police Dad never followed up on it, likely since he was due back on board ship in a couple of days but the shock stayed with him that he would remember it fifty years later.
I heard from my aunt that a child in the family had died very young. I discovered that child was my grandfather's brother who was born prematurely. There was an inquest and a report in the newspaper.
I found that in a family chart of my Cowans that infants who were stillborn or died before they were named were noted, but the way the chart was made --by generations, not family groups, I could not tell who the parents were. And even many years later, none of my older relatives would say. I think it was so painful that they couldn't. A murder is a whole other level of tragedy though.
I remember when you posted about this on Twiiter, Daniel. And I think I may have seen something about it on YouTube, as well, although I may be wrong about that. Terribly sad, not just for the little baby boy, but for the woman who was so desperate that she felt this was the only solution. History is full of such sad occurances, as family historians we perhaps come across them more than most. Always upsetting. RIP little one
This is such a sad story. You can only guess at the circumstances behind it. The poor child never got a chance at life but at least he is not forgotten.Thank you for sharing it
Thank you for sharing the truth Daniel. Tragic stories can so often become rumours and then facts can become blurred. Heart breaking for all concerned.
My father told a similar tale, actually. He was in the Royal Navy during WWII and was on shore leave in England and booked into a hotel. Upon opening the wardrobe he saw a suitcase and being curious, opened it and to his horror saw a newborn baby, dead of course. After notifying the management who presumably must have called the police Dad never followed up on it, likely since he was due back on board ship in a couple of days but the shock stayed with him that he would remember it fifty years later.
I can imagine, Gloria. It's not something that one could easily forget by any means.
Was there an investigation at the time. For example, who had been staying in the room when the baby was found?
What I had shared is all I could find. If there was an investigation done at any stage, it wasn't documented in the press.
I heard from my aunt that a child in the family had died very young. I discovered that child was my grandfather's brother who was born prematurely. There was an inquest and a report in the newspaper.
I found that in a family chart of my Cowans that infants who were stillborn or died before they were named were noted, but the way the chart was made --by generations, not family groups, I could not tell who the parents were. And even many years later, none of my older relatives would say. I think it was so painful that they couldn't. A murder is a whole other level of tragedy though.
I remember when you posted about this on Twiiter, Daniel. And I think I may have seen something about it on YouTube, as well, although I may be wrong about that. Terribly sad, not just for the little baby boy, but for the woman who was so desperate that she felt this was the only solution. History is full of such sad occurances, as family historians we perhaps come across them more than most. Always upsetting. RIP little one
Absolute tragedy.
May the child rest in peace. So very sad on so many levels. 😢