My original post (Google – Herbert Henry Voss) briefly touched on Herbert’s life and also mentioned the benefits of occasionally using Google as a search method. Since that time, the National Library of Australia’s digitised newspapers on Trove (http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper?q=) has grown in leaps and bounds. Several more newspapers for Western Australia have been added as well as many more issues for existing newspapers. It was these updates which helped me discover new articles concerning the events surrounding Herbert Henry Voss’s tragic death.
Whereas the original article from The Argus was a tiny fragment mainly describing the gruesome circumstances, this article (probably because it was in a Western Australian newspaper) gives us more insight into the tragedy including the reaction of his wife, Violet.
Perhaps unhappy with the statement in the above article (that she had been speaking to her husband at the time which slightly implied that she could have distracted him), Violet contacted The West Australian to ensure that the record was set straight.
It’s not huge life changing information but still the new details are enough to help fill in the gaps. As is often the case when researching family history, records are constantly updated and placed online and despite assuming that there’s probably nothing else to find, you may in fact discover a new event that was previously unknown to you.
Sources:
- 1931 ‘ACCIDENTS.’, The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879-1954), 27 January, p. 7, viewed 28 November, 2010, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33237013
- 1931 ‘GENERAL NEWS.’, The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879-1954), 30 January, p. 19, viewed 28 November, 2010, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33247210
Finding Family 
Hi Jess –
I was terribly sad to read this story.
Violet Constance was my step-Nan. She married Victor THomas McDonald, my paternal grandfather when she was 61. All those years alone after the tragic death of her husband.
Love your work with your family tree.
Hi Jane,
Yes, it is a very sad story with regards to Vi. It must have been traumatic for her especially seeing as though she was there when he died. And to make it even worse the newspapers seemed to imply that she’d distracted him.
Thank you for your kind words.