Harriet Tarver – for poisoning her husband.

21 year old Harriet Tarver was convicted of poisoning her husband, 24 year old Thomas with arsenic at their home in Chipping Camden in Gloucestershire on Friday the 11th of December 1835. No clear motive for the murder has been adduced.

Thomas had cold rice pudding for breakfast on that Friday morning and then went to work as usual as an ostler at the Noel Arms in Chipping Camden. His co-worker, George Cooper, noticed that Thomas became sick soon after arriving. He was sweating profusely and complaining of severe stomach pains. Thomas said to him “How queer I am taken this few minutes.” Cooper held a candle to his face and noted him sweating and putting his hand to his stomach in obvious distress.

William Holland who lived near the Tarver’s had seen Thomas on the preceding Wednesday and had made some pills for himself. Thomas took two of these which had been compounded from scorched laurel leaf, sweet nitre and flour. The next day the Tarver’s took tea with the Holland’s and William noted that Thomas seemed to be in good health. On the Friday Thomas called at Holland’s house asking for warm water, saying “If he did not alter he would soon die.” Harriet made some tea for Thomas. Mr. Holland went to a Mr. Griffith and purchased some salts. Thomas took some of and immediately threw up. Local surgeon, Mr. John Franklin Irons, attended Thomas who by now was very weak. He died around 2 p.m. on that day. On the Sunday Mr. Irons went to the Tarver’s house looking for Harriet. He walked a short while with her, telling her “It is a very serious job and people seem as if they would get me in trouble through it.” She replied “I hope to God they will find nothing in him and then nobody will get into trouble.”
Thomas Tarver was buried at St James’s Church on the 16th of December 1835.

John Nicholls was an apprentice in the grocery shop owned by Mr. Cherry and testified that he had sold Harriet a penny’s worth of arsenic a week or so before Thomas died. This was corroborated by Letitia Butler who also worked in the shop and knew Harriet. Sarah Smith had a small shop for which she made rice puddings and sold one to Harriet on the 9th or 10th of December.

Elizabeth Tarver, Thomas’s sister told the court that her brother and Harriet had been married for about two years and had a one year old daughter. She had visited them on the Saturday but Thomas had already died. Harriet told her “She hoped he would not be opened and nothing would be found in him.”

Harriet was tried at the Gloucestershire Lent Assizes on the 7th of April 1836, before Mr. Justice Williams. The court heard from Mr. Irons who had Thomas’ stomach analysed by Dr. Thompson of Stratford and this confirmed the presence of arsenic. The other witnesses gave the evidence outlined above and Harriet was found guilty after the jury had deliberated for an hour. Harriet’s defence was a simple denial telling the court “I am perfectly innocent, my Lord.”

In the condemned cell she was very penitent and attentive to the chaplain. She was to be hanged in front of the County Goal at Gloucester by William Calcraft before a large crowd at 11.30 a.m. on Saturday the 9th of April having made a full confession. In fact, it was 11.55 a.m. before she ascended the scaffold and she appeared to be faint and moving her lips in silent prayer. Just before noon she was launched into eternity, but due to the noose being incorrectly adjusted, she struggled hard for several minutes.

Harriet became one of the last three murderers executed within 48 or 72 hours of her sentence. The other two were Sophia Edney on the 14th of April 1836 and John Deadman on 15th of April, although parts of The Murder Act of 1751 had been repealed in 1832, particularly the requirement for dissection of the criminal after execution. From July 1836 two to three weeks typically elapsed between sentence and execution. Thomas Oliver was the next execution and he was sentenced on the 28th of July 1836 and hanged on the 12th of August.

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