LILY NALDER
INQUEST ON A CHILD
A VIRULENT FORM OF BLOOD-POISONING
A sad case of sudden death was investigated on Monday evening by Dr Henry Watson, coroner for the Borough. It seems that a little girl named Lily Nalder, aged 3 years, left her parent's home in Kennet-road at a quarter-past-eight on Sunday morning, and went round to her grandmother's house in Kings-road. From there she went with her brother and sister to Sunday School, as she was in the habit of doing; when she came home she complained of being unwell, and refused her dinner, and her grandmother sent her round home again with a message to her mother to let her stop at home. The mother took the child out again soon after six, but as it did not seem any better, it was taken to Dr. Thompson's, who advised the mother to take her home and put her to bed. Which was done. The child grew worse and died at twenty minutes to six on Monday morning.
An inquest was necessary as Dr. Thompson was reluctant under the circumstances as to the cause of death, and the same was held in the Town Hall, Mr.
Tom Dewe being chosen foreman of the jury.
The first witness was the mother, Sarah Nalder, wife of a labourer living in Kennet-road, who deposed to the child going round to her grandmother's house on Sunday morning, and then coming back home after dinner crying. She was very sick.
In the evening she took her took her to her grandmother's again, and a liquorice powder was administered. Dr. Thompson also saw the child, but she died at twenty minutes to six.
Rebecca Ward, mother of the previous witness, said the child came round to her house in Kings-road on Sunday morning and going to Sunday School with her brother and sister. She came home dinner time with the others, but said she did not want any dinner, and kept on crying. She had no food at all at her house. Witness told the child's sister to take her home to her mother and tell her that she was not well, and to let her stop at home. The daughter came round again soon after six, but the child did not seem any better and so witness asked her daughter to take her to the doctor's, which she did. The child was then put to bed at her (witness) house, and the doctor came up afterwards. Witness watched her all night and she died at twenty minutes to six on Monday morning her mother having been sent for previously. The child never took any notice of them during the night.
Dr. Thompson, of Northbrook-street, stated that on Sunday evening, at a quarter past eight, the child was brought to him, and it was then in a moribund condition. He took its temperature, which was 104 1/2 degrees, and sent it home, and then went up in about an hour's time. The child was lying in the grandmother's arms and was unconscious. He stayed there until half past ten. The mother came to him that morning to tell him that the child was dead. He had felt it necessary to withhold the certificate and had made a post mortem examination of the body, but could find nothing definite as to the cause of death. The lining of the stomach was a little inflames, and there was a small ulcerated patch about the size of a pin's head at the mouth of the rectum, but there was no perforation. All the rest of the organs were perfectly healthy. The brain was natural and there was no effusion whatever. There was a very small amount of digested food in the intestines and there was a little fluid in the stomach. In his opinion death was due to a virulent form of blood poisoning, but what caused it he could not possibly tell. There was no sign of peritonitis.
The Coroner said it was a most unusual death, and explained that blood poisoning was always accompanied by high temperature and unconsciousness, and the jury returned a verdict of “Death from a virulent form of blood poisoning."
Newbury Weekly News 13 September 1900
Not in Mrs. P.
Buried 13 September 1900
Burials Book 1899 Page 018 No. 7341 |
