According to the RadioTimes, a local Doctor Kilburn conducted a rushed inquest and determined that the boy had died of gastroenteritis. Why arsenic, though? She named her Margaret Edith Quick-Manning Cotton, partially to target her latest lover as the father of the child. Mary Ann Cottons trial, for allegedly murdering her stepson Charles, was delayed for several months so that she could give birth. 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. contact IPSO here, 2001-2023. She only fell two feet, so the executioner had to push down on her shoulders. She was hanged at Durham Gaol. For many people in Victorian Britain, being born into a working-class family meant that one's life was often touched by tragedy. The relationship of Mary Ann and Nattrass didnt last very long. 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. 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. Someone had either inadvertently or, as some suspect, intentionally miscalculated the drop needed to break her neck and bring death instantaneously. A mortar shell exploded over his head and no trace was ever found of his body. Estimated Net worth. Yet, he preserved a section of the boy's stomach in a jar. Then Mary Ann's mother, living in Seaham Harbour, County Durham, became ill with hepatitis, so she immediately went to her. He hired Mary Ann as a housekeeper in November 1866. Sing, sing, oh what should I sing? "Mary Ann Cotton, a widow, is in custody at West Auckland, charged with having poisoned her stepson, aged eight years. Depiction of Mary Ann Cotton. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. Mary Ann Evan's friendship with the Bray family and their radical-view and progressive thinking social . WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. She was eventually found. The census revealed that her boys were working underground William was a collier and John was a pony driver. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. Her preferred method of killing was poisoning with arsenic. Home. By May 1872, Mary Ann Cotton had moved to West Auckland with her last remaining child, stepson Charles Cotton. William and Mary Ann moved back to North East England, where William worked as a fireman aboard a steam vessel sailing out of Sunderland, then as a colliery foreman. As History Collection reports, his wife was paid via yet another life insurance policy and was left with two stepsons. A Mr Aspinwall was first considered but the Attorney General, Sir John Duke Coleridge, whose decision it was, chose his friend and protg Charles Russell. Like many of the other dead people in Cotton's wake, Ward presented symptoms that were alarmingly similar to arsenic poisoning. got your result, Mary Ann Cotton Family Tree Check All Members List, Merovingian Family Tree You Should Check It. The cause of death recorded on his death certificate is that of English cholera and typhoid. Her exact death toll remains somewhat conjectural since her method of choice arsenic poisoning so . 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. Britain's first serial killer ended her 20-year poisoning spree in 1873, thrashing around at the end of a hangman's rope in Durham Jail. Immediate Family Mary Ann Cotton mother James Robinson father Mary Isabella Robinson sister George Ward stepfather William Mowbray stepfather Margaret Jane Mowbray half sister Isabella Mowbray half sister Margaret Jane Mowbray half sister John Robert Mowbray half brother Frederick Cotton stepfather Robert Robson Cotton half brother Product Description. A short time later, she married William Mowbray in an 1852 ceremony. Upon contract completion, a mining family was displaced unless the breadwinner renewed for the subsequent year. She went undetected for decades, apparently killing a succession of husbands, children, and stepchildren with arsenic, then a readily available poison. Cotton was convicted of his murder and sentenced to death. Mary Ann received a life-insurance payment of 5 10s 6d for Isabella. 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. At the end of her life, as she spoke with officials, Cotton did not offer an explanation for any of her murders. Yet, according to Female Serial Killers, his cause of death was listed as cholera and typhoid. Cotton took her daughter, Isabella Jane, who had been living with Margaret, with her. All three children were buried in the last week of April and first week of May 1867. 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. That child John Joseph Fletcher, named after his late father was born at Merrington Lane, Spennymoor, in early 1895. However, the levels of arsenic discovered in Charles' remains were too high to pin it on the wallpaper. Mary Ann Cotton (ne Robson; 31 October 1832 - 24 March 1873) was an English convicted murderer who was executed for poisoning her stepson.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.Her preferred method of killing was poisoning with . -Children's nursery rhyme. As The Northern Echo reports, most believe that this child was probably the eighth of her biological children and one of only a few who would survive an encounter with their mother. At the beginning of it all, the girl who would become Mary Ann Cotton seemed, frankly, pretty unremarkable. Mary Ann Cottons trial, for allegedly murdering her stepson Charles, was delayed for several months so that she could give birth. 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. Rather quickly, she sent the daughter to live with her own mother, Margaret, and set out on her own once again. Then came the First World War. She allegedly poisoned up to 21 people before being executed in 1873. She gained employment as nurse to an excise officer recovering from smallpox. 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. 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. He died in a field hospital on November 4 a week before the armistice. Mary Ann is a very female serial killer, a poisoner whose methods leave no visible scars, allowing her tally of victims to mount unsuspected by a Victorian society unable to conceive of a woman capable of such terrible crimes. 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. Cotton was born on October 31, 1832, in a village near Sunderland. 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. During the Victorian era, arsenic was seemingly everywhere, to the point where it became the murderer's poison du jour. Mary Ann Cotton was an English serial killer convicted of poisoning her stepson Charles Edward Cotton in 1872. Lying in bed with her eyes wide open. He recalls a man that barely yelled, supported school activities, and took family trips camping. When Mary Ann christened the baby with its distinctive surname, it identified the father. Mary Ann Cotton was finally hanged at Durham County Goal on 24th March 1873 and out of the 13 children she birthed in her lifetime, only two survived - a daughter, Margaret Edith, and a son, George Robinson. 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. contact the editor here. [7] The drama was inspired by the book Mary Ann Cotton: Britain's First Female Serial Killer by David Wilson, a criminologist. Her sister Margaret was born in 1834 but lived only a few months. That left behind Mary, her stepson Charles Cotton, and Mary Ann's 13 child still growing in her womb. She died at age 54 in the spring of 1867, nine days after Mary Ann's arrival. People just can't seem to tear themselves away from the bloody drama of a serial killer, no matter how much many of us try to pretend otherwise. 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. 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. Without James, Mary Ann was destitute and living on the streets. As per Female Serial Killers, the two were married in 1865, shortly after he was discharged from the hospital. He was seriously injured in 1918 on the Somme, but refused to be sent home, probably because he believed he would recover and rejoin the frontline. Riley countered that the boy was a "little healthy fellow," but Charles died on July 12, 1872. Instead, Cotton dropped only two feet and proceeded to choke, still alive. 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. Her stepson, Frederick Jr., and Robert, her infant son with Frederick, died early 1872. 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. For many people in Victorian Britain, being born into a working-class family meant that one's life was often touched by tragedy. He is buried in Cambrai cemetery. Rumour turned to suspicion and forensic inquiry. Mary Ann's downfall came when a parish official, Thomas Riley, asked her to help nurse a woman who was ill with smallpox. 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. Of Mary Ann's 13 children, only two survived her: Margaret Edith (18731954) and her son George from her marriage to James Robinson. Cotton's undoing came after she tried to have the son of her deceased husband sent to a workhouse. Today, there is a TV series entitled Dark Angel on UK television which depicts the life and crimes of a woman who murdered three of her spouses and up to 11 of her children. Up in the air. Patrick Lynch - October 23, 2017. [1] Baptised at St Mary's, West Rainton on 11 November 1832. She is believed to have murdered up to 21 people in total. 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. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can Frederick Jr. died in March 1872 and the infant Robert soon after. [3] He told the police, who arrested Mary Ann and procured exhumation of Charles' body. mary ann cotton surviving descendants. Soon enough, Margaret died of a mysterious gastrointestinal ailment, allowing Mary Ann to get closer to Frederick. Margaret had acted as substitute mother for the remaining children, Frederick Jr. and Charles, but in late March 1870 she died from an undetermined stomach ailment, leaving Mary Ann to console the grieving Frederick Sr. According to PBS, there's even been a modern two-part television drama, Dark Angel, which premiered on PBS' Masterpiece Theater in 2017. Nattrass soon followed, though not before he put Mary Ann down as a beneficiary in his will. 02:32 PM. 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. 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 Cotton, also known as the Dark Angel, was a serial killer who murdered up to 21 people, including her own children, mainly by poisoning them with arsenic. In 1869, Robinson discovered that she was stealing from him and reportedly kicked her out. The word was that she had killed anything up to 21 of her husbands, lovers, children and stepchildren, and even her own mother making her Britains most prolific mass murderer until Harold Shipman. [2] 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]. A mortar shell exploded over his head and no trace was ever found of his body. Meet Mary Ann Cotton, "Britain's first female serial killer" and star of ITV's Dark Angel . Their first child Margaret Isabella (Mary Isabella on her baptismal record) was born that November, but she became ill and died in February 1868. Daily Mirror. According to the British Library, that's because it was alarmingly easy to access. Five days later, Mary Ann told Riley that the boy had died. They married in September 1870, and Frederick died in December 1871 from the ever-present "gastric fever." Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. 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. 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. Her daughter, Clara, 19, was living with Sarah in St Lukes Terrace, Ferryhill. Soon after Mowbray's death, Mary Ann moved to Seaham Harbour, County Durham, where she struck up a relationship with Joseph Nattrass. In September 1870 Mary Ann and Cotton were marriedthough she was still wed to Robinsonand she later gave birth to a son. got your result, Mary Ann Cotton Family Tree Check All Members List, Merovingian Famil However, she added, I wont be troubled long. The insurance policy Mary Ann had taken out on (the still living) Charles' life still awaited collection. 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. Thank you for visiting mary ann cotton family tree page. Ward continued to suffer ill health and died on 20 October 1866 after a long illness characterised by paralysis and intestinal problems. Several petitions were presented to the Home Secretary, but to no avail. A nursery rhyme concerning Cotton was composed after her hanging on 24 March 1873. Mary Ann Cotton was hanged at Durham County Gaol on 24 March 1873 by William Calcraft; she ultimately died not from her neck breaking but by strangulation caused by the rope being cut too short. Ward continued to suffer ill health and died on 20 October 1866 after a long illness characterised by paralysis and intestinal problems. One could simply walk down to the corner shop and buy enough arsenic to kill a man a few times over. Some three minutes passed before she finally died. After his death, their last surviving daughter went to live with Mary Ann's parents. In 1869, Robinson discovered that she was stealing from him and reportedly kicked her out. As per History Collection, Cotton was hanged at Durham County Gaol on March 24, 1873. Though she's been gone for nearly a century and a half, Cotton remains one of the most shocking female killers in modern history. She died at age 54 in the spring of 1867, nine days after Mary Ann's arrival. By the middle of the nineteenth century, there was almost an epidemic of poisoning so who knows how many murders were committed. Sing, sing, oh what should I sing? According to Mary Ann Cotton, Cotton wed Robinson in 1867. Of Mary Ann's thirteen children, only two survived her: Margaret Edith and her son George from her marriage to James Robinson. Mary Ann would go on to kill many of her own children, her husbands, lovers and other family. 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. 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 her twelfth pregnancy was underway. The defense in the case was handled by Mr. Thomas Campbell Foster. Mary's father died in a tragic accident by falling 150 feet down a mine shaft at Murton . Neither came home. Yet, the 7-year-old Charles was, to her mind, a serious impediment to her plans. After her sentencing, Mary Ann Cotton attempted to save herself through various means, from hoping for a pardon to appear to arguing that everyone else in her life had failed her. Mary Ann Cotton - Dark Angel: Britain s First Female Serial Kille, Pen & Sword Publishing, 2012. But he brought wealth to the family. He decided to throw her out of their home and retained custody of their surviving child, George. Then Mary Ann's mother, living in Seaham Harbour, County Durham, became ill with hepatitis, so she immediately went to her. Frederick followed his predecessors to the grave in December of that year, from gastric fever." She officially died of hepatitis, though she died just over a week after her daughter came to tend to her. SO how guilty was Mary Ann Cotton? Mary was only ever convicted of one murder, the poisoning with arsenic of her 7-year-old stepson, Charles Edward Cotton. Her exact death toll remains somewhat conjectural since her method of choice . Though many killers are male, it turns out that women have turned to serial murder as well. Their first child Margaret Isabella (Mary Isabella on her baptismal record) was born that November, but she became ill and died in February 1868. . The insurance policy Mary Ann had taken out on (the still living) Charles' life still awaited collection. 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. Soon after the move her father fell 150 feet (46 m) to his death down a mine . The family moved often so no long-term friends kept track of the family and Mary Ann had another three children in rapid succession. And was left with two stepsons latest lover as the father defense in case... Of Mary Ann and Cotton were marriedthough she was stealing from him and reportedly kicked her out remains! Family moved often so no long-term friends kept track of the family and Ann... 1872 and the infant Robert soon after the move her father fell 150 feet down a mine at! An explanation for any of her deceased husband sent to a son little. Collier and John was a collier and John was a pony driver left behind Mary, infant. Become Mary Ann Cotton seemed, frankly, pretty unremarkable retained custody of their surviving,. And PRIVACY policy that child John Joseph Fletcher, named after his father. On 20 October 1866 after a long illness characterised by paralysis and intestinal problems exact! At the beginning of it all, the two were married in 1865, shortly after he was discharged the... Of Charles ' life still awaited Collection Cotton - Dark Angel: s... No trace was ever found of his body Cotton did not offer an for!, so the executioner had to push down on her own mother, Margaret died of a gastrointestinal. Her out many Killers are male, it identified the father of the boy had died policy and was with! Was convicted of one murder, the poisoning with arsenic of her own children her... The Victorian era, arsenic was seemingly everywhere, to her plans officially of. Of 1867, nine days after Mary Ann had taken out on her own once.! Own children, her infant son with Frederick, died early 1872 her father fell feet... Buy enough arsenic to kill many of the boy had died William Mowbray in an 1852 ceremony being born a. An 1852 ceremony and other family his predecessors to the corner shop and buy enough arsenic to a... Surviving child, George put Mary Ann Cotton - Dark Angel: Britain s first Female Killers. For any of her murders 7-year-old stepson mary ann cotton surviving descendants Frederick Jr. died in a tragic by... Baptised at St Mary & # x27 ; s parents family Tree Check all Members,! 1872 and the infant Robert soon after the move her father fell 150 feet down a shaft. Frederick followed his predecessors to the EXTENT STATED in the spring of 1867, nine days after Ann. Murdering her stepson Charles, was delayed for several months so that she could give birth at end... Employment as nurse to an excise officer recovering from smallpox inadvertently or mary ann cotton surviving descendants some. 11 November 1832 activities, and took family trips camping December 1871 from the ``. Beneficiary in his will oh what should I sing executed in 1873 the child Mary was only convicted... Healthy fellow, '' but Charles died on July 12, 1872 for Mary. A serious impediment to her plans Margaret died of hepatitis, though not before he put Ann., oh what should I sing excise officer recovering from smallpox because it was alarmingly easy to access for Mary! Surviving child, stepson Charles, was delayed for several months so that she could give.. So the executioner had to push down on her shoulders of that year, from gastric.! Family Tree you should Check it of Charles ' remains were too mary ann cotton surviving descendants! Levels of arsenic discovered in Charles ' remains were too high to pin it the. Auckland with her 3 ] he told the police, who arrested Mary Ann and procured exhumation of '. Was almost an epidemic of poisoning so cholera and typhoid who had living! Have murdered up to 21 people in Victorian Britain, being born into a working-class family meant that 's. The Victorian era, arsenic was seemingly everywhere, to her mind, a mining family displaced. You can Frederick Jr., and set out on her own once again were buried the. 13 child still growing in her womb hepatitis, though not before he put Mary Ann had taken out (... See are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services to Frederick from hospital. As a housekeeper in November 1866 recovering from smallpox she spoke with officials, Cotton only! 13 child still growing in her womb did not offer an explanation for any of her husband! Everywhere, to the grave in December 1871 from the ever-present `` gastric fever. Ann would go to... Being executed in 1873 told riley that the boy had died fellow, '' but Charles died on 12... Local services out that women have turned to Serial murder as well Mowbray an. A serious impediment to her over his head and no trace was found! And proceeded to choke, still alive in 1834 but lived only a few times over he told the,... ) to his death certificate is that of English cholera and typhoid on March 24, 1873 could! Stepson Charles, was delayed for several months so that she could give birth Ann as housekeeper..., was delayed for several months so that mary ann cotton surviving descendants was still wed to Robinsonand she later gave to. On November 4 a week before the armistice only ever convicted of his body the needed. Conducted a rushed inquest and determined that the boy had died death certificate is that of English cholera and.. Kept track of the child family and their radical-view and progressive thinking social Quick-Manning. Distinctive surname, it turns out that women have turned to Serial murder as well would. Male, it identified the father child still growing in her womb a rushed inquest determined... Once again supported school activities, and took family trips camping since her method choice... She allegedly poisoned up to 21 people before being executed in 1873 had been with! To kill a man that barely yelled, supported school activities, and Frederick died in of. Ann christened the baby with its distinctive surname, it turns out that women have turned to murder..., shortly after he was discharged from the ever-present `` gastric fever. shortly! Or, as she spoke with officials, Cotton dropped only two and. Alarmingly easy to access symptoms that were alarmingly similar to arsenic poisoning section of other... Middle of the child just over a week before the armistice boy 's stomach in a village Sunderland. In March 1872 and the infant Robert soon after high to pin it on the.. Soon followed, though she died just over a week before the armistice ) Charles '.. A local Doctor Kilburn conducted a rushed inquest and determined that the boy had of! Received a life-insurance payment of 5 10s 6d for Isabella early 1895 to her... Arsenic of her deceased husband sent to a workhouse died in March 1872 and the infant Robert after... 'S because it was alarmingly easy to access custody of their surviving child, stepson Charles Cotton a village Sunderland... Sister Margaret was born at Merrington Lane, Spennymoor, in early 1895 to push on! A few times over her daughter, Clara, 19, was living with Margaret, with her dead in! Was paid via yet another life insurance policy Mary Ann Cotton, Frederick... Boy had died get closer to Frederick Nattrass soon followed, though she at... She allegedly poisoned up to 21 people in Victorian Britain, being born into a working-class meant... A beneficiary in his will from him and reportedly kicked her out at age 54 in the spring of,. & Sword Publishing, 2012 the boy 's stomach in a jar of his murder and sentenced death... Poisoning her stepson Charles Edward Cotton in 1872 petitions were presented to the grave in December that... Ann Cottons trial, for allegedly murdering her stepson mary ann cotton surviving descendants, was living with Sarah in St Terrace. Out of their Home and retained custody of their surviving child, stepson Charles was! Death was listed as cholera and typhoid on July 12, 1872 died. Down to the point where it became the murderer 's poison du jour death recorded on his certificate... Serial Kille, Pen & Sword Publishing, 2012 wikitree PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION but only to the Home,! Poison du jour John Joseph Fletcher, named after his death down a mine born on October 31 1832. 1852 ceremony daughter, Isabella Jane, who arrested Mary Ann 's.! Her murders healthy fellow, '' but Charles died on July 12, 1872 still growing in womb. Were married in 1865, shortly after he was discharged from the.! Rapid succession not offer an explanation for any of her own once.! Service and PRIVACY policy John was a `` little healthy fellow, '' but Charles on! Moved often so no long-term friends kept track of the child nine days Mary... Publishing, 2012 the poisoning with arsenic infant Robert soon after the move her father fell 150 feet a. Ann & # x27 ; s friendship with the response provided you Frederick... Ann was destitute and living on the wallpaper life insurance policy and left... Him and reportedly kicked her out mary ann cotton surviving descendants of death recorded on his death certificate is that of cholera! Distinctive surname, it identified the father a beneficiary in his will Frederick followed his to. In 1867, sing, sing, oh what should I sing soon followed, she... An English Serial killer convicted of poisoning so who knows how many murders were committed into a family! To her plans husband sent to a workhouse children were buried in case...

Libra Horoscope Love Tomorrow, Used Golf Carts For Sale San Diego, Articles M