Lucy Agnes O’Brien was born in 1883 in New Zealand to James O’Brien and Margaret Montcashel. She was the 10th of 14 children born to the couple: Infant O’Brien, Margaret, William James, Mary Ellen, Kate Dorothy, Mary, Johanna, Timothy, William James (second of the name), Lucy Agnes, a second infant O’Brien, James Joseph Montcashel, Veronica Bridget, and a stillborn infant O’Brien. Though not related by blood to my husband, Lucy connects to his Athya family of Scotland through marriage, as the aunt of the husband of his third cousin once removed.
Lucy’s father, born in April 1845 in Dublin, Ireland, migrated to Pātea in the South Taranaki District in 1863. New Zealand offers no surviving census records listing individuals by name for the years the O’Briens lived in Pātea; although censuses were taken regularly, the household schedules were destroyed after statistical extraction. As a result, the O’Brien household had to be reconstructed through birth, marriage, and death registrations, electoral rolls, newspapers, and local records. Because these sources consistently show only one O’Brien family living in Pātea during this period, I am confident that all 14 children belong to James and Margaret. New Zealand’s Birth, Death and Marriage Historical Records website proved essential in identifying them.
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Individual entries of the O’Brien children from New Zealand’s Birth, Death and Marriage Historical Records website search engine |
Two infant siblings are buried at Pātea General Cemetery in the same Roman Catholic section as their father, James O’Brien. One was born on August 17, 1885 and died the following day. The other, born on June 4, 1899, was stillborn. Stillbirths were not required to be registered in New Zealand until 1912, so it is unsurprising that this child appears only in the cemetery register and not in the civil birth index.
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Transcription of O'Brien's buried at Patea General Cemetery |
On the evening of March 30, 1892, nine‑year‑old Lucy was at home in Pātea with two younger siblings—one aged 5 and the other 21 months—while both parents were out. Her mother was working as a midwife, and her father, feeling unwell, had stepped away for a walk. The two children were almost certainly her 5‑year‑old brother James and her toddler sister Veronica. Lucy was peeling potatoes for the family’s tea and standing near the kitchen hearth when her clothing suddenly caught fire. She later admitted she had been standing too close. Her father described her as a good, sensible child who had often been trusted to watch the younger ones. He believed the tragedy was the result of pure accident.
Startled and engulfed in flames, Lucy ran first to the water tank and then to the well, hoping to reach water, but the tank was low and she could not draw from the well. In her panic she ran again—long before the era of “Stop, Drop, and Roll”—and the movement only intensified the flames. She collapsed in the paddock near the fence separating the O’Brien home from the neighboring property.
Mrs. Maria Gunn, a neighbor, heard Lucy’s screams and ran to her, smothering the flames by wrapping the child tightly in her own clothing. Mr. A. A. Gower, a chemist and druggist who lived nearby, also hurried over. Together they removed the burning clothing as carefully as possible and carried Lucy into the house. Mr. Gower sent for oil and lime water—standard burn treatments of the time—and for Lucy’s mother and a doctor. Lucy, desperate for her mother, once jumped from Mr. Gower’s arms, crying out for her. Mrs. Gunn and Mr. Gower managed to settle her in bed and applied dressings to ease her pain.
Dr. Perkins, the local physician, was not at home when the message reached him, but he came as soon as he could. When he arrived later that evening, he found Lucy suffering from extensive burns. She was restless, irritable, and constantly asking for water. After examining her, he decided to leave the dressings undisturbed, ordered hot water bottles for her limbs, and instructed the neighbors to keep her quiet and administer a stimulant—meaning a small dose of brandy, spirits, or strong tea—only if she weakened. He feared she would not survive the night. When he returned the next morning, Lucy had died.
An inquest was held on April 1, 1892. Testimony was given by Lucy’s father, Mrs. Gunn, Mr. Gower, Dr. Perkins, and her mother, Margaret. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death but added a pointed criticism of James O’Brien, suggesting that if he had been working regularly and supporting the household, Margaret would not have needed to be away from home earning money. They recommended that the police consider a prohibition order against him.
The inquest testimony shows Lucy as a responsible child doing her best in a household stretched thin by work, illness, and the demands of a large family. Her death was a tragic accident shaped by the realities of nineteenth‑century domestic life, when children were often entrusted with responsibilities far beyond their years and when even a moment’s misstep near an open hearth could prove fatal.
References
- A Sad Death, The Patea County Mail, Patea, South Taranaki District, New Zealand, March 31, 1892.
- Birth Search Index, Birth, Death and Marriage Historical Records website; https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/search/search?path=%2FqueryEntry.m%3Ftype%3Dbirths.
- Late Fatal Accident, The Patea County Mail, Patea, South Taranaki District, New Zealand, April 4, 1892.
- New Zealand, Birth Index, 1840–1950.
- New Zealand, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1840–1902
- New Zealand, Civil Registration Death Index, 1840–1972.
- New Zealand, Death Index, 1848–1966.
- New Zealand, Historical Birth Index, 1840–1925.
