Robert C Davison, MAGI, Co. Down
It may look like any old photocopy of a Death Register entry from Dublin GRO, but look closely at the entry for the section ‘Certified Cause of Death’ – Visitation of God! How often do you came across that? And it begs the question, what nature did this ‘visitation’ take? You will also see that there was a Coroner’s Inquest but I haven’t been able to locate this yet or any other information on George Roger’s death.
GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE DEATH REGISTER ENTRY FOR GEORGE ROGERS
George is a bit of a ‘hero’ to me and led an interesting life. He was born in England to what would now be described as a ‘middle class’ family and commenced work with the Great Western Railway (GWR) as a Sub-Inspector of Police in September 1840. He appears to have been something of a ‘whiz kid’ as his name appears in GWR Board Minutes on a number of occasions for good police work. I’ve also uncovered a few newspaper reports from the 1840’s detailing his exploits.
In October 1847 he appears in Ireland as the Superintendent of the Waterford & Limerick Railway (W & LR) Police. The railway company were experiencing major difficulties with sabotage to their tracks and threats to company employees. These came from a ‘Captain Rock’ who appears to have headed a local secret society. Quite what the grievance with the W & LR was I have yet to discover. George appears in Civil Registration marriages in March 1850 having married Jane Mary Ingram in Dublin, and he’s shown as a Widower. Interestingly, his Profession is shown on the copy of the Marriage Register entry as ‘Esquire’ so, was he finished with the W & LR Police? Well apparently not as his name crops up in a newspaper report of February 1851 when he dealt with a Permanent Way man (track worker) who was found to be drunk on duty.
Nothing has turned up on George yet between 1851 and his death in 1868 but he must have become a ‘man of means’ as he also had a house in Dublin on the South Circular Road. Unfortunately there was no Will, just Letters of Administration granted at the Principal Registry.
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