Emily heard her baby son cry. She had only
been at the door talking to a neighbour such a short time. She should never
have left little William sitting quietly by the fire while she answered the
door.
She heard her son cry again in agony.
Somehow he had tumbled in backwards into the pot of boiling caustic soda and
water.
He was frightfully scalded all over and the
cries grew as she took his clothes off and peeled his baby skin with them.
Oh how he suffered and screamed until
evening when he succumbed to his injuries and death gave him relief.
His cries on that February day in 1902 were
replaced by those of his recently widowed mother Emily Ann Harris...
Ironically more tears would be shed when
she suffered accusations from the Strelley and Harris families in the old
country who accused her of “disposing” of little William Herbert Robey Strelley
Harris, heir to his father’s fortunes. Behaviour unbecoming of the fine family
whose names he bore.
Known as “the case of the boiling baby” in
family circles for over 100 years, Emily has since been vindicated. Tears of
joy replace the heartache as Ancestry.com has reunited the Strelley and Harris
relatives and the true story of that tragic accident has been unfolded thanks to Trove.
 |
| The Trove article from the West Australian 20 Feb 1902 |
How horrific for that poor child and his mother. Finally the truth comes to light.
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrible tragedy. As a mother, I can't even imagine how poor Emily would have dealt with that experience.
ReplyDelete