‘I’VE INVESTIGATED A MURDER MYSTERY IN MY FAMILY’
The headline “Suspected murder on board ship” grabbed Hazel Garas’ attention. She was doing a general search of newspaper archives for her great great grandfather William Oliver Ross, and found him mentioned in the Newcastle Courant on 21 June 1878.
The fishing smack had no washing or toilet facilities, except for a bucket
“William was the mate of a fishing boat called Milo ,” Hazel explains. “The article revealed a gruesome story regarding his brother-in-law, John Perfect, who died on board ship. I was intrigued because nobody in my family had mentioned the possibility of a murder.”
Hazel, who is a retired teacher from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, began tracing her genealogy 20 years ago, and shared her photos in our ‘Family Album’ section in September 2020. “Seafaring runs in our blood. My father was a fisherman and served in the Merchant Navy.
“William Ross was born in Perth, Scotland, in 1850, and
