On Monday 11th August 1924, the 13-year-old daughter of William Kenney, of 8 Shuttle Row, The Village, Low Blantyre, died that Monday night after being run over by heavy motor lorry.
It was stated that the teenager had been swinging on the side of the lorry, and in jumping off she fell in front of the hind wheel, which passed right over her body. The girl was at once removed to the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, where she died soon after admission.
Wishing to know more about this story, and perhaps to put a name to remember this girl by, I searched for some records for her. A death certificate in Glasgow was elusive, but I did find this. A birth certificate from 1914 for “Margaret Hall Kenney”.
Margaret was born on 24th February 1914 just before WW1 at her home at 8 Shuttle Row. Conditions were pretty bad at Shuttle Row in that decade. Her father William Kenney is noted as being a coal miner and her mother was Bridget Toner, who married a year earlier in 1913.
Now, this presented a mystery. Either it would mean the reporter had the wrong age for the girl and that she wasn’t a teenager after all in 1924. (Incorrect ages in newspapers were common at the time.) or her mother had another child before she married. Little Margaret was only 10 in 1924 and finding her death certificate in 1982, she was NOT the person who died under the lorry, it must have been an older sister.
1911 censuses show William and Bridget living apart (not married yet) with no children yet. Was this a little girl they “took in” after they married? My searching came up with nothing, so if anybody wants to have a go and try to find the name of the little girl, her birth or death certificate, then please do get in touch.
Featuring Blantyre Project Social Media with permission. Strictly not for use by others on or offline, our visitors said,
Ann Watson Mum phoned me to tell me it was Mary Kenny her sister Bridget Kenny Hunter lived across from my Grannie in Knightswood Terrace mum also said when she worked in the Silver trees there were old pictures of David Livingstone’s getting thrown out and she brought them home when Bridget seen them she recognised her sister Mary in one of them
Sandy Henry: William was first married to Christina Cochrane 1907 Blantyre. Christina died at Kirklands asylum Bothwell from what looks like epilepsy. Found death record of girl that was killed and her name on death certificate was Mary Toner Kenney (found under surname Kenneth) in Dennistoun as she died at the Royal, William named as her father but looks like she was Bridget’s daughter with the middle name of Toner.