BOAT FAMILIES

of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and connected waterways

First Name Last Name
Home Search  
Print Bookmark

William Dobson

Male Abt 1871 - 1905  (34 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name William Dobson 
    Born Abt Feb 1871  Broadheath, Cheshire Find all individuals with events at this location  [1] 
    Gender Male 
    Occupation Boatman Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Died 22 Apr 1905  Aintree Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried 27 Apr 1905  St Thomas, Lydiate Find all individuals with events at this location  [2] 
    Person ID I05542  Canal Family 1
    Last Modified 2 Nov 2026 

    Father George Dobson,   b. Jun 1844, Burscough Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1887, Cheshire Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 42 years) 
    Mother Elizabeth Gibbons,   b. Jun 1844, Burscough Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Married 10 Apr 1863  St Nicholas, Liverpool Find all individuals with events at this location  [3] 
    Family ID F03101  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Jane (Abram) Hartley,   b. 3 Nov 1875, Lydiate Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1903, Lydiate Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 27 years) 
    Married 30 Apr 1894  St Thomas, Lydiate Find all individuals with events at this location  [3] 
    Children 
     1. Thomas Dobson,   b. 1895, Lydiate Find all individuals with events at this location
     2. William Dobson,   b. 1897, Lydiate Find all individuals with events at this location
     3. Elizabeth Dobson,   b. 1899, Lydiate Find all individuals with events at this location
     4. Henry Dobson,   b. 1902, Lydiate Find all individuals with events at this location
    Last Modified 2 Nov 2026 
    Family ID F00386  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • An inquest report headed Drunken Man's Terrible Death appeared in the Liverpool Evening Express, April 26th 1905, sub-head Mutilated on the Railway.
      The court heard that William Dobson, 34, a Canal Company boatman, was a widower with four children living with his aunt in Lydiate. He was in good health though had an internal comlaint and a small quantity of drink easily affected him.
      He went with Samuel Edwardson of Lydiate by train to watch a Saturday football match in Liverpool. They had some drink and returned to Aintree in the evening. Edwardson then took the Maghull train and thought Dobson had also done so, though he did not see him again.
      The Aintree signalman was informed that a drunken man was on the line, and officials found the deceased on the embankment in an incapable condition. The station clerk got hold of Dobson and asked him to leave the premises, but he refused using bad language, and the police were called. Several express trains passed and he next saw the deceased's body lying across the line. Police said his head was severed and body mutilated.
      Verdict: accidental death.

  • Sources 
    1. [S286368] GRO Online Index.

    2. [S010072] Lancashire Online Parish Clerks.

    3. [S010069] MC.



This site powered by The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding ©, v. 13.1.1, written by Darrin Lythgoe 2001-2026.