Francis Henry Vincent (1839 - 1888)

Born 9 May 1839 in Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Helena Louisa (O'Grady) Vincent — married 1862 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Descendants

Died 21 Aug 1888 at age 49 in Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia

Biography

Francis was born on 9 May 1839 in Fremantle, Western Australia.^[1]

He married Helena Louisa O'Grady in 1862 in Perth.^[2] They had six children up to 1875.

Francis was a carpenter and joiner. He employed a Ticket of Leave servant in 1868.^[3]

W.A. Record (Perth, WA : 1888 - 1922), Thursday 23 August 1888, page 4
A sad case of suicide, has occurred at the port. A man named Francis Henry Vincent, well known in Fremantle, had been in very depressed spirits for some time, owing to a distress warrant having been served on him, and his inability to pay the amount claimed. Vincent's household goods, were advertised by the Bailiff of the Local Court, to be sold on Tuesday, unless the execution was previously satisfied ; and on Monday night, the deceased complained of illness.

At about midnight, he went out in the yard, and appeared to be pondering deeply. He then asked his boy to hold a light, while he looked for a bottle, which he stated contained medicine, that was of use only to himself. He found the bottle, and took it outside. Shortly after, his wife, who had been arranging the things for the next day's sale, thought it time to go to bed, and went out to discover where her husband was. She did not see him, but after listening for a while, she heard a noise, as of some one falling, and on going in the direction from which the sound came, she saw Vincent sitting down on the ground, with his head leaning against a tank, and quite unconscious. She smelled carbolic acid, from his lips, and remembering, that there had been a bottle of the disinfectant in the house, she became suspicious that he had taken the poison. Mrs. Vincent called in medical assistance, and emetics were administered to the unhappy man, but all proved of no avail. Vincent sank rapidly, and at length expired.

At the inquest held on the following day, Dr. Birmingham, who attended the dying man, certified that the latter had taken of carbolic acid, sufficient to kill eight men. The jury, after hearing all the evidence, returned a verdict that the deceased had come to his death, through taking carbolic acid, while of unsound mind.

Sources

1. ↑ "Australia Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XT8C-TLG : 28 January 2020), Francis Henry Vincent, .
2. ↑ WA Marriage Index 1862/1879
3. ↑ The Bicentennial dictionary of Western Australians, pre-1829-1888. [compiled by Rica Erickson], https://www.friendsofbattyelibrary.org.au/bicentennial-dictionary