When we visit old places, I often wonder if any of my relatives had a connection.
I have been researching my family tree and found this in a family member's files.
Inquest into the death of Mary Anne Delaney in the Old Melbourne Goal 25th September 1894.
I have to report that at 1pm yesterday Father O’Connell, called at Carlton police station, and requested that the police should call at 22 Earl Street and see if anything could be done for an old woman named Mary Anne Spoor, whom he had just been visiting as he believed her to be in a dying state.
In company with Constables Calwell and Bourke, I at once proceeded to the house, which contains 4 rooms, 2 up and 2 downstairs, we found the place in a fearful state, reeking with filth, the stench of which drove us several times outside, before we were able to do anything. We then managed to get the doors and windows open, when we found two women, Alice Cameron and Bridget Spoor in beds in the front room, covered with a lot of filthy rags and saturated with urine. They were both drunk, when we uncovered the woman Spoor, we found that she had only the remains of a chemise on and this and her body, legs and in fact all over was covered with blood and her own excreta and urine in which she was lying, she also was covered with sores and looked as though she had been lying there for some time.
The room at the back of the kitchen was in the same state, the stench of which turned us all sick, in a corner of this room we found huddled up on an old bunk, the deceased Mary Ann Spoor, who is 75 years of age, she was covered with a lot of filthy rags, she also was in a filthy state, with sores on her head and covered with vermin. She was in a very feeble state, but did not appear to me to be much worse physically than when I knew her some years ago. Seeing the filthy condition she was in I thought it very likely that if she was taken to the hospital they might refuse to take her in thus so I decided to get a cab and put the three women in it, and get them at once remanded to the goal on a charge of vagrancy and that was accordingly done.
I called at the goal today and was informed that Dr Ray was called in and saw the deceased yesterday and again this morning, but he stated nothing could be done for her and she died a little later on. The deceased with living with her son Amos Spoor and the women referred to, one being his wife. They have been residing at this address about 12 months. The deceased has been getting 10/ per week from a solicitor in Collingwood which was left to her under the will of her husband 40 years ago, but which was mostly spent in drink.
About two weeks ago, the third woman went to live with them since which time the three women have been continuously drunk.
Mrs Coffey the Matron at the goal informed me that the deceased was one of the worst cases she had ever seen, being covered with filth, sores and vermin.
Some other notes:
Mary was born in Tipperary Ireland around 1819
She married a brickmaker in 1854 and he died in 1856 9 days after their second wedding anniversary. He was either her second husband, or they had children before they married.
