Researching family stories is always interesting, and some stand out more than others. The story of my great great grandmother’s brother, Samuel Duff, is one of those.
Samuel was born in 1841, the 3rd of 11 children to his parents Samuel Duff and Helen Muir. Samuel was a porter at Nitshill Railway station. When I discovered Samuel’s death certificate, I read that he died aged just 19 years and 2 months from what was described as “injuries of the head from its coming into contact with the arch of a railway bridge while a train was in full motion.”
The certificate also shows that he was married at the time, and further records indicate that he left behind a young wife and child.
Newspaper reports from the time give differing accounts of the circumstances surrounding his death.
One more favourable version in the Glasgow Courier suggests that he had been visiting his mother in Glasgow and was walking along the railway line when he was struck by a train.
However, the wording on the death certificate supports the more commonly reported account. This was that, according to contemporary newspapers (including the Dunfermline Press and North British Agriculturalist), Samuel had been travelling without paying his fare and was hiding in the guard’s van. When he saw the guard approaching, he climbed onto the roof of the train. As the train passed under Coplawhill Bridge, he was struck by the low structure, sustaining fatal head injuries.
A tragic end to a very short life.
Craigachan 