Mary Emmott died at 5 Forest View on the 3rd of August 1912 aged 68. The Nelson Leader of 9th August carried the following tribute:

"Another old Barrowfordian has just passed away in the person of Mrs. Emmott of Forest View. She had reached her 69th year. She had been unwell for two or three years and gradually grew worse until the end came on Saturday evening. She suffered greatly for several days prior to her demise but she bore her suffering patiently. She had been a member of the Congregational Church from her youth, and she was much esteemed for her quiet demeanour. The reverend E. Gough B.A conducted a short service at home previous to the remains being borne to their final resting place at Wheatley Lane on Tuesday."

As for Grace Emmott, the plot takes a distinctly sad turn as the following report in the Nelson Leader newspaper of Friday September 2nd 1910 will show:

"At the Barrowford Council Offices, on Friday afternoon, Mr. H. J. Robinson, the East Lancashire Coroner, held an inquest touching the death of Grace Emmott, 35, weaver of 5 Forest View, Barrowford, who was found drowned in a waterway leading from a lodge near Crow Trees House to Higherford Mill on Wednesday night."

"Mr. J.C. Waddington, solicitor, of Burnley, appeared on behalf of the family and Mr.H. Procter represented the Nelson and District Overlooker's Association. Alderman J. Whitham, assistant secretary of the Weaver's association, was also present."

"The first witness called was Mrs. Mary Emmott, mother of the deceased. She said her daughter had not been very well lately, but continued to work until Wednesday. Deceased that day went to see a Doctor who gave her a bottle of medicine. On Wednesday night she seemed very cheerful, and proceeded to visit some friends at Crow Trees House. That was the last time the witness saw her alive."

"By Mr. Waddington: She had complained about her work at the mill, and it had preyed upon her mind."

"Mr Procter: Did your daughter mention any name in her complaint? - Yes, a man named Dugdale. Did she say he was treating her unkindly? - No, not lately; but there were little bits of things. Had she worked at Berry's Victoria Mills a long time? - Yes. Under the same overlooker? - For a long time."

"Witness further said that her daughter complained of very peculiar feelings coming over her."

"Janet Atkinson, residing at Crow trees, said the deceased came to their house on Wednesday night. She was very quiet, and a little bit strange. Deceased also said to the witness 'Can you smell ammonia, Janet?' Witness replied, 'No; why?' and deceased said, 'Because I can smell it.' The deceased then walked with the witness towards the tram terminus a distance of 20 yards, and then returned to the house. The witness caught the eight o' clock car."

"The Coroner: Did you think she wanted looking after? - No, not at that time."

"P.C. Mulroy stated that at 9.30 on Wednesday night the last witness informed him that the deceased was missing. The Coroner: Did they say why they had told you? - Yes, they had found a bottle containing ammonia on the bank of the watercourse, and had become alarmed. The witness added that the stream ran past the end of the gardens at Crow Trees. The Coroner: I still don't understand why they should have come to tell you. Anyone might have left the bottle there. Witness: The fact that she had mentioned ammonia had aroused their suspicions."

"The witness said that he found the body about 10.45 under a culvert. The water at the spot was between 4 and 5 feet deep. The deceased's mouth was slightly discoloured. He tried artificial respiration for an hour before the arrival of Dr. Burbridge, and it was continued for a further hour without success. The witness also stated that Mrs. Mary Emmott identified the bottle."

"The Coroner, having intimated that this was all the evidence, Mr. Procter said he would like to call a witness whose name had been mentioned (Dugdale). The Coroner: I don't think it is necessary. Something appears to have upset this woman. She evidently became low spirited, and when a person got into this condition there was no accounting exactly for them making use of somebody's name. His opinion was that she had taken a little of the ammonia, and then jumped into the water, being of unsound mind at the time."

"A verdict of 'Suicide whilst of unsound mind' was returned. The jury passed a vote of condolence with the family of the deceased."

Crowtrees House at Higherford (Barrowford). William Henry Atkinson, a brick maker, was living at 10 Atkinson Street, Colne, in 1881. By the year 1891 he was living at 45 Hagg street, Colne with his wife Jane (Greenwood). They moved to Crowtrees House, Barrowford, in the mid 1890s. William died in September 1918, aged 63, at Crowtrees by which time he had become a successful architect with a large practice. His wife Jane died in February 1933 aged 77 and one of his daughters, Jane, lived at Crowtrees until about 1950, she dies at Woodlands in Barrowford in 1961 ages 74, the family were buried at Wheatley lane. The open friendship between William Henry Atkinson, builder and architect, and Councillor John Emmott, of the Barrowford Sanitary and Buildings Committee, would be frowned upon today as being somewhat incestuous and contrary to the overall good of the Town Planning system!

"The funeral of Miss Emmott took place on Saturday morning amidst every manifestation of regret at the Wheatley Lane Cemetery. A short service was held at the house, prior to the interment, conducted by the rev. E. Gough B.A, the last rites at the cemetery being performed by Mr. H. Holt. The cortege left the house in the following order:- First carriage: Mrs. Emmott, Mr. Robert Clegg, Mr. and Mrs. Cross, Mrs. Clegg and Miss Margaret Emmott. Second carriage: Mr. and Mrs. H.T. Nutter, Mr. Jno. and Mr. E. Butterfield. Third carriage: Miss Birtwistle, Mr. A.T. Chandler, Mrs. Atkinson, Mr. Holt and Mr. T. Armistead."

"The following floral tributes were received: Heart, from Cousin Tom, Lizzie and Kate: Wreath, from Mr. and Mrs. James Cross: Wreath, from the Barrowford Ambulance Corps; Anchor, from Alice: Cross, from Nora: Wreath, from Mr. and Mrs. E. Gough: Cross, from Mr. and Mrs. R. Bradshaw: Cross, from all at Fulshaw: Flowers, from Francis, Ada and Bertha: Flowers from Mary and Susan: Wreath, from Ellen Haworth: Anchor, from Mrs. Bracewell: Wreath, from Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Grave and family. The workpeople at Berry's Mill, where the deceased was employed, sent an artificial wreath as a token of their esteem."

In Conclusion

The above report relating to the inquest of Grace Emmott, and especially the reference to her overlooker, raises a number of questions. At this time there was a recognised problem within the East Lancashire cotton industry in as much as the male overlookers had the power to assess the work of all those people who fell within their jurisdiction. In other words, the "elite" workers within the cotton mills, such as cutlookers and overlookers (tacklers) were able to pass, or reject, the work of the cotton weavers who were within their charge. This situation led to a number of cases whereby weavers accused the tacklers of bullying and unfair discrimination against them, often these cases were based upon rejection of the weaver's work by the tacklers because of personal grievances. The problem was that the weaver could lose a significant amount of money through rejection of their work. Women, and especially young women, were particularly vulnerable to this problem - many cases of the overlookers having been accused of bullying women within the cotton mills of East Lancashire are recorded. Instances of full-blown strikes are known to have occurred in the industry due to this problem. Conversely, taking human nature into account, unfair accusations were levelled at the tacklers by people who may have been harbouring a personal grudge.

The fact that Mary, the mother of Grace Emmott, mentioned that Grace worked under the same overlooker, named Dugdale, for many years raises the question as to why she might feel threatened by him in 1911 when she had managed to work under him for a long period previously without apparent complaint. Dugdale obviously wished to clear his name as it is clear that his representative wished for him to give evidence at the inquest, the Coroner dismissed this request.

There is no explanation as to what exactly was the medicine given to Grace by her Doctor, she received a "bottle of medicine" on the day that she died, was "in good spirits" when she left home and yet was described as "a little bit strange" when she arrived at Crowtrees shortly afterwards.

The Coroner had obviously made up his mind that Grace was of unsound mind, the mention by Grace's mother of Dugdale was dismissed as the ramblings of an upset personality. Whatever truth may lie behind the tragic death of Grace Emmott one thing is clear, the inquest into her demise was both amateur and rushed. The curtailed witness statements, limited number of witnesses and overriding pompousness of the Coroner would certainly not hold water in such a case in modern times.

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It is unclear as to how the tester made by Grace Emmott, in 1886, found its way to the USA. Rhonda Burke says that her family originated from a 'Grandaddy Johnstone' who emigrated from England to work as an executive for the Phillips Petroleum Company - he evidently was shot dead in a card game on a train bound for the West Coast of America. He left a wife (known to have been born in Oklahoma) and a daughter, Margaret Livingston Johnstone, both of them then went to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they lived on an Indian reservation, the widow taught school there. The tester eventually found its way into the possession of Margaret's daughter, Kathy O'Connor (Rhonda's aunt) who treasured the piece.

An educated guess as to the relative ages of the Johnstone family of America puts Grandaddy Johnstone as having been born around the turn of the 20th century. This negates him from being a direct descendant of our Emmott family. We know that the last extant member of the Barrowford Emmotts was Margaret, the records for electors in Barrowford covering 1913 to 1914 were lost in a fire but the 1915 record shows that Margaret had left not only the family home at 5 Forest View but also the village of Barrowford. Given that she was a spinster at the time of her sister's death in 1910 it is difficult to tie in Grandaddy Johnstone to Margaret's immediate family.