JAMES DEANEY 1863-1885
This weeks title offers an opportunity to write about any number of individuals in my family. Some committed crimes, others were the victims of crime.
As 'Taggart', a Scottish TV detective, would say: 'There's been a Murrdur.' Jane Youell, a cousin of my Great Grandmother, was murdered by the lodger, who was then hanged. Prior to this Jane's father was imprisoned for 'embezzlement. As you can imagine this is a long story in it's telling, so one for another day
There have been several charges and imprisonment for 'Bigamy', including my Great Grandfather, who also appearred to spend more time in Prison for going AWOL and desertion from the Army than he actually spent in the military itself.
But, this week, I have decided to write about how a young man's day poaching rabbits ended with ultimate punishment. This is a long repetative article but appears to follow the coroners court comprehensively.
BUCKS HERALD 5th Sept 1885
LITTLE MISSENDEN
SHOCKING FATALITY
A distressing accident, resulting in the death of a young
man, James Deaney, of Brays Green, in this parish, aged 20 years happened on
Tuesday afternoon, 1st September, in a field in Little Missenden,
occupied by Mr G. Marshall, but the property of Mr T T Drake of Shardaloes.
Some men were engaged in the cutting of the crop of barley by machine and Mr
Drake’s gamekeeper was standing in a corner intending to shoot rabbits as they
showed themselves when driven out by the machine. Meanwhile two young men
WILLIAM SHIRLEY and JAMES DEANEY came into the field. Deaney having disabled
and caught a rabbit, the gamekeeper went towards him to take possession of it.
Deaney thereupon threw the rabbit to Shirley. The gamekeeper then went to
Shirley and asked him for the rabbit, at the same time holding his gun over his
shoulder. Shirley refusing to give up the rabbit, the gamekeeper snatched at
it, when by some means the gun went off and Deaney who was standing some 30
yards behind the gamekeeper, was struck by the shot to the head, where he fell
down dead.
MR FELL, coroner, held an inquest on the body at The Plough
Hyde Heath, on Thursday last. The district somewhat notorious for offences
against the Game Laws, in order to keep clear of any local feeling or
prejudice, a jury was sworn mainly composed of Chesham tradesman, with Mr
DANIEL AMIES as foreman.
MR H BEDFORD of Amersham, appeared to watch the case on
behalf of Mr Bunce, the gamekeeper, who is an old man, and for 25 years has
been in Mr Drake’s service. The following evidence was taken.
ANN KEEN, wife of JAMES KEEN of Brays Green, Little
Missenden said deceased was her son. He was 20 years of age and a woodware
worker. He left home at about 3pm on the 1st September and about
half an hour later she was fetched to him in the field. He was quite dead when
she arrived. Bunce and Shirley were still there when she saw deceased. She
never knew of any ill feeling between Bunce and the deceased.
ROBERT HOLLOWAY, a labourer in the employ of Mr George
Marshall said he was at work in his master’s field on 1st September.
He saw Deaney and Shirley there. They were not working in the field and had no
business to be there. He also saw Mr Bunce, the keeper, in the field. He heard
the report of a gun and Bunce came to him and said a man was shot and asked
witness what was to be done. Witness went and saw deceased lying dead; he was
on his side, with one arm out. Witness saw William Shirley with a rabbit in his
left hand he had heard Shirley and Bunce wrangling before the gun went off. He
saw Bunce following Shirley, who walked backwards- Bunce, who had a gun on his
left shoulder, reached with his right arm for the rabbit. Shirley had the rabbit
in his left hand and had his right arm raised. Immediately afterwards witness
heard the report of a gun. He did not see Bunce attempt to strike Shirley with
the gun. He was about 50yds from the parties and heard nothing that was said by
either of them. Deaney would have been at the back of the keeper.
JOSEPH HENRY SMITH, said he was working in Mr Marshall’s
barley field on 1st Sept and saw Shirley, Deaney and William Bunce
there. He heard the report of a gun at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. He was
riding the reaping machine, cutting the barley. The last witness stopped him
and he (Smith) asked him what it was hit him on the shoulder – it must have
been shot. Holloway said ‘A man is shot.’ Witness went at once and saw Deaney
lying face on the ground; he thought he saw him breathe once. He saw Shirley
going home with a rabbit, but he came back before witness started for the
policeman. When witness stopped the reaping machine he was 50 yds from Deaney,
who had a rabbit in his hand. Bunce was going towards him. Shirley and Deaney
had no business being in the field.
JAMES PEARCE was also working in the field, stated that he
saw Shirley, Deaney and Bunce there in the afternoon. He saw Deaney with a
rabbit in his hand and Bunce tried to take it away from him. Witness was riding
the horse drawing the reaping machine. He did not see any more until they had
‘been their round’ with the machine. As they were coming back he heard a gun go
off and Holloway told him to stop. Witness went with Holloway and Smith to where
Deaney was lying. He was quite dead. Witness saw Shirley go home with the
rabbit. Bunce stood with Holloway at the corner of barley. Holloway was mowing
and would be nearer to Bunce and the others than witness was.
WILLIAM SHIRLEY stated that he lived at Brays Green, Little
Missenden. Deceased and himself went into Mr Marshall’s barley field on the 1st
Sept as near 4 o’clock as he could tell. Deceased saw a rabbit sitting in the
corn and threw a stone at it and killed it. William Bunce came to him and asked
him for the rabbit. He went to take it away and deceased threw it to witness,
who picked it up. Bunce then asked him for it and he said should not give it to
him. Bunce said ‘Give me this rabbit or I will strike you. He then struck the
witness with the butt of the gun on the lip and ‘off the gun went.’ When Bunce
hit him with the gun the blow knocked the witnesses head back. Bunce had the
gun in his left hand over his left shoulder and he was trying to take the
rabbit with his right. When he tried to take the rabbit from the witness and
said he should ‘take me’, witness put his right arm up to stop the blow. The
witness had gone into the field to see if the man with the machine wanted
anyone to mow around the corners. -To Mr Bedford- He did not know if Deaney
threw more than once at the rabbit. Bunce did not order witness to the ground
until the rabbit was killed. Deaney was behind Bunce when the gun went off,
witness was walking backwards. He saw Deaney fall and said ‘you have shot that
man.’ Witness went home with the rabbit and told Deaney’s mother. The gun went
off as soon as witness felt the blow to his lip.
WILLIAM BUNCE, after being cautioned stated- I am a
gamekeeper in the employ of Mr T.T. Drake of Shardeloes, to whom the farm the
field belongs on which the accident to Deaney took place. At about 2 o’clock on
1st Sept I went to Mr Marshall’s field, where they were cutting
barley, in order to shoot the rabbits. After I had been there a time two men,
Shirley and Deaney, came into the field. They first came up to the corner of
the barley, but when they saw me they went to the bottom. They picked up a lot
of stones in each hand, on purpose, to throw at the rabbits. Shirley stopped at
the farthest end of the barley from me. The other man came along the bottom to
where I was standing. A rabbit started in the barley and Deaney threw a stone
at it. I hollered to him to let the
rabbit alone and go out of the field directly. He then went towards Shirley and
as he was going back he went 4 or 5 yds into the barley. He threw a stone at a
rabbit and crippled it so he caught it.
I walked across the corner of the barley
to him and asked him for it. He would not give it to me and threw it into the
barley. Shirley picked it up and I then went to him and asked him for it. He
was walking backwards and I followed him. I asked him 2 or 3 times for the
rabbit but he would not give it to me. We kept walking back all the time. I
told him as he had no business in the field
I would ‘pull’ him for poaching and I said I would have the rabbit. I
had got my gun over my left shoulder with my hand grasping the barrel about 4 o
5 inches from the lock and the muzzle pointing behind me. I asked Shirley again
for the rabbit and he said ‘I’ll be ___ if you shall have it.’ I snatched at the
rabbit and Shirley’s arm came over the top of the stock and the gun went off. I
did not threaten to strike him. The bruise on his lip was caused by the recoil
of the gun. Directly after that Shirley said ‘ You have shot that man.’ I
looked round and saw the poor fellow lying on the ground. I went to him and
could see that his face was covered in blood. Shirley never went near the bod
but run home with the rabbit. I went to Holloway and afterwards waited with the
deceased.
P.C. JOB WATTS stationed at Chesham stated that on the
afternoon of 1st Sept he was on duty at Hyde Heath. The witness,
Smith came and requested him to go into Mr Marshall’s barley field. He at once
went and found the deceased lying on the ground and shot. The body was warm and
the pulse still beating. He sent for the doctor, but the deceased died before
he arrived.
MR J O McCREERY, surgeon, Great Missenden said deceased died
before he saw him. He had made an examination of the body and believed death
resulted from the effects of gunshot wounds.
The coroner then summed up the evidence and in order to test
the truth of Shirley’s statement he took the gun, which was produced, and in
the presence of the jury put it at full
cock and after first trying a lighter
test, knocked the gun violently against the table without the hammer falling.
The jury therefore came to the conclusion that even if the keeper had hit
Shirley on the mouth with the butt the blow could not have discharged the
weapon. Having regard also to the contradiction given to Shirley’s evidence by
Holloway, who said he saw the witnesses right hand up before the gun was
discharged, thus corroborating the account given by Bunce. The jury considered
that Shirley’s evidence was not to be relied upon and at their request the
coroner called him in and severely censured him for his untruthfulness.
They returned as their verdict that ‘Death was caused by
gunshot wounds accidently inflicted.’
It is hard to distinguish James Deaney from Little Missenden with James Deaney of Great Missenden, a few years older, but there are several newspaper reports related to a James Deaney in court accused of poaching. However I believe at least one of these reports relates to the above.
Further newspaper searches indicate a significant number of persons caught poaching by William Bunce, gamekeeper. A significant number of these relate to members of the Shirley family, of which a DANIEL SHIRLEY appears the biggest culprit,who was caught numerous times poaching by William Bunce and was sent to prison for 1 years hard labour for assault on the statement of William Bunce. I believe that Daniel was the Uncle of William Shirley.
So who was James Deaney? Well remembering my comments in my DNA blog, I believe he was a Deaney in name only.
From the newspaper article we can see that Ann Keen, wife of James Keen states that she is the mother of a 20 year old James Deaney. The only birth I can find within the timeline would be James Deaney b.1863 registered in Amersham district.
Ann Deaney married James Keen in 1866 at Little Missenden, Ann cites herself as a widow. An Ann(e) Parsons married Thomas Deaney, son of Richard Deaney, at Little Missenden in 1857.
A son Frederick Deaney was born 29th Jul 1858 and baptised in Little Missenden church 21st Oct 1860, because Thomas is identified on this baptismal record as father, occupation labourer, of the two Thomas Deaneys who died after 1857 and before 1866, it is likely the one who died in the Dec qtr of 1860 rather than the one who died in Dec qtr 1859.
Unless Thomas' death was not registered he would not have been able to father James. Interestingly in the 1871 census James is identified as James Keen. However there is no registered birth for a James Keen within the timeline identified.
1871 census Brays Green Little Missenden
52 Ancestors 52 Weeks: Week 14. Great. ANN DEANEY nee DEAN (mypynthdev.blogspot.com)
Please note when searching for records relating to DEANEY, DANEY is another surname registered by this family.
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