mary ann cotton surviving descendants

In August, Mary Ann married Robinson, and the couple had two children, though only one survived. She enjoyed crafting, hosting ceramics classes for many years, creating scrapbooks of family memories, and making special cards for every occasion. A Gannett Company. "Black puddens" refers to black pudding, a type of sausage made with pig's blood. Soon after Mowbray's death, Mary Ann moved to Seaham Harbour, County Durham, where she struck up a relationship with Joseph Nattrass. (The lack of documentationsuch as birth and death certificatesleaves many details of Mary Anns life open to dispute.) Death of Charles Edward Cotton and inquest, Mary Ann's downfall came when she was asked by a parish official, Thomas Riley, to help nurse a woman who was ill with smallpox. The attending doctor later gave evidence that Ward had been very ill, yet he had been surprised that his death was so sudden. One of her patients at the infirmary was engineer George Ward. By May 1872, Mary Ann Cotton had moved to West Auckland with her last remaining child, stepson Charles Cotton. By . In 1843, Mary Ann's widowed mother, Margaret (ne Lonsdale) married George Stott, with whom Mary Ann did not get along. Mary Ann never confessed to any of the deaths, and the number of her victims is uncertain, though most sources believe she killed upwards of 21 people. William joined the Durham Light Infantry and ended up in the London Rifles. Have you taken a DNA test? Depiction of Mary Ann Cotton. For women of the working class, the sudden death of a husband could easily throw them into devastating poverty with little way out. Depiction of Mary Ann Cotton. Some substances, like cyanide and strychnine, were also readily available but produced obvious results. Today we dive into the serial killer Mary Ann Cotton. Mary Ann Cotton - Dark Angel: Britain s First Female Serial Kille, Pen & Sword Publishing, 2012. She was charged with his murder, although the trial was delayed until after the delivery in Durham Gaol on 7 January 1873 of her thirteenth and final child, whom she named Margaret Edith Quick-Manning Cotton. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. Soon enough, Margaret died of a mysterious gastrointestinal ailment, allowing Mary Ann to get closer to Frederick. She named her Margaret Edith Quick-Manning Cotton, partially to target her latest lover as the father of the child. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. Some three minutes passed before she finally died. The . As Ward was still recovering from his illness, he collected relief payments instead of working, while Cotton moved into the role of primary earner for their household. In 1869, Robinson discovered that she was stealing from him and reportedly kicked her out. Daughter of Michael Robson and Margaret Lonsdale She lies in bed with her eyes. However, the BBC points out that you're not alone. William and John went off to fight. The Cotton case would be the first of several famous poisoning cases he would be involved in during his career, including those of Adelaide Bartlett and Florence Maybrick. William died of an intestinal disorder in January 1865. Her father's body was delivered to her mother in a sack bearing the stamp 'Property of the South Hetton Coal Company'. In March 1873 her three-day trial began. She grew a dislike of children while working as a housemaid, and this didn't stop once she had children of her own. [6] The first part of the dramatisation was broadcast on 31 October 2016, the second part was broadcast on 7 November. Frederick followed his predecessors to the grave in December of that year, from gastric fever." Soon her eleventh pregnancy was underway. Plus, it really was everywhere, from the green dye in clothes, to wallpaper, to rat poison. She died at age 54 in the spring of 1867, nine days after Mary Ann's arrival. As the miner's cottage they inhabited was tied to Michael's job, the widow and children would have been evicted. The "great moral drama," as it was described, likely used the bloody true crime tropes so beloved by Victorians to impart a decidedly un-subtle lesson about how to live one's life the right way. Daily Mirror. THE baby was the daughter born to Mary Ann Cotton, of West Auckland, in Durham jail on January 7, 1873. For many people in Victorian Britain, being born into a working-class family meant that one's life was often touched by tragedy. According to Mary Ann Cotton, her father was a coal miner. Yet, she wasn't alone. Mary Ann Cotton's trial began on 5 March 1873. Mary Ann backed off but not before ominously predicting that Charles would "go like all the rest of the Cotton family." The inquiry into Charles Cotton's death showed that Mary Ann's weapon of choice was arsenic. She had meant only to buy harmless arrowroot powder for the ill boy, but a terrible mix-up had occurred, and she was given arsenic instead. He threw her out. What should have been a relatively quick end turned into a bungle. She returned to Sunderland and took up employment at the Sunderland Infirmary, House of Recovery for the Cure of Contagious Fever, Dispensary and Humane Society. Although his doctor acknowledged Wards poor health, he was surprised that the man died so suddenly. She lies in her bed, With her eyes wide open Sing, sing, oh, what can I sing, Mary Ann Cotton is tied up with string Where, where? She was hanged at Durham County Gaol on March 24, 1873, but it was a bungled execution. The defence at Mary Ann's trial claimed that Charles died from inhaling arsenic used as a dye in the green wallpaper of the Cotton home. The mother had to take care of three children, while suffering with the depression owing to her husband's death. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. Once again, Mary Ann collected insurance money in respect of her husband's death. A brief investigation into the trial and execution of Mary Ann Cotton. Mother of Margaret Jane Mowbray; Isabella Mowbray; Margaret Jane Mowbray; John Robert Mowbray; Robert Robson Cotton and 3 others; Mary Isabella Robinson; George Robinson and Margaret Edith Quick-Manning Fletcher Kell less The lives of William and of their children were insured by the British and Prudential Insurance office and Mary Ann collected a payout of 35 on William's death (equivalent to 3,560 in 2021, about half a year's wages for a manual labourer at the time) and 2 5s for John Robert William. She sent her surviving child, Isabella, to live with her mother. All three children were buried in the last week of April and first week of May 1867. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. Sister of Robert Robson, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ann_Cotton. She apparently complained to a parish official named Thomas Riley that her stepson, Charles Edward Cotton, was preventing her from marrying Quick Mann. Cotton was born on October 31, 1832, in a village near Sunderland. Lest you think that works about Cotton fizzled out after the 19th century, look to the myriad of true crime books and drama that still focus on her. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Perhaps, to Mary Ann Cotton's mind, if she tried to settle down without killing for insurance money, she would be putting herself in a situation where she lacked control and could easily find herself out on the street, as she likely did after James Robinson forced her out of their home. Mary Ann grew up in Durham county, northeastern England. Frederick Jr. died in March 1872 and the infant Robert soon after. Mary Ann was destitute and barely surviving on the streets, but she was bailed out by her friend, Margaret, who introduced the black widow to her brother, Frederick Cotton. Nonetheless, Mary Ann evaded suspicion (even though she collected more insurance money) and moved on to her next target, the recently widowed James Robinson. She told Riley that the boy was sickly and added: I wont be troubled long. James Robinson was a shipwright at Pallion, Sunderland, whose wife, Hannah, had recently died. SO how guilty was Mary Ann Cotton? She only fell two feet, so the executioner had to push down on her shoulders. Mary Ann Cotton, tied up with string. The place is Durham Gaol. They married in Monkwearmouth on 28 August 1865. In 1852 she married William Mowbray, and over the next decade or so, the couple had eight or nine children. Mary Ann was subject to two court hearings, separated by a period of time set aside for her to give birth to her final child. Mary Ann, pregnant again, was arrested and charged with Charles Cotton's death. She got away with it so long because arsenic was extremely hard to detect as symptoms were often confused with those associated with gastric ailments. The jury retired for 90 minutes before finding Mary Ann guilty. In late 1890, 17-year-old Margaret married Joseph Fletcher, a south Durham miner, and in 1892, they had a daughter, Clara, who was born at Windlestone. From above, out of sight of the gallows, members of the Press are gathered. Mary Ann Cotton, she's dead and forgotten, Soon after the move, Mary Ann's father fell 150 feet (46m) to his death down a mine shaft at Murton colliery in February 1842. Another daughter, also named Margaret Jane, was born in 1861, and a son, John Robert William, was born in 1863, but died the next year from gastric fever. With thanks to Vivienne Smith, Durham; Joyce Malcolm, Newton Aycliffe; Alistair Fraser, the Western Front Association; John Dinning and Geoff Wall, the Ferryhill Heritage Centre; Tom Hutchinson, Bishop Auckland; Vi Steventon of Newton Aycliffe; Ian Smyth Herdman of Hartlepool and everybody else who has been in touch. Her father died eight years later in a mining accident. Ward continued to suffer ill health and died on 20 October 1866 after a long illness characterised by paralysis and intestinal problems. According to PBS, there's even been a modern two-part television drama, Dark Angel, which premiered on PBS' Masterpiece Theater in 2017. At 16, Mary Ann left home to become a nurse at the nearby village of South Hetton, in the home of Edward Potter, a manager at Murton colliery. There are further versions, slightly more crude, still passed on in school playgrounds in the region, such as: She lies in her coffin with her finger up her bottom. The scene is the hanging gallery. They were married in August 1865, but the marriage didnt last long. Hell go like all the rest of the Cottons.". She rekindled the romance and persuaded her new family to move near him. Margaret was born in Durham Gaol on 10 January 1873 while her mother, Mary Ann Cotton, was awaiting trial for the murder (by arsenic) of Charles Edward Cotton. Their next child, George, was one of the rare few of Cotton's children who would survive her. It may well be that the name of the excise man was in fact Richard Quick Mann. Despite her sole conviction for murder, she is believed to have been a serial killer who killed many others including 11 of her 13 children and three of her four husbands for their insurance policies. She was hanged at Durham Gaol. On March 24, 1873, Mary Ann was hanged in a bungled execution. Then her friend Margaret Cotton introduced her to her brother, Frederick, a pitman and recent widower living in Walbottle, Northumberland, who had lost two of his four children. They included Joseph Nattrass, the lover who had added Mary Ann to his will, along with her son Robert and stepson Frederick Cotton, Jr. Nattrass' remains showed that he, too, had been poisoned. The couple was married in September 1870, but since Mary Ann had not divorced Robinson, it was a bigamous marriage. Born into a mining family in 1832, Mary Ann grew up in a time when life moved quickly and death was all around. Sing, sing, oh what should I sing? Like many of the other dead people in Cotton's wake, Ward presented symptoms that were alarmingly similar to arsenic poisoning. Cotton and Mary Ann were bigamously married on 17 September 1870 at St Andrew's, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and their son Robert was born early in 1871. She was coming home to Durham, and to her adoptive parents, pregnant with her third child. So, by the summer of 1865, Mary Ann, widow Mowbray, had buried her husband William and at least eight, if not nine, of her own children. And her killing spree started right here in. A more complete version runs: She lies in her bed With eyes wide open. He continued to suffer ill health; he died in October 1866 after a long illness characterised by paralysis and intestinal problems. Cotton had rather more luck at work, where she came across a patient named George Ward. Mary Ann Cotton had finally been caught. [1] Baptised at St Mary's, West Rainton on 11 November 1832. She came back home three years later, taking up work as a dressmaker. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. I must tell you: you are the cause of all my trouble." Rumour turned to suspicion and forensic inquiry. There appears to be no trace of John Quick-Manning in the records of The West Auckland Brewery or The National Archives at Kew. Sing, sing, what can I sing? In 1869 Robinson discovered that Mary Ann was stealing from him, and he grew suspicious of her repeated requests that he take out a life insurance policy. She was, as The Northern Echo reports, remembered after her 1954 death as "intelligent, warm and kind-hearted." Mary Ann Cotton ( ne Robson; 31 October 1832 - 24 March 1873) was an English convicted murderer who was executed for poisoning her stepson. It is quite clear that much of south Durham knew her life story, but it is also clear that she was accepted, and even admired, by that community. The following year Mary Ann went to visit her ailing mother, who died about a week after her return. Shortly after her demise, according to The Invention of Murder, Cotton's exploits were used by the Victorians in all manner or moralistic and lurid attractions. This page was last edited on 12 January 2023, at 20:32. She was believed to have murdered up to 21 people, mainly by arsenic poisoning. Then the local newspapers latched on to the story and discovered Mary Ann had moved around northern England and lost three husbands, a lover, a friend, her mother, and 11 children, all of whom had died of stomach fevers. She was entertained by many sporting events, polka music hours and cooking . By the middle of the nineteenth century, there was almost an epidemic of poisoning so who knows how many murders were committed. A 19th Century Children's Ryhme was born out of her famed crimes. She told Riley that the boy was sickly and added: "I wont be troubled long. She supposedly did it using arsenic, a terrible poison that causes intense gastric pain and results in a rapid decline of health. Mary Anns last remaining daughter, Isabella, also succumbed to gastric fever and Mary Ann received 5 10s 6d in insurance money. However, the first hearing led to Mary Ann's conviction for the death of Charles in March of that year. A verdict of "natural causes" was found but on reporting in the paper, someone totalled up Mary Ann's moves around the north of England and revealed the death toll. An examination of the body revealed arsenic in his stomach, and further exhumations on the bodies of two other Cotton children and Nattrass found traces of the poison. While some claimed that she was Britains first female serial killer, other women had previously been hanged for poisoning multiple people. She then allegedly told a local official that she could not marry Quick-Manning because of her seven-year-old stepson, Charles Edward Cotton. Though many killers are male, it turns out that women have turned to serial murder as well. Mary Ann Cotton was in Sunderland on October 31, 1832. Instead, Cotton dropped only two feet and proceeded to choke, still alive. Rumour gave rise to suspicion and scientific investigation. When she was eight, her parents moved the family to the County Durham village of Murton, where she went to a new school and found it difficult to make friends. Mary Ann belonged to Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish (St. Stanislaus Church) and was a member of the Rosary Altar Sodality. In 1871, the new fivesome moved to West Auckland: Mary Ann, Frederick Cotton, his sons Frederick Junior and Charles Edward, and the new baby, Robert Robson. Her family describe her as being immensely private, intelligent, warm and kind-hearted, and a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. - Mary Ann Cotton, a widow, is in custody at West Auckland, charged with having poisoned her stepson, aged eight years. Baby Margaret seems to have been their only child and, according to the 1881 census when they were living in Leasingthorne, she was using the Edwards surname. This 19th century English woman is one of the earliest confirmed female serial killers in recorded memory. That's likely why she killed her fourth husband. Though Britain passed the Arsenic Act of 1851 in an attempt to control the distribution of this deadly substance, it's clear that it wasn't all that difficult for Cotton to keep acquiring arsenic in her drive to kill the people around her. Though, as the Journal of Victorian Culture reports, there was some financial relief available to widows, it was often highly restricted. Mary Ann nursed the baby in her cell one visitor told The Northern Echo how he had encountered Mrs Cotton sitting on a stool close by a good fire, giving the breast to her baby until all avenues of appeal were exhausted. The last straw was when he found she had been forcing his children to pawn household valuables for her. Lying in bed with her bones all rotten. Comments have been closed on this article. Campbell Foster argued that it was possible that the chemist had mistakenly used arsenic powder instead of bismuth powder (used to treat diarrhoea), when preparing a bottle for Cotton, because he had been distracted by talking to other people. He decided to throw her out of their home and retained custody of their surviving child, George. She gained employment as nurse to an excise officer recovering from smallpox, John Quick-Manning. Leave a message for others who see this profile. As Mary Ann Cotton, Dark Angelreported, Mary Ann blamed lax pharmacists for her young stepson's death. As per History Collection, Cotton was hanged at Durham County Gaol on March 24, 1873. There is some speculation that she may have been pregnant before their marriage and that is why it was held at the registry office. Robinson, meanwhile, had become suspicious of his wife's insistence that he insure his life; he discovered that she had run up debts of 60 behind his back and had stolen more than 50 that she was supposed to have put in the bank. Last week, we covered the life and crimes of Mary Ann Cotton, also known as the West Auckland Poisoner. The Messed Up Truth About 19th Century Murderess Mary Ann Cotton. Riley went to the village police and convinced the doctor to delay writing a death certificate until the circumstances could be investigated. She apparently wanted to give Quick-Manning the dubious honor of becoming husband number five. Where, where? [8], The Mary Ann Cotton case was partly dramatized on an episode of the 2022 BBC Radio podcast series Lucy Worsley's Lady Killers. Mary Ann Robson was born on Halloween 1832 in Low Moorsley in County Durham. Product Description. According to the Journal of Social History, working class mothers were especially likely to see their own children sicken and die, even if they weren't intentionally causing the illnesses. In March 1870, Margaret died from a mysterious stomach problem which allowed Mary Ann to dig her claws into the Cotton family. Five days later, Mary Ann told Riley that the boy had died. He fled and changed his surname: some say he went abroad; others that he returned to his hometown of Darlington where, reconciled with his wife, he ran a small beerhouse. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The couple met when Robinson hired Mary Ann as his housekeeper in November 1866. She was employed in various jobs, including Sunday school. However, the levels of arsenic discovered in Charles' remains were too high to pin it on the wallpaper. Mary Ann received the insurance money, and she then left her daughter in the care of her mother. Betty Eccles was suspected of multiple murders and was hanged in 1843. Soon her twelfth pregnancy was underway. Russell's appointment over Aspinwall led to a question in the House of Commons. Missedinhistory.com. Mary Ann's first visit after Charles' death was not to the doctor but the insurance office. Mary's mother remarried a few years later, but Mary hated her stepfather. The couple would go on to have at least eight children, though, by the time they had settled into a home in Hendon, England, in 1856, some had already died of what was termed "gastric fever." Mary Ann Robson Cotton, was a serial killer convicted of murdering her mother, 11 of her 13 children, her stepson and 3 of her 4 husbands by arsenic poisoning. The body of the stepson was examined and found to contain arsenic. He went to the police, who arrested Mary Ann and ordered the exhumation of Charles' body. Where, where? She did not die on the gallows from breaking of her neck but died by strangulation because the rope was set too short, possibly deliberately. Selling black puddings, a penny a pair. Mary Ann claimed to have used arrowroot to relieve his illness and said Riley had made accusations against her because she had rejected his advances. Despite her sole conviction for murder, she is believed to have been a serial killer who killed many others including 11 of her 13 children and three of her four husbands for their insurance policies. As Nattrass had very few possessions, she was once again in financial difficulty. YouTube. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to Low Moorsley (now part of Houghton-le-Spring in the City of Sunderland), Margaret Edith Quick-Manning (Cotton) Kell, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ann_Cotton, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NXHY-K2R, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:264G-ZP5, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NFJ3-241, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NXGL-55T, Mary Elizabeth (Ward) Dawson (abt.1829-abt.1904). Popular cultural sources have called him John Quick-Manning, though there appears to be no trace of a John Quick-Manning in the records of the West Auckland Brewery or the National Archives. The delay was caused by a problem in the selection of prosecution counsel. Things seemed to grow worse for the family after Mowbray took out life insurance policies on himself and their three remaining children. Though many of the people around her hadn't caught on to Mary Ann Cotton's murderous ways by the time her second husband had died, it's now rather obvious to people who have her whole story that she was using arsenic. Several petitions were presented to the Home Secretary, but to no avail. One of her youngest relatives who lives today in London is Carla. She asked him to take the young boy to a workhouse, but Riley refused unless Mary Ann agreed to enter the workhouse too. In 1852, 20-year-old Mary Ann married colliery labourer William Mowbray at Newcastle Upon Tyne register office; they soon moved to South West England. Frederick and Mary Ann were bigamously married on 17 September 1870 at St Andrew's, Newcastle Upon Tyne and their son Robert was born early in 1871. One of her youngest relatives who lives today in London is Carla. Investigations into her behaviour soon showed a pattern of deaths. 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