John Shearer KIDD ( -1894)

Individual Events and Attributes

Birth		Scotland
Immigration	8 Feb 1865	to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from Liverpool, Lancashire, England
	John migrated to Australia, sailing from Liverpool, and arriving in Melbourne on Southern Ocean in 8th February, 1865, with his wife Christina Clarke and children Robert and Christina (Victoria Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists 1839-1923.)
Coroners Inquest	1894	NSW, Australia
	Inquest Number 721 A Sad End. Drowned at the Parramatta Waterworks An inquest was held on Tuesday at the Woolpack Hotel, Parramatta, before Mr. J. E. Bowdon, District Coroner, on the body of John Kidd, who was found dead in one of the tanks at. the Parramatta Waterworks on the same morning. The jury having been sworn proceeded to view the body. William Folkard, residing.in High Street, Parramatta North, identified the body on which the inquest was being held. He discovered the said body on that morning at 10 o'clock in the lower delivery tank at the water works. Witness had taken a walk up to the works, and in passing by he saw the body. Deceased appeared to be standing in a sloping position in one corner of the tank; part of the head was out of the water; the water was about 5ft. deep; there was no sign of any struggle or violence; took deceased-to have been dead for a long time; went to see Mr. Brown in the engine house about 300 yards away; that gentleman came back with witness and saw deceased; said he was quite dead and that the police had better be sent for; Brown left him in charge while he went for a constable; witness remained till Mr. Love and a constable came, a few minutes later ; the body had not been disturbed till then; it was taken out of the water ; witness did not know deceased. E. J. Love, Overseer of Works, Parramatta, deposed that on his way to the-waterworks, Parramatta, on Tuesday morning, he met Mr. Brown, the engineer, who informed him that a man had been drowned in the lower tank; instructed Brown to return to the tank and turn off the water while witness went for the police; the tank would then be disconnected with the town supply; witness came to the courthouse and obtained the services of Constable Middleton;. drove out and saw the body in the S.E. corner of the tank; there was about 4ft. 8in. of water there; deceased's feet rested on the bottom of the tank; the head was hanging down, the face being under water; had the body removed from the water and placed in a van and taken to the morgue at the Parramatta District Hospital; the body was cold, but not stiff; witness had seen the man, but was not further acquainted with him. The water in the tank had been emptied out, as he directed, before witness arrived; witness thought the body could not have been in the tank for more than three or four hours; examined all round the parapet of the tank; found no signs of any struggle; if deceased had stood straight in the tank, his mouth would have been out of the water; the tank was so constructed, that any one falling in could easily get out by means of certain stages in the side of it; the tank deceased was in was the only deep tank at the works; the place was a quarter of a mile from where deceased lived (Albert-street, Parramatta); Kidd worked at Murray's mill. Deceased had no business where he was found; he would have had to pass certain gates before he could get there. In answer to a juror, it was stated that no medical man had been called to see the body. Richard James Evans, living at Rookwood, stated that the body was that of John Shearer Kidd, his father-in-law; deceased was a weaver; last saw him on Saturday the 7th. July ; deceased came to Rookwood on that evening, but returned soon to Parramatta; at- that time deceased was working at Murray's tweed factory; he was sober and in good spirits when witness saw him and promised to come to Rookwood on the following Saturday; he did not do so. Deceased was about 53 years of age; he was a native of Scotland and had been in the colony about 25 years; his wife has been dead many years; he left two children alive, a son and a daughter; the son was heard of at Picton about 12 months ago; witness was married to the daughter, Christina; 8 or 9 years ago deceased told witness on a certain occasion that he had had a fit; witness never knew anything of the kind to occur again; deceased was a strong, well-nourished man; he used to indulge in drink to excess occasionally, though he would keep sober for months together. In reply to a juror, witness said that, to his knowledge, deceased never showed a tendency to commit suicide; in fact, witness thought deceased would be one of the last men to do such a thing. Leah Vivyen, living at Albert-street, Parramatta, stated that deceased had lodged at her husband's place for three months; last saw deceased alive on the previous evening about 10 o'clock; he was lying on a couch in her house; he appeared well enough, though he had been drinking since the 17th instant, the day of the election; deceased was still, to some extent, suffering from the effects of drink. Deceased spoke to witness and asked her to put the alarm clock at half past 5, so that he could go to work at 6; she heard the alarm go off that morning, and also heard deceased move; witness went to sleep again and when she woke soon after he was gone; she found he had left the front door open; witness had asked him on Monday evening to find another lodging, but she had no angry words with him; he simply replied that he would please himself when he would go; deceased appeared to be vexed; he had paid up for his board and owed witness nothing; never noticed a tendency to suicide in deceased nor had she over heard him speak of the waterworks; deceased left no property to her knowledge; witness had identified the body. Constable Middleton gave evidence as to the finding of the body; found deceased's electoral right and a six penny on the body; he produced these. The jury returned the following verdict: That deceased had been found drowned on the morning of the 24th July in a tank at the water works Parramatta, but that there was no evidence to show how he got there. Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, Parramatta 28 July 1894
Death	25 Jul 1894	Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia
	Cause: Drowning New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1821-1937 for John Shearer Kidd Inquest 721 New South Wales, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1853-1899 for John Shearer Kidd 1895 June https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2172/32367_226737-00450?pid=454428
Burial	25 Jul 1894	Rookwood General Cemetery
	Rookwood, Cumberland Council, New South Wales, Australia Zone B Section RRR Grave 1762

Individual Note

https://www.ancestry.com.au/family-tree/person/tree/87028861/person/32565388427/facts