BUTLER, Joseph b. 1883

BUTLER 

Joseph 

Date of birth: 4-Nov-1883
Place of birth: Briggs Court, Queen Street, Whitehaven, Cumberland, UK
Date of death: 11-May-1910
Place of death: Wellington Pit, Whitehaven, Cumberland, UK
Cause of death: 'An explosion of gas and coal dust'

Father last name: BUTLER

Father first names: Edward
Father DOB: circa 1857
Father died: 10-Feb-1921, at 116 Frizington Road, Frizington, Cumberland, UK

Mother last name: FERGUSON

Mother first names: Annie
Mother DOB: circa 1859
Mother died: 4-Nov-1896, 32 Bolton Street, Workington, Cumberland, UK

Spouse last name: 

Spouse first names: (non known)
Spouse DOB:
Spouse died:

Married date:
Married location:

Children with above spouse:

1. BUTLER, (non known)
2. 
   

About Joseph Butler

Joseph was a younger brother of William John Butler, my paternal grandfather. For many years I thought he was my only great uncle as I was unable to find any of their other siblings.

In 1891, at the age of 8, he was living at 10 Leconfield St, Cleator, Cumberland, England (1891 Census).

In 1901, at the age of 18, he was living as a 'Boarder' at 32 Bolton St, Workington, Cumberland, England (1901 Census). This was the house his mother died in, and the other people in the house at the time were the Ferguson family - a Hugh Ferguson ('Head'), his wife Margaret, and their children Margaret, Hugh, John and James Ferguson. Hugh Ferguson was probably Joseph's uncle - a brother to Joseph's deceased mother, Annie. Joseph's occupation on the 1901 census was 'Railway labourer'.

Joseph died in the 1910 William Pit explosion. Due to the intensity of the explosion, it was six months before his body was recovered from the pit. Even then, he was only identified by the waistcoat he was wearing. Identification was made by his 'landlady' Jessie McArdle. Jessie was the mother-in-law of Joseph's brother, William John Butler who at that time was in Bisbee, Arizona, with his wife Rose Ann (McArdle) Butler and their daughter, Jessie Ann.

One can only imagine how heartbreaking it must have been for Joseph's father, Edward, after losing his wife, Annie (Ferguson) Butler just five years earlier, and his daughter, Annie, in 1906.

I wonder, if Joseph had stayed with the railways, instead of going down the mines, would he have had a longer life? Are we destined to die when we're destined to die? Or can a change of career result in a life-changing event?