Edward Henry Lionel Denman Roe

England & Wales Birth registration index record for Edward Henry Lionel Denman Roe, Mother's Maiden Surname: Moore, January-March quarter 1852, Langport registration district, Somerset, Vol. 5C, p. 494.

Parish baptism record for Edward Henry Lionel Durman Roe, father James, cleric, mother Susanne, living High Ham, Somerset, baptised 24 March 1852, by his father James Roe, curate.

Father James was convicted of forgery in 1861 and transported to Western Australia, arriving on 31 December 1862. He, his mother and his siblings arrived in WA on 17 December 1864 on the Hastings.

Inquirer and Commercial News (Perth, WA), Wednesday 21 December 1864, page 2

Shipping Intelligence.

ARRIVED.

19 [ie 17 December]. ... — Hastings, 541 tons, Captain McQueen, from London, with general cargo. Passengers — ... Mrs Roe, Miss Roe and 8 children, ...

The family presumably lived in York (father James met his family at Fremantle when they arrived and immediately escorted them back to York, where he was privately employed as a schoolmaster) until early 1867 when father James commenced as a teacher at Greenough and mother Susannah at a teaching position at Geraldton and later at Greenough.

Western Australian Death registration index record for Edward Roe, father, mother, unknown, died aged 18 at Perth, No. 4455 of 1870.

Inquirer and Commercial News (Perth, WA), Wednesday 12 January 1870, page 3

INQUEST ON THE BODY OF MR. EDWARD ROE.

On Friday, the 7th instant, an Inquest was held at Perth on the body of Edward Roe, apprentice to Dr. Hora, Perth, who had committed suicide by taking a quantity of prussic acid the previous evening. The Police Magistrate, E. W. Landor, Esq., having summoned a jury, consisting of Messrs. Geo. Marfleet, James Ougden, and J. E. Mitchell, to inspect the body, lying at the Colonial Hospital, adjourned to the Police Court, where the evidence was taken. Mr. Jerrmiah Hicks proved that deceased occasionally visited at his house; on the evening of Thursday, 6th instant, witness had gone to bed between 8 and 9 o'clock, when he was suddenly called by his daughter Elizabeth, who said that Edward Roe was dying in the parlour ; witness ran into the room and found deceased in a sitting posture in a chair, his head resting against the wall ; he was quite dead ; witness ran for Dr. Hora. Mr. Tudor Hora, M.R.C.S., &c., proved that deceased was apprenticed to him as a chemist, &c. He was about 18 years old, well-conducted, and lived in witness's house; he had do reason to think that his mind was at all affected, but he often was depressed in spirits; he felt much for the painful position of his family, who are living at the north of the colony; yesterday afternoon, 6th instant, witness remarked to deceased that he did not look well; deceased replied that something had occurred the day previously which had upset him. After some pressing he said he had seen a young lady to whom he was much attached walking with another young man, and this had distressed him greatly. He afterwards admitted that at 6 a.m. that morning he had drank a quantity of colonial wine out of a cask belonging to Mrs. Thomas Brown, and left by her in the house adjoining; he had visited the cask several times in the course of the afternoon, and had not eaten any thing either at breakfast or dinner; deceased appeared half stupid. The bottle, or phial, now produced, was witness's property; it had been taken out of a case in his shop, and had contained prussic acid. It was placed in witness's hands last night in Mr. Hicks' parlour between 8 and 9 o'clock ; it was then empty, but smelt strongly of prussic acid; it had contained poison enough to kill eight or nine men almost instantaneously; witness was summoned to Mr. Hicks's, where he found deceased in a chair quite dead; there was no doubt that be died from the effects of a dose of prumic acid. William McNee is a messenger at the Government offices; deceased was a great friend of his; they were in the habit of going to Mr. Hicks's house occasionally of an evening; last evening, about eight o'clock, witness met deceased at the gate; he asked witness if he was going to have a sail on Saturday, and said he would go with him ; deceased seemed to be a little in liquor, but not much; he said he had been helping himself out of Mrs Brown's casks; I have known him for a long time, and have no reason to think that his mind was ever affected ; he was always very rational ; he used to appear to be very much in love with a young lady of Perth, and was jealous; whilst standing with me at the gate he handed me this love-letter, and begged me to write it out for him in a good hand; I promised to do so. [The letter was handed to the Magistrate, who read it to himself, and observed that it was not more irrational than most love-letters.] Witness then went into Mr. Hicks's house, and was followed by deceased ; whilst in the parlour deceased seemed very restless ; twice went out into the passage, borrowed witness's pocket-knife, and seemed to be striking something with it in the passage — possibly the glass stopper of the phial afterwards referred to, in order to loosen it in the bottle. Suddenly deceased cried out ' Good night !' and ran into the passage ; he immediately returned, ran up to the table, and blew out the candle; witness called out 'What are you about, Edward?' and then got a lucifer match and re lighted the candle ; whilst doing so he heard a shuffling of feet, and the fall of a glass phial; on looking round he saw deceased lying back in his chair with his hand against the wall ; he ran to him and cried, ' What's the matter ?' and tried to pull deceased on his legs, but deceased could not stand, and fell back on the chair ; he then seemed to be dead ; witness picked up the phial close to the chair, and soon after wards the stopper ; there was a peculiar smell about the place; whilst witness was lighting the candle he heard deceased exclaim, ' Write to my mother ! Good bye!' Witness was often depressed in spirits on account of the unfortunate position of his family. The other evidence was to the same effect. The learned Police Magistrate, in summing up, observed that, as a general rule, if people were so foolish and wicked as to commit suicide merely to free themselves from the trials of life, which it was their duty to endure with Christian patience and fortitude, he was not one to encourage the morbid feeling which sought to make excuses for them. He thought it better for the community generally to shew that no sympathy is felt for the self-murderer, and that no excuses should be made for one who voluntarily refused to bear his apportioned burthen. But be did not consider this to be one of those cases. On the day of his death this unfortunate young man's mind was off its balance. He frequently, perhaps constantly, suffered in secret from heavy family sorrows, and his boyish feelings were on this day suffering also from jealousy. Moreover, he had eaten no food all day, but had been drinking wine repeatedly ; in fact, his mind was unhinged. The jury would no doubt consider all this, and return a verdict as the circumstances might seem to them to demand. The jury retired to consider their verdict, and shortly afterwards returned into Court with a verdict of felo de se. Some surprise has been felt at the verdict, but we believe the jury thought that the deceased, having taken the poison out of a case in his master's shop and carried it to the house in Hay-street, showed a deliberate determination on his part to put an end to his existence, and that they could find no sufficient excuse for the act in the state of his mind at the time.

National Trust East Perth Cemeteries record for Edward Henry Lionel Denman Roe, died 6 January 1870, at Perth, aged 18 years; mother : Susannah nee Moore; father : James Elphinstone Roe; cause of death : Suicide by Prussic Acid; No. : 4455; born : 06 February 1852, High Ham, Somerset, England; arrived in WA : 17 December 1864; ship : Hastings; Druggists Assistant; Apprentice to Dr Hora.