horrible accident?? or possibly suicide???.....

delmarco · Post by **delmarco** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 1:06 am

Greetings all:

I am reading a death certificate for a cousin of mine, James McMenemy, age 25, died 15 July 1937, cause of death Lysol poisoning 25 minutes, there are additional notes made to the corr.entries. Does anyone know if this could have been accidental? His occupation was a laundry fireman, which Im not sure exactly what one does.

Any thoughts or ideas????

Karen

Post by **paddyscar** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:06 am

Hi Karen:

Pure conjecture on my part, but ...

Apart from commercial laundries, any institution like a hospital would have had their own laundry. Hot water in such huge amounts would have required onsite boilers, which even as late as 1937, would likely have been powered by coal rather than electricity.

Under the "SOURCES" tab at the top of the TalkingScot page, the list of old occupations lists a fireman as:
1. Person in charge of a furnace, eg. on a train or ship
2. A fire fighter

A commercial or institutional laundry would have required firemen to be on the premises as well.

Lysol was a brown liquid [somehow connected to Dettol] which came in large brown bottles (before the age of spray cans). The liquid was added to pails of water for washing and disinfecting surfaces and also used to disinfect laundry.

I would suggest that in this poor young man died in an industrial accident, God bless him and those around him.

Frances

delmarco · Post by **delmarco** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:49 am

Frances,

Thank you for our reply, I had a feeling that's what his occupation might have been. As for the Lysol poisoning, Im stumped, he would have had to ingest it I would think in order for it to kill him, I googled Lysol ingestion and or poisoning, seems that in that time period, it was the poison of choice for suicide. I'd love to get a peek at the corrected entry on his death cert.

I think Ive seen posts on that before, I'll have to do a search and see how to do that.

Regards,

Karen

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 4:40 am

Hi Karen

You can get the RCE if you purchase an official Death certificate from GROS...the RCE will come with it. If you want to know what it says on the cheap.....find a willing soul to get a transcription from NRH.....or wait for the RCE's to come online at SP........or buy a Tombola ticket and hope to win a free lookup at NRH!!!!

Sad to say it does sound like a suicide. I can't imagine drinking a Lysol cocktail in error

Best wishes
Jean

Tom-W · Post by **Tom-W** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 8:10 am

Here is a brief report from the Scotsman 16 July 1937

CAMBUSLANG MAN'S DEATH James M'Menemy, boiler fireman, who resided at 33 Glasgow Road, Cambuslang, was found in a state of collapse in the works of the Richmond Park Laundry, Cambuslang, about 5 o'clock yesterday morning. A workmate who made the discovery immediately summoned a doctor, and M'Menemy was removed to the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, where he died shortly after admission.

Doesn't answer your question but worth having anyway!

Tom

Post by **emanday** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 11:53 am

I remember my Grandmother talking about the death of one of her neighbours' daughters (way back when SHE was a teenager).

The expression "took Lysol" totally stumped me till she explained that it was a particularly strong disinfectant in common use at that time, and was often the most available (read affordable) poison to folk who wouldn't have been able to obtain a more conventional poison, like arsenic etc...

This poor girl had "got herself into trouble" and apparently took the Lysol rather than have to face her father.

Off the subject a bit, but interesting, I think...

Gran also mentioned that houses of single women which smelled strongly of Lysol were usually suspected of being of "ill repute"

Post by **joette** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:25 pm

Yes & my Granny talked off "hiding the Lysol" when her Mother had just had a baby & when she went through the menopause-presumely she was suffering some type of hormonal inbalance which they thought might cause her to harm herself.
I can remember Lysol being used in Yorkhill Hospital in the 1970s-80's when I worked there.It almost smelled like creosete.

delmarco · Post by **delmarco** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 1:54 pm

Thank you all for your posts.

I am so intrigued by this, Im curious to know, why soimeone would go that route, what was he thinking??? Or...If it were an accident, how could it happen?

Ive forwarded this on to a cousin in Cambuslang, to see if she would be able to go to the NRH otherwise, I'll be sending off for the copy.

I'll pass on what I find.

Thanks again,
Karen

Post by **paddyscar** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:03 pm

Hi Karen:

It was great that Tom-W was able to find the brief news item for you.

My original thought about the industrial accident seemed rather gruesome

for posting, but here goes ....

[At 5:00 a.m., in preparing for start-up of the laundry] perhaps a bottle was dropped or tipped, allowing the Lysol to splash or run onto a heated surface where it would have vapourized, burning his lungs and basically smothering him [in 25 minutes].

Hopefully, your cousin will uncover the answer at the NRH and we'll all get to know the details of 'how', even if there is no certainty as to 'why'.

Frances

Post by **joette** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:05 pm

Unfortunatelty more young men commit suicide than any other age group.
Think about it they have to be strong-big boys don't cry.They would have had to be the main breadwinner then & who knows what secret despair lying within a person's heart.Something as what we would think trivial such as being ditched by a girl is often the only trigger needed.
As one who has been touched by suicides within the extended family it is such a devestating way to leave this earth.Small comfort that their is no blood tie.
The pain,anger & guilt felt by surviving family is overwhelming & I don't think it ever gets better.
In my case three young(ish) men with children & two with wives ended there lives in this way.They must have been in such pain,despair as they did it where their children in two cases could have found them.If they had been in their "right mind" I know they would never have done this.
When researching at NRH I found a whole swathe of men commiting suicide(just being nosey) mainly by hanging & I know this & shotgun is a popular method amongst farmers-shows it is not a present day problem only either.
He must have known it was a final method & must have been in desperate straits.You may never know why?