Soon her twelfth pregnancy was underway. In Low Moorsley, Tyne & Wear. 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. 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. Mary Ann Cotton, ne Mary Ann Robson, also known as Mary Ann Mowbray, Mary Ann Ward, and Mary Ann Robinson, (born October 31?, 1832, Low Moorsley, Durham county, Englanddied March 24, 1873, Durham county), British nurse and housekeeper who was believed to be Britains most prolific female serial killer. She was charged with his murder, although the trial was delayed until after the delivery of her last child in Durham Gaol on 10 January 1873, whom she named Margaret Edith Quick-Manning Cotton. Mary Ann Cotton (ne Robson; 31 October 1832 24 March 1873) was an English convicted murderer who was executed for poisoning her stepson. Cotton took her daughter, Isabella Jane, who had been living with Margaret, with her. inaccuracy or intrusion, then please Memories is aware that there are quite a lot of direct descendants of Mary Ann Cotton living in our area, and weve been asked to let their sleeping dogs lie. He didnt. The only birth recorded was that of their daughter Margaret Jane, born at St Germans in 1856. According to PBS, there's even been a modern two-part television drama, Dark Angel, which premiered on PBS' Masterpiece Theater in 2017. According to Mary Ann Cotton, Cotton wed Robinson in 1867. She asked Riley if he could commit Cotton to a workhouse and when that suggestion was rebuffed, she said this to Riley: I wont be troubled long. The inquiry into Charles Cotton's death showed that Mary Ann's weapon of choice was arsenic. The move must have been Mary Ann's idea . Yet, she wasn't alone. The second, which took place in February 1873, was to center on the deaths of Nattrass, along with those of Robert and Frederick. Rather quickly, she sent the daughter to live with her own mother, Margaret, and set out on her own once again. One of the more chilling legacies of Cotton's time on Earth is a children's nursery rhyme. STREET LIFE: Watt Street, Dean Bank, Ferryhill, on an Edwardian postcard which dates from the time that Mary Ann Cottons daughter was living in the street. The delay was caused by a problem in the selection of the public prosecutor. by | Nov 27, 2020 | shib coin price prediction | 1 bedroom apartment scarborough kijiji | Nov 27, 2020 | shib coin price prediction | 1 bedroom apartment scarborough kijiji Partner of John Quick-Manning That is not to say she was entirely innocent, although it does seem very unlikely that she murdered her own mother, who died of hepatitis. He died in October 1866, baffling doctors on his way out. She was, as The Northern Echo reports, remembered after her 1954 death as "intelligent, warm and kind-hearted." Isabella lasted a few weeks until she died of "gastric fever," and she was soon followed by two more of Robinson's children, who succumbed to "continued fever" and yet another case of "gastric fever," according to death records. She sent her remaining child, Isabella, to live with her mother. She gained employment as nurse to an excise officer recovering from smallpox, John Quick-Manning. Only two of her children survived her, including this new arrival. Her mother, Margaret, died after Cotton visited the woman in March 1867. 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. As the miner's cottage they inhabited was tied to Michael's job, the widow and children would have been evicted. We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. Her death was registered by her son ROBINSON the day after she died. The census records, birth, death and marriage records also show no trace of him. The census revealed that her boys were working underground William was a collier and John was a pony driver. However, the levels of arsenic discovered in Charles' remains were too high to pin it on the wallpaper. During the Victorian era, arsenic was seemingly everywhere, to the point where it became the murderer's poison du jour. James Robinson was a shipwright at Pallion in Sunderland, whose wife Hannah had recently died. 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. Things seemed to grow worse for the family after Mowbray took out life insurance policies on himself and their three remaining children. 2008 - 2022 INTERESTING.COM, INC. Accessed 14 August 2015. 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. Mary Ann Cotton was hanged at Durham County Gaol on 24 March 1873 by William Calcraft; she died, not from her neck breaking, but by strangulation caused by the rope being rigged too short, possibly deliberately.[4]. Mary Ann Cotton - Dark Angel: Britain s First Female Serial Kille, Pen & Sword Publishing, 2012. The couple had five children, four of whom died from gastric fever. For weeks they have been 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. However, the judge allowed the prosecutor to use evidence from the deaths of Nattrass and two of the Cotton children and ultimately, the overwhelming evidence sealed Mary Anns fate. mary ann cotton surviving descendants mary ann cotton surviving descendants. 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. Lying in bed with her eyes wide open. A Mr. Aspinwall was supposed to get the job, but the Attorney General, Sir John Duke Coleridge, chose his friend and protg Charles Russell. The Times correspondent reported on 20 March: "After conviction the wretched woman exhibited strong emotion but this gave place in a few hours to her habitual cold, reserved demeanour and while she harbours a strong conviction that the royal clemency will be extended towards her, she staunchly asserts her innocence of the crime that she has been convicted of." 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. Perhaps that's why Ward fell sick again not too long after the wedding and before they could conceive a child together. (The lack of documentationsuch as birth and death certificatesleaves many details of Mary Anns life open to dispute.) Mary Ann received the insurance money, and she then left her daughter in the care of her mother. Soon she became pregnant by him with her twelfth child. Mary Ann Cotton, also known by the surnames Mowbray, Robinson and Ward, was a nurse and housekeeper suspected of poisoning as many as 21 people in 19th-century Britain. Mary was only ever convicted of one murder, the poisoning with arsenic of her 7-year-old stepson, Charles Edward Cotton. Mary Ann's daughter Isabella, from the marriage to William Mowbray, was brought back to the Robinson household and soon developed bad stomach pains and died; so did another two of Robinson's children. When Mary Ann 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 . He threw her out. 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. Mary Ann's downfall came when a parish official, Thomas Riley, asked her to help nurse a woman who was ill with smallpox. contact the editor here. Their child, Mary Isabella, was born that November, but she became ill with stomach pains and died in March 1868. As she was sentenced to hang, the second hearing fizzled out. According to the British Library, that's because it was alarmingly easy to access. 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. She was a Victorian wife and mother of 13 children who worked as a Sunday-school teacher and a nurse. Stuff You Missed in History Class, from where I took most of the information, has a great podcast on her. Plus, it really was everywhere, from the green dye in clothes, to wallpaper, to rat poison. Neither came home. Mary Ann was charged with the murder of Charles Edward Cotton, and while she was in jail, a daughter was born in January 1873; that infantwho was reportedly her 13th childand another offspring were the only ones to outlive their mother. That man was recorded as "John Quick-Manning," though it's possible that he gave Mary Ann a partially false name. Mary's mother remarried a few years later, but Mary hated her stepfather. 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. Then Mary Ann's mother, living in Seaham Harbour, County Durham, became ill so she immediately went to her. 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. 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. They married at St Peter's Church, Monkwearmouth, on 28 August 1865. Newspaper report of Cottons arrest. The scene is the hanging gallery. HSW Podcast: *Howstuffworks.com. The so-called fever mimicked the symptoms of arsenic poisoning, a fact which would later prove interesting to investigators. Have you taken a DNA test? She grew a dislike of children while working as a housemaid, and this didn't stop once she had children of her own. They were married in August 1865, but the marriage didnt last long. Many seem to act out their crimes in stealthier ways, often using poison and frequently for attention, sympathy, financial security, or some combination of the above. Where, where? However, it was accepted, and Russell conducted the prosecution. In 1872 Nattrass died, leaving his meagre belongings to Mary Ann. William and John went off to fight. After three minutes, she died of strangulation. But more than a dozen close friends and . After the death of Mowbray, Mary Ann moved once again. She told Riley that the boy was sickly and added: I wont be troubled long. The Times correspondent reported on 20 March: "After conviction the wretched woman exhibited strong emotion but this gave place in a few hours to her habitual cold, reserved demeanour and while she harbours a strong conviction that the royal clemency will be extended towards her, she staunchly asserts her innocence of the crime that she has been convicted of." 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. The trap door wasnt placed high enough to break her neck. 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. Mary Ann Robson was born on 31 October 1832 at Low Moorsley (now part of Houghton-le-Spring in the City of Sunderland) and baptised at St Mary's, West Rainton on 11 November. Their next child, George, was one of the rare few of Cotton's children who would survive her. In 2015 ITV filmed a two-part television drama, Dark Angel,[5] starring Joanne Froggatt as Cotton. A more complete version runs: She lies in her bed With eyes wide open. Regardless of her counterarguments, Mary Ann was still to die. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. He threw her out. It's not entirely clear how the two connected while Cotton was caring for Ward, but there must have been at least some semblance of a spark there. Robinson married Mary Ann at St Michael's, Bishopwearmouth on 11 August 1867. He died in 1872 from gastric fever soon after amending his will in Mary Anns favor. Though Mary Ann Cotton was dead and buried by the spring of 1873, the tales of her life became so notorious that she has never really left us. However, he died the following year, and Mary Ann reportedly collected money from another insurance policy. In Low Moorsley, Tyne & Wear. She probably would have got away with it for longer had she not been so keen to murder Charles Edward or at least not been so open about her desire to see him die. Although her mother began to recover, she also began to complain of stomach pains. He continued to suffer ill health; he died in October 1866 after a long illness characterised by paralysis and intestinal problems. Stuff You Missed in History Class (Podcast). 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. Mary Ann Cotton Shes dead and forgotten, She lies in a grave with her bones all-rotten; Sing, sing, oh, what can we sing, Mary Ann Cotton is tied up with string. At the beginning of it all, the girl who would become Mary Ann Cotton seemed, frankly, pretty unremarkable. Mary Anns first port of call after Charles' death was not the doctors but the insurance office. There, she discovered that no money would be paid out until a death certificate was issued. 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. Some three minutes passed before she finally died. There is some speculation that she may have been pregnant before their marriage and that is why it was held at the registry office. 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. IN October 1894, Margaret, by now a 21-year-old widow, sailed from Boston, Massachusetts, on RMS Cephalonia, with her two toddlers, Clara and William, back to Liverpool. ", "ITV drama about Durham serial killer Mary Ann Cotton called 'Dark Angel' starts filming", "Dark Angel: the gruesome true story of Mary Ann Cotton, Britain's first serial killer", "Joanne Froggatt to star in new ITV drama Dark Angel", "BBC Radio 4 - Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley", "All Mine Enemys Whispers The Story of Mary Ann Cotton", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mary_Ann_Cotton&oldid=1133232730, 19th-century executions by England and Wales, People convicted of murder by England and Wales, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking in-text citations from December 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2016, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Around 21, including 3 of her husbands and 12 children. This left their widowed mother in a difficult situation. The body of the stepson was examined and found to contain arsenic. Mary Ann Cotton did not confess to a single murder, and while the number of victims is unknown, most sources believed she killed up to 21 people. An English woman convicted of murdering her children. Mary Ann Cotton was charged with the murder of Charles Edward Cotton, and as she awaited trial in Durham Prison, she gave birth to her 13th and last child, Margaret Edith Quick-Manning Cotton, in January 1873. 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. As Discover Magazine reports, the great majority of female serial killer appear to murder for money. Gastric fever also claimed Williams life in 1864 and the lives of two other children soon afterward. That's likely why Cotton's mother quickly remarried, in order to keep her family away from the horrifying poverty and harsh conditions of Victorian workhouses. 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 Mary Ann Robson Cotton (1832-1873) - Find A Grave Mary Cotton was born in North England during the Victorian Period. She was only ever convicted for the murder of one, though it led to her execution by hanging in 1873. The insurance policy Mary Ann had taken out on Charles' life still awaited collection. Mary was born in October 1832 at Low Moorsley (now part of Houghton-le-Spring in the City of Sunderland) and baptised at St Mary's, West Rainton on 11 November. Riley went to the village police and convinced the doctor to delay writing a death certificate until the circumstances could be investigated. 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. Where, where? Her brother Robert was born in 1835. Mary Ann would also eventually give birth to his child. Around this time she took up with a former lover, Joseph Nattrass, but later became pregnant by another man, John Quick-Manning. Mary Ann had cashed in William's life insurance, equivalent to about 1,700 in today's money. If so, login to add it. According to The Northern Echo, Mary Ann soon took up with a manager of the West Auckland Brewery, a man by the name of John Quick-Manning. [10], Death of Charles Edward Cotton and inquest, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Mary Ann Cotton | Biography, Murders, Trial, & Execution", "Dark Angel: How were Mary Ann Cotton's terrible crimes uncovered? Of Mary Ann's 13 children, only two survived her: Margaret Edith (18731954) and her son George from her marriage to James Robinson. 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. . 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. Sing, sing, what can I sing? She was believed to have murdered up to 21 people, mainly by arsenic poisoning. One of her patients at the infirmary was engineer George Ward. Robinson married Mary Ann at St Michael's, Bishopwearmouth on 11 August 1867. Although her father fell down a THE baby was the daughter born to Mary Ann Cotton, of West Auckland, in Durham jail on January 7, 1873. As per History Collection, her younger sister Margaret died in 1834, when Cotton would have been only 8 years old. Mary is 25 degrees from Margaret Atwood, 28 degrees from Jim Carrey, 27 degrees from Elsie Knott, 26 degrees from Gordon Lightfoot, 30 degrees from Alton Parker, 27 degrees from Beatrice Tillman, 25 degrees from Jenny Trout, 27 degrees from Justin Trudeau, 28 degrees from Edwin Boyd, 24 degrees from Barbara Hanley, 33 degrees from Fanny Rosenfeld and 27 degrees from Cathryn Hondros on our single family tree. An English woman convicted of murdering her children. Mary Ann would go on to kill many of her own children, her husbands, lovers and other family. After Frederick's death, Nattrass soon became Mary Ann's lodger. She lies in bed with her eyes. Meanwhile, Mary Ann had rekindled her old romance with Joseph Nattrass, who had moved nearby. Then Nattrass became ill with gastric fever, and died just after revising his will in Mary Anns favour. Soon after, Mary Ann learnt that her former lover, Joseph Nattrass, was living in the nearby village of West Auckland, and no longer married. The defense in the case was handled by Mr. Thomas Campbell Foster. Once again, Mary Ann collected insurance money from her husband's death. Soon after Mowbray's death, Mary Ann moved to Seaham Harbour, County Durham, where she struck up a relationship with Joseph Nattrass. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to Was still legally married to James Robinson, Mary Ann & Mowbray's children: (3 rumored but unsubstantiated children), Mary Jane (-1860), Margaret Jane (-1865), John Robert (-1864), Isabella (-1867), George Ward (-1866), husband (briefly) - already ill and in the hospital when they met and married, 5 children of James Robinson & his late wife, Hannah, Margaret Lonsdale Robson Stott, mother (-1867), Child of Mary Ann & James Robinson: Margaret Isabella (-1868), 4 Children of Frederick & Unknown Cotton: 2 (before 1869) plus Frederick Jr and Charles Edward Cotton (-1872) - for whose murder she was arrested, tried and hung, Child of Mary Ann & Frederick Cotton: Robert Robson Cotton (-1870), Frederick Cotton, Sr, bigamous (she was the bigamist, not him) husband (-1871), Lady Killers, BBC Radio 4, Episode 7: Mary Ann Cotton (more info on.

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