Reader, George Park from Arbroath sent me a little snippet one evening that presented a mystery. He shared a clipping from an 1894 newspaper which said, “Fatal Shooing Accident to a Young lady – A young lady, the daughter of Mr Mitchell of Blantyre, Lanarkshire has met her death under very sad circumstances. While climbing a stile, a rifle which she was carrying went off and the bullet were lodged in her body. She was able to walk home, but death took place on Tuesday.”
Who was she? How old was she? What happened? I wanted to know more and did a little research.
She was out shooting at Melville Grange Farm, Midlothian where the accident took place. She still managed to walk home to her house in Midlothian but died on Tuesday 18th September 1894. She had shot herself in the stomach! Using the information George gave me, I searched for deaths of young Mitchell ladies and found a match. She was Juanna Mary Mitchell, aged 19. She was the daughter of Alexander Robertson Mitchell , a draper in Blantyre and wife Christina Braid.
The story makes no mention if anybody was with her. She must have been terrified walking home injured and how strange that it was a lady in this era, out shooting! We all have a lot to be thankful for when you read stories like this.
