mary ann cotton surviving descendants

In August, Mary Ann married Robinson, and the couple had two children, though only one survived. All three children had been subjects of small life insurance policies. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. The 1901 census found 28- year-old Margaret and her three children living with her adoptive mother Sarah at the Greyhound Inn, Ferryhill her adoptive father, William, had died aged 54 in 1897, and Sarah was the pub licensee. Then came the First World War. Mary Ann had cashed in William's life insurance, equivalent to about 1,700 in today's money. Once again, Mary Ann collected insurance money from her husband's death. 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. She apparently wanted to give Quick-Manning the dubious honor of becoming husband number five. Some substances, like cyanide and strychnine, were also readily available but produced obvious results. Mary's mother remarried a few years later, but Mary hated her stepfather. She was believed to have murdered up to 21 people, mainly by arsenic poisoning. 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. Frederick Jr. died in March 1872 and the infant Robert soon after. 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. Soon, he found out that she owed 60 and had also stolen 50 she was supposed to put in the bank. 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. Death surrounded her from an early age. 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. She took him in as a lodger while also starting a relationship with a man she knew as John Quick-Manning. With this baby still in nappies, Joseph disappeared. However, in 1870 Mary Ann met another widower, Frederick Cotton, who was the brother of a friend. The date is March 24th, 1873. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. 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. A nursery rhyme concerning Cotton was composed after her hanging on 24 March 1873. One of her youngest relatives who lives today in London is Carla. Baptised at St Mary's, West Rainton on 11 November 1832. Our female killer of interest was born Mary Ann In September 1870 Mary Ann and Cotton were marriedthough she was still wed to Robinsonand she later gave birth to a son. The ships manifest shows they were bound for Pennsylvania a coalmining area where Joseph presumably planned to find work. Later in 1901, Margaret married Robinson Kell, a miner at the Dean and Chapter Colliery in Ferryhill, and had his son. The census records, birth, death and marriage records also show no trace of him. Yet, she wasn't alone. Editors' Code of Practice. But when their son, William, was born a few months after their arrival, his place of birth was listed as Imperial County in California a desert through which canals were being dug to create farmland. The mother who murdered her own children was, though, a sensational story, and the media of the day led by The Northern Echos famous editor, WT Stead whipped up feelings against her. Frederick followed his predecessors to the grave in December of that year, from gastric fever." One could simply walk down to the corner shop and buy enough arsenic to kill a man a few times over. She came back home three years later, taking up work as a dressmaker. According to Psychology Today, female serial murderers often have a drive that's pretty distinct from their male counterparts. Mary (Robson) Cotton is Notable. We told the story in Memories 96, with, as ever, a few inaccuracies. Where, where? However, it was accepted, and Russell conducted the prosecution. Doctor William Byers Kilburn, who had attended Charles, had kept samples, and tests showed they contained arsenic. Then Nattrass became ill with gastric fever and died just after revising his will in Mary Ann's favour. He continued to suffer ill health; he died in October 1866 after a long illness characterised by paralysis and intestinal problems. There, she discovered that no money would be paid out until a death certificate was issued. Robinson refused to meet with his estranged wife in person, though he sent his brother-in-law. 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. In 2015 ITV filmed a two-part television drama, Dark Angel,[5] starring Joanne Froggatt as Cotton. Cotton had rather more luck at work, where she came across a patient named George Ward. 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. 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. 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. He died of an intestinal disorder in January 1865. Enter a grandparent's name. It is believed that she ki**ed three of her husbands so that she could collect their life insurance policies and may . Although his doctor acknowledged Wards poor health, he was surprised that the man died so suddenly. However, the first hearing led to Mary Ann's conviction for the death of Charles in March of that year. After it became clear that young Charles Cotton had died of arsenic poisoning, authorities gave permission for the exhumation of three more of Mary Ann Cotton's alleged victims, the RadioTimes reports. When Cotton gave birth to her and Robinson's child, her infant daughter quickly died of "convulsions." Mary Ann was desperate and living on the streets until 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. There, she discovered that no money would be paid out until a death certificate was issued. It had no taste, no odor, no color, nothing that would alert the potential poison victim to its presence in their food or drink until the substance had already begun to take effect. Lying in bed with her eyes wide open. This page was last edited on 12 January 2023, at 20:32. 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. She also began a relationship with Joseph Nattrass, History Collection reports, though the affair never resolved into marriage. However, she stayed in Durham and lived in a place called Seaham Harbour. She told Riley that the boy was sickly and added: I wont be troubled long. Cotton died in December of that year, from "gastric fever." He died in 1872 from gastric fever soon after amending his will in Mary Anns favor. Mary Ann Cotton was hanged at Durham County Gaol on 24 March 1873 by William Calcraft. Their child, Mary Isabella, was born that November, but she became ill with stomach pains and died in March 1868. 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. Daughter of Michael Robson and Margaret Lonsdale 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. Ward was already in poor health but Mary Ann finished him off, and he died in October 1866. Her preferred method of killing was poisoning with 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. She complained that the last surviving Cotton boy, Charles Edward, was in the way and asked Riley if he could be committed to the workhouse. The 1911 census lists Margaret, Robinson and her three sons living in Watt Street, Dean Bank. The place is Durham Gaol. Around this time she took up with a former lover, Joseph Nattrass, but later became pregnant by another man, John Quick-Manning. Facts concerning Mary Ann are difficult to pin down, but this was definitely her eighth child she had several miscarriages and there may have been other children. Her brother Robert was born in 1835. 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. [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? The move must have been Mary Ann's idea . He hired Mary Ann as a housekeeper in November 1866. At the end of her life, as she spoke with officials, Cotton did not offer an explanation for any of her murders. 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 Despite all the deaths, there was still no evidence against Mary Ann, and she was completely free from suspicion. Mary Ann Robson was born on 31 October 1832 at Low Moorsley,[1] County Durham to Margaret, ne Londsdale and Michael Robson, a colliery sinker; and baptised at St Mary's, West Rainton on 11 November. I must tell you: you are the cause of all my trouble." 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. Cotton had been remanded in custody since her arrest in July 1872, first in Bishop Auckland before being taken to Durham county gaol as preparations got underway to exhume bodies of her alleged. What clouds hung over the family? As with all nursery rhymes passed on primarily by word of mouth, there are variations. 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. 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. Soon enough, he and two of the children also died of "gastric fever." By the time Nattrass was dead, Mary Ann had poisoned Robert, her infant son with Cotton, and Frederick Jr., her stepson. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's After the death of Mowbray, Mary Ann moved once again. 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. 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. This 19th century English woman is one of the earliest confirmed female serial killers in recorded memory. First, her sister Margaret died in 1834, only a few months after being born. It includes lines like "Mary Ann Cotton is tied up with string./Where, where?/Up in the air.". Cotton took her daughter, Isabella Jane, who had been living with Margaret, with her. At some point William took out a life insurance policy that covered both him and their three surviving children; the others had died from gastric fever, a common ailment that had symptoms similar to arsenic poisoning. contact the editor here. The only birth recorded was that of their daughter Margaret Jane, born at St Germans in 1856. In March 1873 her three-day trial began. By now, she had become pregnant with a child by an excise officer named Richard Quick Mann. 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 Britain's most prolific female serial killer. 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. Betty Eccles was suspected of multiple murders and was hanged in 1843. A Mr. Aspinwall was supposed to get the job, but the Attorney General, Sir John Duke Coleridge, chose his friend and protg Charles Russell. Partner of John Quick-Manning The so-called fever mimicked the symptoms of arsenic poisoning, a fact which would later prove interesting to investigators. Riley countered that the boy was a "little healthy fellow," but Charles died on July 12, 1872. 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