Emily Goulstone (1841 - 1870)

Born 13 Jun 1841 in Knighton, Radnorshire, Wales, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Died 21 Aug 1870 at age 29 in Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, United Kingdom

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Biography

Emily was born in 1841 in Knighton. She is the daughter of John Goulstone and Elizabeth Price. Emily became a governess. Tragically, she took her own life, aged 29 years.

SUICIDE OF A GOVERNESS AT ABERDARE.

(The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian, 27 August 1870)

On Wednesday an inquest was held at Cwmbnch, before Mr. Thomas Williams, deputy coroner, on the body of Miss Goulstone, a governess at Pantygerdinen, who committed suicide under circumstances disclosed in the evidence adduced.

Mr. C. H. James, of Merthyr, watched the proceedings on behalf of Mr. Howel Williams and Mr. Lewis (Linton and Lewis) for the friends of the deceased. After the jury were sworn, they proceeded with the coroner, to view the body, which was lying at Pantygerdinen, about half a mile distant, near the mouth of the Merthyr tunnel of the Vale of Neath Railway.

On the re-assembling of the jury, the examination of the witnesses was proceeded with. Charles Goulstone, grocer, Mountain Ash, said Emily Goulstone was a sister of mine. She was about 29 years of age. I had not seen her for seven months before her death. She was governess with Mr. Howel Williams at the time of her death. When I saw her seven months ago she appeared in good health. I heard from others that she was in the family way. Heard of her death on Sunday night. Saw her that night.

By Mr. Lewis: I had a conversation with Mr. Williams on Monday, when he said that he knew that my sister had the poison in her possession for the past month. He did not say what poison it was. Mr. Williams's little boy said that my sister had the poison from Dr. Jones's surgery. The boy said that my sister had put it in her pocket for some time, and that she had shown it to him, and said that if she gave a teaspoonful of it to a dog it would kill it in a minute, and that when she was tired of her life she would take some of it herself. The boy did not say it was prussic acid, but poison.

By Mr. James: I cannot say whether my sister was a married woman or not. I believe she was not. She passed through some form of marriage at a Catholic chapel at Shrewsbury, but it was not a legal marriage. That was about six or seven years ago. She lived for a mouth with her husband afterwards. My father died suddenly. An inquest was held on him. The jury found it was disease of the heart. The name of the husband was Perry or Perning. My father died at Uttoxeter in October, 1868.

Cornelius Edward Goulstone, chemist, but now a grocer at Mountain Ash, stated: My father was a chemist. I have seen my sister several times lately. At Christmas she was very ill; sick every morning. I said to my housekeeper, “It is my opinion that my sister is in the family way.” She had a child last May. Before she was confined she told me several times that Mr. Williams had obtained oil of savine from Mr. Pratt, a chemist at Aberdare, to procure abortion. She told me the same thing last Thursday week, when she appeared quite out of her mind. She also told me that Mr. Williams told Mr. Pratt that the oil was for a horse or a cow. My sister said the child was living at Aberaman, near the turnpike gate. She has appeared very excited ever since her confinement. She told me on the 31st of July that she called on Mr. Linton to initiate proceedings against Mr. Williams, and when I last saw her she told me to write to my brother, who is a doctor at Liverpool, to take proceedings against Mr. Williams. Mr. Williams took her into Mr. Gery's office, and got her to sign an agreement to forego all claims against him on the payment of £30. I could not always rely on her telling the truth. She would not have Mr. Williams spoken against for the world, and believed he would act honourably by her.

By a juror: I believe the first husband deserted her, but I don't know much about it. The child of that marriage is with my aunt.

By Mr. Lewis: Two men came on horseback on Sunday night, about eleven o'clock, to inform me of her death. I went up to Pantygerdinen. When I went in Mr. Williams took me by the collar and struck me, and I struck him back. (Both witness and Mr. Williams bore marks of the encounter, each having a black eye.)

Howel Williams: I am assistant-overseer for the parish of Aberdare, and live at Pantygerdinen. The deceased came to me on the 5th of January, 1860, as governess to my three children. She was confined on the 15th of May, and was then away for a fortnight. Her health was not very good when she came to me. She was the most changeable and impulsive woman I ever met with. Since her confinement she improved remarkably in her health, but continued still very changeable. As an instance, she told my sister last Thursday that she was going to see Mrs. Wilmer. Instead of that she went to Merthyr, and walked back over the mountain. Dr. Jones and his assistant attended her during her confinement, and I called to see her myself. The child is alive, a little boy, and thriving well. I never observed anything wrong in her before her death. On Sunday we dined together, and she appeared in good spirits. She told my sister, Mrs. Williams, between six and seven o'clock, that she was going to Aberdare to see Mrs. Whitby Evans about going to Blackwood the following day to arrange about taking a school. There was a vacancy at Blackwood in a school. She sent for me. I was on the green, and spoke to her through, the window. She told me that she was going to Blackwood to take a school. I told her that I was very glad to hear it and hoped she would succeed. She had her gloves and bonnet on. She once thought of going to Australia, and I had promised to give her £30, and there was an understanding between us that she was to have the £30 whenever she had an appropriate situation. I found the following letter on a shelf in the school-room :—

Pantygerdinen, Aberdare, July 29. 1870. Canon Jenkins,-Dear Sir,—I have seen Mr. Williams, as you advised me. He has behaved most honourably towards me, and also promised to take care of my little baby. I blame myself for judging him so wrongly, and am truly sorry that I have ever spoken disrespectfully of him to anyone. If I had trusted in him it would be very different with me now. Believe me, I will try and be a better girl for the future. With many thanks for your kindness, I remain yours respectfully, E. Goulstone.

By Mr. Lewis: Did not ask her to return after her confinement. She came of her own accord, and I met her by Ynyscynon. I paid all the expenses. I offered to take her to Swansea to be confined, but she objected. Did not compel her to write a letter to her brother at Liverpool. Did not quarrel with her on Sunday, or say that she must leave that night. Did take her to Mr. Gery's office to have an agreement signed. The agreement provides for the payment of the £30. It was to be paid at intervals. She spoke once of taking a public-house, but I objected because I knew the magistrates would not grant her a licence. I offered to take a confectioner's shop for her. The following is the letter referred to:—

Aberdare, July 28th, 1870. Thursday evening, My Dear Doctor,—You will no doubt hear from Mr. Linton by same post; I have arranged all myself. You need not write to him; it was a misunderstanding on my part. Yours truly. E. Goulstone.

Examination continued: I never knew she had prussic acid, but knew that she was in the habit of taking chloroform. My little boy, eight years of age, told me, on his return from chapel on Sunday night, that she told him that she took the poison from Mr. Jones's surgery. The statement made by Charles Goulstone that I had said to him that I was aware that she had had the poison for a month previous is incorrect. In about ten minutes after I got back to the kitchen, Ruth called me, and said that Miss Goulstone was on the ground. I went down to the school room and found her on the floor, foaming at the mouth, with her head close to her tin box, and her arms quite rigid. She had taken off her gloves and laid them on the table. She was unable to speak, and I poured cold water into her mouth, and sent immediately for the doctor. I took her without a reference. She called at my office three times, and begged me to take her. She had left Mr. Thomas, the druggist, of Merthyr, and walked from Merthyr to Mountain Ash without her bonnet. I found a bottle marked "savine" on the mantel-piece, and it was my opinion, and that of the doctor, that it was that she had taken. She did not speak at all, and died between nine and ten. She often used to say she would go and drown herself, before and after her confinement. She would sometimes come down to the town to the office, and have a chat with me. I am not aware of anything that would lead her to do away with herself; but she complained very much that her brothers had shut their doors against her. I paid her £20 a year, besides board and lodging. I had paid her salary, and the £30 was to be given in addition. She wrote on a bit of paper, about twelve months ago, “Oil of savine—Mr. Pratt," and I took it to Mr. Pratt, and he refused to give it. I never heard the name of the oil before. She said, on my return, that she was a chemist's daughter and knew all about it. I did not know what she wanted it for. She had sent the bit of paper after me to the town. She said she found it good for a cold.

Ruth Rees, examined in Welsh, said: I have been a servant with Mr. Williams for three years next October. Miss Goulstone often said she would take something and die like her father. I am not certain she said so more than once, but am certain she said so once. She was as happy on Sunday as ever I saw her. Mr. Williams and she were always on good terms, and were so on Sunday. She never complained to me about Mr. Williams. I had only been absent about ten minutes when it happened. I was in the schoolroom with her. Mr. Williams was in the kitchen. Mr. Williams's sister lives in the house, and had then gone to chapel with the two boys. She said she was going to Aberdare, but did not say what for. After giving bread and butter to the girl in the kitchen, I went back to the schoolroom, and found her on the floor. I heard her fall as I went through the passage. Never beard a scream or a sound before entering the room. I thought she had a fit. I took hold of her arm and spoke to her, but she did not answer, and I then called Mr. Williams. I and my sister and Mr. Williams carried her to bed. It was Mr. Williams that found the bottle on the mantle-piece. She was dressed in a blue silk dress.

By a Juror: I heard Mr. Williams speak to her through the window, but did not know what it was about. I cannot say why they spoke through the window.

By another Juror: Never saw any poision with her.

By Mr. James: She asked me to tell Mr. Williams that she wanted to speak to him. He was then on the green.

By the Coroner: I never went for her to a druggist's for anything.

By Mr. Lewis: I saw no difference in Mr. Williams's conduct towards her after her confinement from what it was before.

Edward Harry Williams, son of Mr. Howell Williams, nine years of age, said I knew Miss Goulstone, the governess. She said that when she was tired of her life she would take poison. She only said so once I: think it was about three weeks ago. She said that she had it at Mr. Jones's surgery when their backs were turned; that she then went to the vicarage and found a bottle of rum on the table, which she mixed with the poison. She kept it in her box near the window, wrapped up in her pocket-handkerchief.

In reply to a question from one of the brothers, the little boy said that Miss Goulstone was in the habit of sending messages to her father by him, sometimes on a slate and sometimes on paper.

Benjamin Heber Leigh: I am an assistant-surgeon to Mr. Evan Jones, of Aberdare. I was called to see the deceased on Sunday evening. She was lying on the bed and perfectly unconscious, pupils dilated, eyes glassy, breathing spasmodic, intervals of forty seconds between each inspiration. There was no smell of any poison from the breath, and the extremities were cold. I was in doubt as to whether the savine that Mr. Williams produced had caused her death, but was not satisfied. I used the stomach pump, and could not account for the cause of death. We found in the school-room, in one of the boxes, a bottle containing a few drops of what smelted like prussic acid. Since then I have made a post-mortem examination of the body in conjunction with Mr. Williams. The stomach contained a small quantity of a dark fluid, the mucus membrane quite pulpy. The duodenum and intestines were congested through their whole extent. I have had no time to test what this dark fluid was. The congestion was the effect of poison, but no poison except prussic acid would produce all the symptoms I observed. William Williams, assistant surgeon to Mr. Jones, concurred with Mr. Leigh's evidence.

By Mr. Lewis: I am a member of the Queen's University, Belfast. I attended Miss Goulstone at her confinement in May. She has frequently consulted me with regard to her health since that time. Five weeks ago, in leaving my consulting room through the surgery, and in about ten minutes after she left, I heard a jingle among the bottles. I went out, and found her in the surgery, and on looking round the shelves I misled the prussic acid bottle. I asked her for it. She denied having it. I then searched her, but did not find the bottle. She returned from the vicarage in about ten minutes and produced the bottle, which I kept. It was a six-ounce bottle. Sufficient to cause death might be extracted without my noticing it. She did not explain what she wanted or did with the bottle. We made no examination of the brain.

By a Juror: I did not mention the matter of the bottle to anybody, for I thought it had been done in fun.

James Davies: I am assistant to Mr. B. Evans, grocer, Cwmbach. I knew the deceased. I passed through Pantygerdinen at a little before seven o'clock on Sunday evening. Saw the servant, Ruth Rees, and asked her how the family were, and passed through the gate. Heard a voice in the garden saying "Go and do the advice." I looked into the garden, and saw Mrs. Williams (Mr. Williams's mother) in the garden, and the same voice added in Welsh, She is going tonight."

Mrs. Mary Ann Hammett, wife of Mr. Hammett, manager of the Werfa Colliery, said I knew the deceased intimately. Saw her last on Friday night. She said she was coming to sleep at my house on Sunday night, and that she was going to leave Pantygerdinen. She sent back certain books she had borrowed of me about four o'clock, and sent word that she would be down in the evening. I had the bed ready made for her.

Mrs. Sarah Lewis wife of Richard Lewis, sawyer, at the Werfa Colliery, said I saw Miss Goulstone on Saturday night week. She often complained of Mr. Williams and of Mrs. Davies (Mrs. Williams’s sister). She complained that the food she had was not fit to eat. She never complained of Mr. Williams beating her in his office. She told me several times that she was going to drown herself.

By Mr. James: She did not tell Mr. Williams that he ought to send her away, but told him that he ought to give her money to enable her to go away. The Coroner then summed up the evidence and the jury, after a short consultation, returned the following verdict: “We find that the deceased, Emily Goulstone, died from the effects of prussic acid, administered by herself whilst labouring under temporary insanity."

Sources

• “Goulstone Family Genealogy” by Bryan V Goulstone. Copy held by Kathy Viney
• https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3097008/3097015/66/
• "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2N9T-G4F : 1 October 2014), Emily Goulstone, 1841; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Knighton, Radnorshire, Wales, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
• "Wales, Radnorshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KCYQ-RBT : 10 February 2018), Emily Goulstone, 13 Jun 1841, Baptism; from "Parish Records Collection 1538-2005," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing p. Knighton, Radnorshire, Wales, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.