William Budgen (1820-1864) and Amy Frith (1826-1921).
My 3rd great-grand uncle and aunt.
Baptised in Worth, Sussex, on 6 February 1820, William was the son of William Budgen and Sarah Rice and would meet a gruesome end. But that was some years after he married Amy Frith, the 18-year-old daughter of a gamekeeper, on 6 April 1844 in Headcorn, Kent. Amy (who is sometimes listed as ‘Frid’) was born on 25 June 1826 and baptised as a Wesleyan Methodist.
William and Amy had at least five children and lived in Marden, Kent – a village on the railway line between the towns of Tonbridge and Ashford.
He was described as a labourer at his marriage but he worked on the railway – and it was on the tracks near his home that he met his untimely death. As the Morning Post of 2 March 1864 reported: “An inquiry was opened yesterday, at Marden, before the coroner for West Kent, into the circumstances attending the death of William Budgen, a platelayer in the service of the South-Eastern Railway Company, who was killed by an express train on Friday night last.”
William and another platelayer, George Russell, had been working on the line about two miles from their homes on 26 February. After leaving work they went to a beer shop and stayed there until about 10pm, but instead of walking home they decided to go back to the tracks and use a trolley to propel themselves along the down line. They hadn’t got more than a few yards when a fast train, which had left London for Dover at 8.55pm, appeared. Both men quickly jumped off the trolley but to try to prevent a collision with the express and a potential disaster, William and George attempted to pull the trolley clear of the rails.
According to the Morning Post: “They had nearly succeeded in doing this but were too late, as the engine came into collision with the trolley, which was shattered to fragments; and the same was the case with the deceased, as the spot where the accident occurred was afterwards found to be literally strewn with pieces of human flesh. The head of the unfortunate man, which was completely severed from his body, was afterwards found in a ditch.
“The train received a severe shock but, fortunately, did not leave the line of rails, which, for 10 miles on either side of Marden station, are particularly straight. George Russell is now in custody to answer the charge of trespassing on the railway before the magistrates at Cranbrook.”
The East Kent Times of 5 March added further details, claiming that the pair had assumed the train had already gone through the district – but they’d been deceived by the fact that the beer house clock was fast. The newspaper also said that William left a wife and seven children – more than I’ve been able to find. George must’ve been traumatised by what he saw that night but his troubles weren’t over for a few days later he appeared at Cranbrook Petty Sessions charged with obstructing the passage of the line and endangering life.
The Maidstone Journal and Kentish Advertiser reported on 8 March that the prosecution stated that the prisoner might in some measure be excused as he was only a plate layer and somewhat under the control of William, who was the foreman or ganger. George’s lawyer made ‘a most feeling appeal’ on his behalf and presented an extensively signed memorial to his good character and sobriety. He could not deny George’s guilt but hoped that his subordinate position to the deceased would be taken into account. The bench fined him £5 and costs.
Amy married again, in 1873, her husband being Kent-born carpenter Henry King. They continued to live in the county, moving from Marden to Tenterden and Hawkhurst. She died at her daughter’s home in Cranbrook in May 1921.
Amy and William’s children were:
- Eliza Budgen (1846-1888). Eliza married bricklayer Edward Coomber in 1865 in Luton, Kent, and raised a family with him. They later moved to Kensington in West London, where she died in 1888.
- Thomas Budgen (1848-1849).
- Ellen Budgen (1851-
- Martha Budgen (1857-1945). Ellen remained single, living with her parents for many years. The Kent & Sussex Courier of 14 December 1945 noted that she was a Sunday school teacher and wrote poetry and hymns.
- Mary Budgen, travelled to the USA and married Frank Derby in 1870 – changing her age to make her older than she was. They farmed in Michigan and she died in 1936.
Sources: Ancestry.com, Findmypast.com, Surrey Record Office BMDs. Newspapers as quoted from the British Newspaper Library.