William Hart (1796-1866)
William Hart (1796-1866), manager of the works of Tennants (Lancashire)
1796 Born in Ashton-in-Makerfield
1822 Married at Warrington to Betty Woods
1834 Birth of son Peter Hart
1861 Living at 15 Bryon Street, Ardwick: William Hart (age 64 born Ashton). Manager Chemical Works. With his wife Betty Hart (age 62 born Warrington) and their son James Hart (age 20 born Warrington), Plumber.[1]
1866 Inquest.[2]
SINGULAR CASE OF ACCIDENTAL POISONING. On Tuesday last inquest was held at Manchester on the body of William Hart, chemical labourer, aged 70, residing in Brydon-street, Timing street. A son of the deceased, named Peter Hart, said that his father was manager at Messrs. Tennant and Co’s chemical works, Downing-street. Witness was chemist there, and on Friday afternoon, he was carrying on experiments in the laboratory, when deceased came in and sat down to eat some bread and butter. The deceased's practice was to make some tea, which he put into a "beaker" vessel or anything else that was at hand. All at once the deceased started up, made a confused noise, and ran towards witness, calling out, "Water, water." Witness gave him some water, with which deceased rinsed his mouth, and witness then saw that his father had drank out of a beaker which contained a strong solution of caustic soda. Witness took deceased home a cab, where, although medical aid was promptly brought into requisition, he died of brain fever that morning. The beaker out of which the deceased had drunk stood on table where witness was evaporating a solution in another vessel. Deceased had worked at the place for twenty years, and perfectly understood his business, and the table at which the beaker was standing was separated from that on which the beaker was placed out of which the deceased had drunk. The caustic solution was similar in colour to tea and possessed very corrosive properties. The jury returned a verdict of Accidental poisoning.