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  • Mary Ann Cotton

    Durham Records Online have copies of the book re this lady who murdered several husbands and children in Country Durham between 1860 and 1872.

    It was because of her the fine for none registration of births and the introduction that no burial could take place without a Dr signing a death certificate came into force.

    I've just ordered the book as I think it will make facinating reading.
    Daphne

    Looking for Northey, Goodfellow, Jobes, Heal, Lilburn, Curry, Gay, Carpenter, Johns, Harris, Vigus from Cornwall, Somerset, Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland, USA, Australia.

  • #2
    Sounds good Daphne!
    Please let us know later if you would recommend it.
    Gillian
    User page: http://www.familytreeforum.com/wiki/...ustGillian-117

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    • #3
      There are some quite long trial details in The Times (if you can access it!). I read it as Cotton is one of OH's main lines.......but not from Co Durham!

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      • #4
        Of course, Mary Ann Cotton's crimes were eventually discovered. I am sure there are a lot of murdered spouses and children whose deaths weren't investigated.

        I think its because of Harold Shipman that they tightened up the regulations about cremation authorisation too. He is supposed to have murdered maybe as many as 300+ people - quite appalling that he got away with it for so long!
        ~ with love from Little Nell~
        Chowns, Dunt, Emms, Mealing, Purvey & Smoothy

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        • #5
          It's thought that Mary Ann Cotton had murdered at least 21 people by poisoning to claim insurance money, most her own relatives, she married and changed her name several times. She was hung at Durham in March 1873.
          Daphne

          Looking for Northey, Goodfellow, Jobes, Heal, Lilburn, Curry, Gay, Carpenter, Johns, Harris, Vigus from Cornwall, Somerset, Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland, USA, Australia.

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          • #6
            I presume most of that was discovered after the trial and her death?

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            • #7
              Mary Ann was very unlucky - she had 3 husbands and at least 11 of her own children plus stepchildren and other children in her care who died of various gastric upsets. But she moved about a lot, so although there was a lot of gossip and speculation, it was always in different places and a clear picture wasn't built up.
              One of her husbands had a lucky escape as she just decided to commit bigamy instead of murder.
              ~ with love from Little Nell~
              Chowns, Dunt, Emms, Mealing, Purvey & Smoothy

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              • #8
                Suspicions were raised when she tried to put one of the children into the workhouse and was told the child would only be admitted if she accompanied him. She then said that it didn't matter as the child "would go the way of the rest of the Cottons" and the official she said this too was appalled when he found that this healthy lad was dead just 5 days after this remark was made.
                ~ with love from Little Nell~
                Chowns, Dunt, Emms, Mealing, Purvey & Smoothy

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                • #9
                  Then Mary Ann rushed off to claim the insurance. There was an inquest which didn't prove any foul play, but the local newspaper account alluded to local gossip and this meant her current fiance broke off their engagement (did he have a narrow escape!) and a doctor found arsenic samples in the dead child's stomach.
                  ~ with love from Little Nell~
                  Chowns, Dunt, Emms, Mealing, Purvey & Smoothy

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                  • #10
                    There were many such crimes - a whole book full of Victorian women poisoners.

                    Geordiegirl is right - it was this which made doctor's death certs compulsory.Or rather, it was pressure from the Insurance companies who were being hit in the pocket by this insurance scam. Also the development of a forensic test for arsenic made it much easier to prove a crime had been committed.

                    Of course, the book makes the point that only the stupid/greedy ones got caught. We cannot know how many others got clean away with it.

                    A distant twiglet on my tree has the dubious distinction of being the last woman to be hanged at Lancaster Gaol in the 1830s. Mary Holden poisoned her husband by putting arsenic into the teapot.

                    Her defence was that she merely put the arsenic in the pot, it was HE who drank it.....she hanged less than a month after he died. No lengthy trials in those days.

                    OC

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                    • #11
                      OC

                      Yes, justice was dispensed quickly, if not always rightly! My Mealing chap killed his fiancee in October, was tried in December and the trial, in which as well as going over the details of the case, called 3 expert witnesses in his defence of insanity, was all over in less than 3 hours!

                      Of course there wasn't the painstaking scenes of crimes work, DNA sampling, etc that goes on now. Bish, bash, bosh, you're banged up!
                      ~ with love from Little Nell~
                      Chowns, Dunt, Emms, Mealing, Purvey & Smoothy

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                      • #12
                        Nell

                        I did feel that they should have at least asked her WHY she did it! No explanation appears to have been either sought or offered.

                        OC

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                        • #13
                          So what happened to your chap Nell. Did they find him insane, and if so what did they do to him?
                          Pam

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                          • #14
                            Pam

                            I wrote an article about it for the FTF magazine in Feb (or was it Jan) their crime special.

                            He was sent to Bethlehem Hospital (Bedlam) and then transferredin 1864 to the newly purpose built Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, where he remained until his death in 1908. I hope to find out more about his life in Broadmoor.
                            ~ with love from Little Nell~
                            Chowns, Dunt, Emms, Mealing, Purvey & Smoothy

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                            • #15
                              I had to respond to this thread as when we take my little un oop north to see his dad we stay in a b&b next door to where Mary Ann Cotton lived and killed!

                              I find this facinating as I love true crime esp if it involves the hanging of the criminal by any of the Pierrepoint family!

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                              • #16
                                HI i'm new on here and just posted a thread about my relative Mary Ann Cotton and wondered if anyone has her family tree that could possibly prove the line to me. My family live/lived in County Durham and only know up to my Great Grandmother Helen Hughes the medium. It's frustrating as i can't afford to join ancestory.co.uk or the genes one and when i have gone on to free search they ask me for names when really it's me who would like the names lol. If you could help or advise me in any way i would appreciate it very much. My family are the Robson's if that is any help at all but suspect there are many families with that name. Debbie

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                                • #17
                                  Originally posted by Deborah77 View Post
                                  HI i'm new on here and just posted a thread about my relative Mary Ann Cotton and wondered if anyone has her family tree that could possibly prove the line to me. My family live/lived in County Durham and only know up to my Great Grandmother Helen Hughes the medium. It's frustrating as i can't afford to join ancestory.co.uk or the genes one and when i have gone on to free search they ask me for names when really it's me who would like the names lol. If you could help or advise me in any way i would appreciate it very much. My family are the Robson's if that is any help at all but suspect there are many families with that name. Debbie
                                  I have responded on your other thread:-

                                  Here's an article about Mary Ann Cotton nee Robson in the Mail Online http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/ar...ng-mother.html

                                  There's also a tree on ancestry http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/787...son/-370361144 -oops! that link isn't working - I'll find another an post it again.

                                  You could look at the tree to see if any names link with yours.

                                  Margaret
                                  Last edited by margaretmarch; 29-05-14, 08:51.

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                                  • #18
                                    Try this link http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/121...src=&ml_rpos=2 - your local library will most likely have access to ancestry so you could look at it there. Select list of names in the search box and see if any match your names.

                                    Margaret

                                    PS the link to Mail Online doesn't work either - here's a better one http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/ar...ary-Ann-Cotton
                                    Last edited by margaretmarch; 29-05-14, 08:56.

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                                    • #19
                                      Durham Lady - it is an excellent publication

                                      I have responded on another thread about Mary Ann Cotton and I must stress that the majority of the above information was found in the document "Mary Ann Cotton, Dead, But Not Forgotten. A Documentary History of the life of Great Britain's alleged Most Prolific Murderess. A Supplement to the Appleton Masterpiece. By Tony Whitehead. ISBN 0-9539614-0-0

                                      Tony did an amazing amount of work on Mary Ann. An excellent web site for researching County Durham ancestors is Durham Records Online (nothing to do with Durham County Council). Can be a bit pricey but invaluable.
                                      Last edited by Linda from Murton; 29-05-14, 12:59.
                                      Linda - Happy Hunting

                                      A tidy house is the sign of a broken computer

                                      Researching: Brown, Bell, Key and Musgrave from Cumberland. Dodds, Green, Campbell, Hall, Armstrong, Davison from Co. Durham. Raymond from Devon/Cornwall.

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