Betty Eccles was suspected of multiple murders and was hanged in 1843. Only two of her children survived her, including this new arrival. William became a foreman at South Hetton Colliery and then a fireman aboard a steam vessel. Reportedly just weeks after her arrival in 1866, one of his five children succumbed to gastric fever. [7] The drama was inspired by the book Mary Ann Cotton: Britain's First Female Serial Killer by David Wilson, a criminologist. , got your result about mary ann cotton family tree please comment if we missed anything here, please let us know. 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. The attending doctor later gave evidence that Ward had been very ill, yet he had been surprised that his death was so sudden. Someone had either inadvertently or, as some suspect, intentionally miscalculated the drop needed to break her neck and bring death instantaneously. During the Victorian era, arsenic was seemingly everywhere, to the point where it became the murderer's poison du jour. Though he appears to have worked as a skilled laborer who opened new mining shafts, the Robsons were working class. As Nattrass had very few possessions, she was once again in financial difficulty. Rumour turned to suspicion and forensic inquiry. Although she began a relationship with a man named Joseph Nattrass, she moved once again, this time to Sunderland, after another one of her children died from gastric fever. According to Mary Ann Cotton, Cotton wed Robinson in 1867. Her preferred method of killing was poisoning with arsenic. MARGARET was born in Durham jail, the daughter of serial poisoner MARY ANN COTTON (nee ROBSON). Originally, it was believed she had become impregnated by a John Quick-Manning, but there are no records to suggest such a person even existed. Lying in bed with her eyes wide open. [9], Mary Ann Cotton, she's dead and she's rotten 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. William died of an intestinal disorder in January 1865. Perhaps at this point, it would be best to draw a discrete veil over the family tree, except to say that Margaret lived into old age with the stigma of being the daughter of one of Britains most notorious killers. The first focused on Charles' death and took place in August of 1872. Her father Michael, a miner, was ardently religious and a fierce disciplinarian. She told Riley that the boy was sickly and added: "I wont be troubled long. That man was recorded as "John Quick-Manning," though it's possible that he gave Mary Ann a partially false name. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. However, in 1870 Mary Ann met another widower, Frederick Cotton, who was the brother of a friend. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. Cotton asked the man to circulate a petition in yet another attempt to save her, which did happen, yet it had no real effect on her ultimate fate. SO how guilty was Mary Ann Cotton? As Mary Ann Cotton, Dark Angelreported, Mary Ann blamed lax pharmacists for her young stepson's death. Margaret died from a mysterious stomach problem which allowed Mary Ann to dig her claws into the Cotton family. That's likely why she killed her fourth husband. He is buried in Cambrai cemetery. THE baby was the daughter born to Mary Ann Cotton, of West Auckland, in Durham jail on January 7, 1873. 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. Her mother, Margaret, died after Cotton visited the woman in March 1867. Meanwhile, Mary Ann had rekindled her old romance with Joseph Nattrass, who had moved nearby. He went to the police, who arrested Mary Ann and ordered the exhumation of Charles' body. After three minutes, she died of strangulation. Many people are fascinated by serial murderers, perhaps because the extremity of their actions is so utterly incomprehensible that sheer curiosity pushes us to learn more. 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. 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. By May 1872, Mary Ann Cotton had moved to West Auckland with her last remaining child, stepson Charles Cotton. A week before her brutally botched execution on March 24, she gave the infant to be adopted by a couple she knew in West Auckland, William and Sarah Edwards. She sent her remaining child, Isabella, to live with her mother. Even her own daughters and sons, who might have had at least some biological hold on their mother in another life, weren't immune to Cotton's murderous impulses. 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." The relationship of Mary Ann and Nattrass didnt last very long. He continued to suffer ill health; he died in October 1866 after a long illness characterised by paralysis and intestinal problems. 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. 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. 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. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. 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. Investigations into her behaviour soon showed a pattern of deaths. As History Collection reports, his wife was paid via yet another life insurance policy and was left with two stepsons. 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. He, however, was engaged to another woman and she left Seaham after Nattrasss wedding. One of the more chilling legacies of Cotton's time on Earth is a children's nursery rhyme. Although her mother began to recover, she also began to complain of stomach pains. 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. Up in the air Sellin black puddens a penny a pair. 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. Her daughter, Clara, 19, was living with Sarah in St Lukes Terrace, Ferryhill. This week, I'll delve into her psychology. 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. That is until she grew overconfident and made a remarkable blunder. It was performed by a notoriously clumsy hangman, and the trap door was not positioned high enough to break her neck, forcing the executioner to press down on her shoulders. got your result, Mary Ann Cotton Family Tree Check All Members List, Merovingian Family Tree You Should Check It. They had a son named Robert in early 1871, but Mary Ann discovered that her former lover, Nattrass, lived just 30 miles away in the village of West Auckland and was no longer married. Though she's been gone for nearly a century and a half, Cotton remains one of the most shocking female killers in modern history. William and Mary Ann moved back to North East England where they had, and lost, three more children. 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 a dozen children, all of whom had died of stomach fevers. A more complete version runs: She lies in her bed With eyes wide open. The couple was married in September 1870, but since Mary Ann had not divorced Robinson, it was a bigamous marriage. Then Nattrass became ill with gastric fever and died just after revising his will in Mary Ann's favour. The delay was caused by a problem in the selection of prosecution counsel. 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 date is March 24th, 1873. A Gannett Company. For many people in Victorian Britain, being born into a working-class family meant that one's life was often touched by tragedy. Mary Anns last remaining daughter, Isabella, also succumbed to gastric fever and Mary Ann received 5 10s 6d in insurance money. A mortar shell exploded over his head and no trace was ever found of his body. This page was last edited on 12 January 2023, at 20:32. Lying in bed with her bones all rotten. Ward was already in poor health but Mary Ann finished him off, and he died in October 1866. In 1843, Mary Ann's widowed mother, Margaret (ne Lonsdale) married George Stott, with whom Mary Ann did not get along. At the beginning of it all, the girl who would become Mary Ann Cotton seemed, frankly, pretty unremarkable. He threw her out. Mary Ann Cotton, she's dead and forgotten, Up in the air. 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. Plus, it really was everywhere, from the green dye in clothes, to wallpaper, to rat poison. Updates? Cotton collected another insurance payout and moved on. 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. 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. Soon, Mary became pregnant by him with her thirteenth child. Cotton took her daughter, Isabella Jane, who had been living with Margaret, with her. 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. They married in Monkwearmouth on 28 August 1865. 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. She was found guilty and sentenced to die. She supposedly did it using arsenic, a terrible poison that causes intense gastric pain and results in a rapid decline of health. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Ann-Cotton, Hartlepool History Team - Biography of Mary Ann Cotton. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. That year both Cottons sister and his youngest child 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. 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. This 19th century English woman is one of the earliest confirmed female serial killers in recorded memory. According to Mary Ann Cotton, Cotton wed Robinson in 1867. [8], The Mary Ann Cotton case was partly dramatized on an episode of the 2022 BBC Radio podcast series Lucy Worsley's Lady Killers. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. However, it was accepted, and Russell conducted the prosecution. After Frederick's death, Nattrass soon became Mary Anns lodger. The sheer number of children who met their deaths after coming into contact with the murderess exceeded even the juvenile mortality rate of a dangerous time before pediatricians and obstetricians were available to most people in Britain. Riley went to the village police and convinced the doctor to delay writing a death certificate until the circumstances could be investigated. Geni requires JavaScript! Editors' Code of Practice. Mary Ann would go on to kill many of her own children, her husbands, lovers and other family. Please report any comments that break our rules. As one witness quoted in Mary Ann Cotton put it, Nattrass "died in a fit" and was "in great agony." A 19th Century Children's Ryhme was born out of her famed crimes. Mary Ann received the insurance money, and she then left her daughter in the care of her mother. Richard Quick Mann was a custom and excise man specialising in breweries and has been found in the records and this may be the real name of Mary Ann Cotton's lover. 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. 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. She was entertained by many sporting events, polka music hours and cooking . Mary Cotton was born in North England during the Victorian Period. All three children were buried in the last two weeks of April 1867. Robinson married Mary Ann at St Michael's, Bishopwearmouth on 11 August 1867. The body of the stepson was examined and found to contain arsenic. The defence in the case was handled by Thomas Campbell Foster, who argued during the trial that Charles had died from inhaling arsenic used as a dye in the green wallpaper of the Cotton home. According to the British Library, that's because it was alarmingly easy to access. Daily Mirror. The following year Mary Ann went to visit her ailing mother, who died about a week after her return. She gained employment as nurse to an excise officer recovering from smallpox. He hired Mary Ann as a housekeeper in November 1866. She was convicted of just the one murder, of her young stepson, but the evidence against her was vague and circumstantial, and it is extremely doubtful that it would stand up in a modern court of law. She is the daughter of John Quick-Manning and Mary Robson . By the end of her life, it was estimated that Cotton had given birth to 13 children, eight of whom were probably murdered by her hand, along with seven stepchildren, according to Murderpedia. I could be remembering it wrong, though. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. The move must have been Mary Ann's idea . Missedinhistory.com. Though, as the Journal of Victorian Culture reports, there was some financial relief available to widows, it was often highly restricted. Then Mary Ann's mother, living in Seaham Harbour, County Durham, became ill with hepatitis, so she immediately went to her. She took him in as a lodger while also starting a relationship with a man she knew as John Quick-Manning. As with all nursery rhymes passed on primarily by word of mouth, there are variations. 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. Cotton took her daughter, Isabella Jane, who had been living with Margaret, with her. 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. Baby Margaret spent some time with her biological mother in the jail cell, before she was eventually given to her adoptive parents, William and Sarah Edwards, aged about 10 weeks old. As per Female Serial Killers, the two were married in 1865, shortly after he was discharged from the hospital. She told Riley that the boy was sickly and added: I wont be troubled long. William and John went off to fight. 29 July 2015. Mary Ann Cotton. After the death of Mowbray, Mary Ann moved once again. Once again, Mary Ann collected insurance money in respect of her husband's death. 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. Mary Ann Cotton was in Sunderland on October 31, 1832. Last week, we covered the life and crimes of Mary Ann Cotton, also known as the West Auckland Poisoner. 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. Like many of the other dead people in Cotton's wake, Ward presented symptoms that were alarmingly similar to arsenic poisoning. This left their widowed mother in a difficult situation. There appears to be no trace of John Quick-Manning in the records of The West Auckland Brewery or The National Archives at Kew. First, her sister Margaret died in 1834, only a few months after being born. [citation needed] The jury retired for 90 minutes before returning a guilty verdict. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. HP10 9TY. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. Serial killer Mary Ann Cotton is a female serial killer. The doctor testified that there was no other powder on the same shelf in the chemist's shop as the arsenic, only liquid; the chemist himself claimed that there were other powders. He was also a widower who had lost two of his four children and lived in Northumberland. 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. In 1872 Nattrass died, leaving his meagre belongings to Mary Ann. 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. Then came the First World War. 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. Contain arsenic delay was caused by a problem in the air Quick-Manning ''. Found to contain arsenic recovering from smallpox, Dark Angelreported, Mary Ann blamed lax pharmacists for her young 's... Ward presented symptoms that were alarmingly similar to arsenic poisoning told Riley that the boy sickly... 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