The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1888-02-11 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

WHOLE FAMILY MURDERED.  SUICIDE OF THE FATHER. A shocking tragedy was reported from Salford on Friday of last week. A man named Derby, a chemist and herbalist, lived in Salford with his wife and six children. Not having been seen since the preceding Sunday, his father tried to get into the house. Climbing to the bed-room window he saw the wife and two children lying dead in bed. Searching further in another bed, the bodies of four other children were found, and on the kitchen sofa the body of the father. There was no appearance of a struggle or of violence. The assumption is that Derby, who is well acquainted with poison, poisoned his wife and family and then took a dose himself. The children vary in age from Gladys, aged three, to Ernest, the eldest, aged 13. The father was 35. A large number of chemical and drug bottles were found in a cupboard.  Another account says: In a back street near the racecourse lived a chemist and druggist, named Samuel Hill Derby, with his wife and six children, whose ages ranged from three to thirteen. He had been out of work for some time because of ill-health, and had had much anxiety in connection with a relative's will, under which he was entitled to a considerable amount of money. The two things combined had unquestionably affected his head, and he is described by the neighbours as having been "very queer" of late. The last that was seen of the family was on Monday of last week, when one of the children bought some treacle at a neighbouring provision shop. On the Tuesday and Wednesday no suspicion was aroused by the non-appearance of the family, who not unfrequently went away for several days. On Thursday some alarm was expressed, and the next morning the house was broken into. In the front bed-room four children were found lying dead on the bed. In the back bedroom two children and the mother lay on the bed, and the man was found on the sofa in the kitchen. All were dead, and a cup which was found in one of the bed-rooms led to the belief that poison was the agent used. The police were communicated with and a number of letters and papers were discovered which have a bearing on the case. In one of the letters the man stated that he had resolved to commit suicide, and that his wife was willing to die with him. The affair has created a tremendous sensation in the neighbourhood.  Several further letters and papers have been discovered in Derby's handwriting. One of the letters is addressed to Derby's late employer, and another to his sister-in-law, a woman named Booth, who lives at Eccles. In the letter to Mrs. Booth reference is made to a legal dispute in connection with some property, and to the general disappointment of Derby and his wife at the protracted delay of a settlement and the transfer of the property. This seems to have troubled the family greatly, and Derby expressed his intention of committing suicide, and in another place the wife is said to have expressed her intention of dying with him. A will has also been found in the house, duly drawn out, but not attested, leaving the whole of the household furniture and effects to Mrs. Booth. Several letters are addressed to relatives, and in them Derby expresses his intention to make away with himself on account of difficulties as to the settlement of some property. One letter, addressed to his sister, contains the following: "I cannot leave my darling wife and children behind. In fact, Annie often said she did not want to leave them after I went, and when I told her a few days ago I could not stand this any longer, she said she was quite ready to go. I wish our bodies to be sent to the Owens College for dissection, &c., or if they were buried, let the funeral be conducted in the quietest way possible, and at the least possible expense." A post-mortem examination of the body of Samuel Hill Derby, who, with his wife and six children, was found dead in his house in Garfield-street, Salford, was made on Saturday afternoon by Dr. Wilson, of Pendleton. The body was well nourished and there were no marks of violence. The result of the examination was that death had been caused by prussic acid. An external examination was next made of the other seven bodies, and the doctor decided that as death was evidently produced in their cases also by prussic acid, it was not necessary to proceed with a post-mortem examination, excepting in the case of one of the younger children. This was made, and the previous decision as to the cause of death was confirmed. Large numbers of people visited the street in which the house of the deceased is situated. The doors were guarded by policeconstables who allowed nobody to enter. The deceased man and his wife were on very affectionate terms, and the children were evidently well cared for. In the letters which Derby wrote to several friends he bade them all farewell, adding that he contemplated suicide," taking his family with him." He attributes this decision to the conduct of his relatives in connection with the property left by his uncle in Ireland. In the letter to his sister, Mrs. Rooth, of Eccles, he wrote: "My dear Sister,—l hope you will not think too much of what must be heard more or less about me shortly. I have made a will by which you take nearly all I have. You have always been very kind and affectionate with me, and I wish you every eai thly blessing.—Your affectionate brother,