McKENDRICK, James 1
- Baptised: 8 April 1843, Killean and Kilchenzie Parish, Argyll, Scotland 1
- Died: between 11pm of 9 October and 7 am 10 October 1877, Campbeltown parish, Argyll, Scotland
Cause of his death was drowning while in a state of intoxication.
Another name for James was McKENRICK, James.2
General Notes:
The condition and completion of the death certificate for James McKendrick offer shaky evidence, and that it is this James McKendrick is a matter of some surmise. There are no parents' names entered in the certificate. The writing is crushed and at times illegible. The district where the death took place was Campbeltown. More detail is noted on the certificate but is very difficult to decipher '..in the sea at the point of Kilkivan? Kilkerran? quay in the parish of Campbeltown'.
The deceased is named as James McKendrick. His age is recorded as 31 years. These three facts immediately make this James McKendrick a distinct possibility to be the deceased man. There are others by this name born in Scotland about the time in question, but none in Argyll.
James, the son of Alexander McKendrick and Ann McMillan, appears in the 1871 census for Campbeltown with his family living at Lagnacraig, but not in any later census. He was recorded as a single man, 26 years old, and was a shepherd.
Why he was not missed by his family, nor acknowledged and registered by them. if indeed it was this James McKendrick, we cannot easily say at this distance. 'Drowning in a state of intoxication' for some people may cast no slur or hint of shame, merely an empathetic understanding that an unfortunate accident had taken place. In the strictly religious presbyterian culture of Campbeltown in the 1870s, that may not have been true. If there was any hint that it was more than an accident, though the death certificate does not indicate this, the shame would have been much much greater. Suicide was still a crime in Britain until the middle of the 20th century, and psychiatric knowledge and skill were in their infancy. The death certificate provides all the necessary information, including age, for this poor man, except the names and signatures of his parents. 3
Medical Notes:
Two men certified the cause of death, their names unclear, and one of them or both made a post mortem examination of the body.
The death was registered on the information of the Procurator Fiscal, whose name is too unclear to read, at Campbeltown on 26 October 1877.
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