THE SUICIDE OF A SHEFFIELD BREWER - Henry Tomlinson 19th June 1891

The papers Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser (Dublin, Ireland), Saturday, June 20, 1891; and The Belfast News-Letter (Belfast, Ireland), Saturday, June 20, 1891 both carried a report on the death of Mr Henry Tomlinson, proprietor of the Anchor Brewery Sheffield which at the time was one of the largest in the region 

SUICIDE OF A BREWER

London Friday

Mr. Henry Tomlinson of Sheffield one of the largest brewers in Yorkshire committed suicide today by cutting his throat and a coachman who tried to wrest the knife from him was terribly cut about the hands

The Glasgow Herald (Glasgow, Scotland), Saturday, June 20, 1891; Issue 147 gave a more detailed account under the tiltle

SHOCKING SUICIDE AT SHEFFIELD

Yesterday morning, Mr. Henry Tomlinson one of the largest brewers in Yorkshire and proprietor of the Anchor Brewery Sheffield committed suicide by cutting his throat. Mr. Tomlinson had not been well for some time, and recently had been watched. His manner for the last day or two had been strange and yesterday morning on arriving at the brewery, his actions led everyone to believe that he was not in his right mind. He was taken to the house of his cashier and whilst the latter went to see Mr Tomlinson's brother, the deceased got a knife out of the kitchen A fierce struggle took place between the suicide and his coachman but by a terrible effort the deceased pulled the knife out of the coachman's hand so badly that he fainted through loss of blood. On getting free Tomlinson rushed into the scullery and forcing the knife into his throat made a terrible gash, the jugular vein and the windpipe both been cut. Death occurred in a few moments. Deceased leaves a widow and four children    

Under the title SUICIDE OF MR. HENRY TOMLINSON, The Sheffield & Rotherham Independent (Sheffield, England), Saturday, June 20, 1891; pg. 6; Issue 11496 gave a far fuller account of the tragedy

Two days later the same paper gave a detailed report of the inquest into his death.

NB I have used a negative to improve the quality of the print.

Henry was laid to rest in the churchyard of Ecclesall Church, Sheffield. The Sheffield Daily Telegraph dated 23rd June 1891 carried a report of Henry's funeral.

Notes

1. The Anchor Brewery was located on Cherry Street a site that was occupied by Arnold Lavers wood yard The brewery was was severely damaged during the Sheffield blitz At the other side of the Sheffield United ground was Britannia Brewery (John Richdale), they were taken over by Hammond's of Bradford in 1956

2. Source Information: Dwelling The Woodlands Census Place Dore, Derby, England 
Family History Library Film 1342118 Public Records Office Reference RG11 Piece / Folio 4628 / 85 Page Number 30                             

Household Record 1881 British Census 

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation Disability 
Henry TOMLINSON Head M Male 36 Sheffield, York, England Brewer 
Martha TOMLINSON Wife M Female 34 Sheffield, York, England Brewers Wife 
                                                                                                                                 William TOMLINSON Son Male 5 Ecclesall, York, England 
Dorothy P.M. TOMLINSON Daughter Female 4 m Ecclesall, York, England 
Frances J. SANDERSON Servant Female 16 Brants, Lincoln, England Domestic Servant 
Louisa HOLLINGWORTH Servant Female 13 Norton, Derby, England Domestic Servant 
Sebastian Elijah NICHOLS Brother In Law U Male 32 Sheffield, York, England Clerk Without Cure Of Souls 

3. The only marriage I can find on the FREEBMD index is the following - 

Surname First name(s) District Volume  Page 
Marriages December 1865 
Nichols Martha Sheffield 9c 498 
Tomlinson Henry Sheffield 9c 498 

Henry's death is straightforward - June quarter 1891 Tomlinson Henry Age 46 Sheffield Volume9c Page  471

327 Shoreham Street Sheffield

Sources

Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser (Dublin, Ireland), Saturday, June 20, 1891;

The Belfast News-Letter (Belfast, Ireland), Saturday, June 20, 1891

Glasgow Herald (Glasgow, Scotland), Saturday, June 20, 1891; Issue 147

The London Times dated Saturday, June 20, 1891

The Sheffield & Rotherham Independent (Sheffield, England), Saturday, June 20, 1891; pg. 6; Issue 11496

The Sheffield & Rotherham Independent (Sheffield, England), Monday, June 22, 1891; pg. 2; Issue 11497

Sheffield Daily Telegraph dated 23rd June 1891

UK Census

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