Pearly Poll's Husband

[Debra A]

Interesting. He might have been starting to go blind when he was discharged, too. His face in that photo is fascinating, with such deep-set eyes, only open a slit. Depending on his age at that time, he might have had cataracts or another eye disease, or something happened to him during his military service.

That's true, Pat. His army discharge or pension papers don't seem to have survived which would have recorded if he had been discharged on account of going blind, along with listing all the medical conditions he'd had treated whilst in the army.
He died in Hellingby asylum in 1906 aged 51. Mary Ann Connolly had been treated in the infirmary for syphilis in the 1880's and in the 1890's was also admitted to St George in The East infirmary with a venereal disease. I don't know much about it but maybe Foggerty was also suffering from a version affecting his sight? I believe there's something called ocular syphilis but I really don't know anything about it. It could simply have been cataracts as you suggest.

[Pcdunn]

Colin, he was ex army, discharged in 1887, so probably went blind some time after that.

Interesting. He might have been starting to go blind when he was discharged, too. His face in that photo is fascinating, with such deep-set eyes, only open a slit. Depending on his age at that time, he might have had cataracts or another eye disease, or something happened to him during his military service.

[Debra A]

Thanks for that. I realise that he was blind but I wonder if he was born without eyes. He certainly appears to have none in the photograph.

Colin, he was ex army, discharged in 1887, so probably went blind some time after that.

[Bridewell]

Thanks for that. I realise that he was blind but I wonder if he was born without eyes. He certainly appears to have none in the photograph.

[MrBarnett]

I've just noticed a typo in my post. The happy couple were in fact joined in holy matrimony in 1893 (2nd December) at the Church of the English Martyrs in Great Prescott Street.

[MrBarnett]

I have always assumed that those who are active on here also keep abreast of things on Howard Brown's excellent JTRForums site. I know that many do, but for those who may not visit there as often as they do here - or at all - and may have missed the find, here's a photo of Thomas Fogarty, the 'vicious blind beggar' who married Pearly Poll in 1895.

When the 1893 Catholic Census was digitised on FindMyPast, he and Poll were discovered living together in North East Passage, St. George in the East. The priest who carried out the census bracketed the two together and commented 'not married'. The discovery slotted into the painstaking research on Poll that had been undertaken by Debra Arif, (Gareth Williams and Robert Linford also made significant contributions - I hope I haven't missed anyone) and led to the couple's marriage, subsequent history and deaths. More info about Fogarty can be found here:

http://www.jtrforums.com/showthread....hlight=Fogarty




Crown Copyright (expired 1956).

The original is held at The Keep (the E. Sussex Record Office) under reference HE 26/3 (page161).