JEREMIAH DELMORE
Son of John Sutton and Mary Ann Delamere
Born: 1845, Newcastle, W.A. (Toodyay 635/45)
Married: Did not marry.
Issue: No issue.
Nothing is known of Jeremiah other than is revealed in the
newspaper reports of his mis-adventure in 1875. The W.A. Times of
Friday, November 19, 1875, reported:-
A son of J. Delmore, residing near Mr. Kieaths, at Katerine, has
been missing since Friday last. About 9 o'clock p.m. on that day
he left his father's house without any apparent cause and has not
since been heard of. On Monday last, on information being given
to the police, a constable and native tracker at once went out and
continued on the search until this morning without success. The
missing man is said to be of rather weak intellect. He has
occasionally absented himself from his house, but never for such a
length of time as on the present occasion.
The search for Jeremiah obviously caught the imagination of the
area because the Newcastle correspondent for the "Times" spent
most of his column of Friday, December 3rd on the resolution of
this event.
The search for the missing man, Delmore, has ended; and I am happy
to say that he has turned up again after an absence from his home
of eight or nine days. The circumstances of this case are as
follows:-
There seem to be no further records of this man. There is not even
a death registration for him. It is likely that the "J. Delmore"
recorded as being an inmate of the Mt. Eliza Depot was Jeremiah
and not his father.
Died:
On the 15th instant it was reported at the Newcastle Police
Station that a young man named Jeremiah Delmore, about twenty four
years of age, had been missing from his father's place near the
Katerine Causeway since the 12th instant. Police constable Eaton
and a native assistant left Newcastle as soon as the matter had
been reported and proceeded to Delmore's residence, where they
searched about for several miles without obtaining a clue to the
missing man. They kept up a watch of some days at a large pool at
the rear of Delmore's house, thinking, as the young man was not of
sound mind, that he had drownded himself, and that, after a time,
his body would come to the surface. They also searched in the
neighbourhood but without success. On the night of the 20th
instant, as one of the men of Mr. Smith, a farmer near Northam,
was fishing in the river about three miles from Delmore's house,
he heard some one on the opposite bank of the river, and called
out to ascertain who it was. Jeremiah Delmore answered the call,
and as the man who was fishing knew his voice, he called Delmore
to come to him; and did so; and remained with him all that night.
On the following morning, the 21st instant, Mr. Smith went down to
Delmore's house and reported to the police, who were there at the
time. The Police at once proceeded to Mr. Smith's house and there
saw Jeremiah Delmore in a very weak state, he having had nothing
to eat for 8 days, according to his own statement, but blackboy
tops and roots. Delmore was then taken to his own place and there
left. He gave as his reason for leaving his home that he thought
he heard something outside the house which frightened him, and
caused him to go away. The police made every possible exertion to
get some intelligence of this young man, and they deserve credit
for the manner in which they stuck to their work.
