Twenty year old James Stackpoole was due to receive an inheritance of £65 a year from the estate of a deceased uncle when he came of age (twenty one) in May of 1853, an amount that would have made him the wealthiest member of his family at the time. Under the terms of the will his uncle, Thomas, … Read more
Life in Crolley’s Lane Helen Blackwood was about thirty years old and lived in a third-floor room in a tenement on Crolley’s Lane in the New Vennel area of Glasgow. She shared the cramped space with her boyfriend, Hans Smith McFarlane, two prostitutes—Mary Hamilton and Ann Young (also known as Ann Marshall)—and two orphaned brothers, … Read more
With special thanks to Monty Dart for researching and writing this article. The Discovery of the Infant’s Body On the 15th of January 1852, the body of a female infant was found by Hannah Burton floating in the Mill Pond at Newport, Monmouthshire, South Wales. She called to a neighbour, Mrs. Dix, and between them … Read more
Early Life and Background Elizabeth Martha Brown(e) was an ordinary woman of humble birth who worked as a servant. It is thought that she was born in 1810 or 1811 and that her maiden name was Clark. Not much else is known about her early years. She became the last woman to be publicly hanged … Read more
20-year-old Mary Reeder and 25 year old farm labourer, Elias Lucas were publicly hanged at Cambridge on Saturday the 13th of April 1850. They had been convicted of the murder of Elias’ wife, Susan Lucas who was Mary’s sister whom they had poisoned with arsenic on the 21st of February 1850. Elias and Susan had been married for some … Read more
