Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. She officially died of hepatitis, though she died just over a week after her daughter came to tend to her. Explore genealogy for Mary (Cotton) Marshall born 1553 Abbotts Ann, Andover, Hampshire, England died 1625 London, England including ancestors + descendants + 1 photos + 2 genealogist comments + more in the free family tree community. 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." Once again, Mary Ann collected insurance money in respect of her husband's death. 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. Their next child, George, was one of the rare few of Cotton's children who would survive her. Later in 1901, Margaret married Robinson Kell, a miner at the Dean and Chapter Colliery in Ferryhill, and had his son. She worked as a dressmaker, nurse, and housekeeper and insisted on looking after sick relatives (Wilson and Frey). Soon after the move her father fell 150 feet (46 m) to his death down a mine . In September 1870 Mary Ann and Cotton were marriedthough she was still wed to Robinsonand she later gave birth to a son. The census revealed that her boys were working underground William was a collier and John was a pony driver. When she left, she started to train as a dressmaker. He died in a field hospital on November 4 a week before the armistice. When Mary Ann christened the baby with its distinctive surname, it identified the father. Ward continued to suffer ill health and died on 20 October 1866 after a long illness characterised by paralysis and intestinal problems. 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. It is unclear how she died. 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. Mary Ann Cotton ( ne Robson; 31 October 1832 - 24 March 1873) was an English convicted murderer who was executed for poisoning her stepson. Perhaps most tellingly, her children lived to tell the tale. Selling black pudding a penny a pair. Cotton's trial began on 5 March 1873. The Raveness, an English performance poet from Warwickshire, composed a spoken word piece entitled "Of Rope and Arsenic" about Cotton and featured the nursery rhyme on her album. 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. In Pop Culture This week, I'll delve into her psychology. 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. The cause of death recorded on his death certificate is that of English cholera and typhoid. contact the editor here. 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. After the boy died, the official notified the police. Facts About The Heart Bbc Bitesize, Riley went to the village police and convinced the doctor to delay writing a death certificate until the circumstances could be investigated. Victory Church Oklahoma Pastor, Few people who lived with Mary Ann Cotton were shown mercy, not least the children who were so unfortunate as to enter her orbit. 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. login . When Cotton gave birth to her and Robinson's child, her infant daughter quickly died of "convulsions." 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. Mary disliked her new step father. 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. Mary Ann would go on to kill many of her own children, her husbands, lovers and other family. Investigations into her behaviour soon showed a pattern of deaths. One could simply walk down to the corner shop and buy enough arsenic to kill a man a few times over. The ships manifest shows they were bound for Pennsylvania a coalmining area where Joseph presumably planned to find work. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. After George Ward's death and the subsequent insurance payment, Britannica reports, Mary Ann Cotton became a housekeeper for widower James Robinson in 1866. Our female killer of interest was born Mary Ann A Gannett Company. Several petitions were presented to the Home Secretary, but to no avail. His name is carved with countless thousands of others on the Menin Gate at Ypres. 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. Her father, a bound miner, was contracted for one year receiving a deplorable family dwelling and meager wages. 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 claimed to have used arrowroot to relieve his illness and said Riley had made accusations against her because she had rejected his advances. In March 1873 her three-day trial began. 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. Once again, Mary Ann collected insurance money from her husband's death. 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. 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. 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. Mary Ann's daughter Isabella Mowbray was brought back to the Robinson household and soon developed severe stomach pains and died, as did two of Robinson's children, Elizabeth and James. John joined the Green Howards, rose to be a lance corporal, and was killed, on June 11, 1917, at the Battle of Messines, near Ypres. 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. She was eventually found. The relationship of Mary Ann and Nattrass didnt last very long. [7] The drama was inspired by the book Mary Ann Cotton: Britain's First Female Serial Killer by David Wilson, a criminologist. We told the story in Memories 96, with, as ever, a few inaccuracies. It is believed that she ki**ed three of her husbands so that she could collect their life insurance policies and may . WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. She is believed to have murdered up to 21 people in total. Last week, we covered the life and crimes of Mary Ann Cotton, also known as the West Auckland Poisoner. Without James, Mary Ann was destitute and living on the streets. Then he found that Mary Ann had been forcing his older children to pawn household valuables. 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. Her death was registered by her son ROBINSON the day after she died. She was regarded as Britain's Greatest Female Mass Murderer. He hired Mary Ann as a housekeeper in November 1866. 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. 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. Cotton was no exception. All three children were buried in the last two weeks of April 1867. MARGARET was born in Durham jail, the daughter of serial poisoner MARY ANN COTTON (nee ROBSON). Rumour turned to suspicion and forensic inquiry. Mary was born October 31 1832 Mary's sister Margaret was born 1834 Margaret dies June 1834 Mary's brother Robert was born 1835 The family moves to Durham 1841 Her father falls down a mineshaft and dies February 1842 Her mother marries George Stott 1843 Mary leaves home to train as a nurse 1848 Mary comes back home to train as a dressmaker 1851 Selling black puddings, a penny a pair. Rumour gave rise to suspicion and scientific investigation. The insurance policy Mary Ann had taken out on (the still living) Charles' life still awaited collection. The trial got going on March 3 and Mary Ann was found guilty of the one murder four days later. 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. 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. 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." After Frederick's death, Nattrass soon became Mary Ann's lodger. Belle Gunness was a hard-working Norwegian immigrant to America who took in three foster children (Greig). 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. Newspaper report of Cottons arrest. Her father's body was delivered to her mother in a sack bearing the stamp 'Property of the South Hetton Coal Company'. Here's the messed-up truth about this notorious 19th century murderess. She named her Margaret Edith Quick-Manning Cotton, partially to target her latest lover as the father of the child. Riley went to the village police and convinced the doctor to delay writing a death certificate until the circumstances could be investigated. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to Mary Ann Cotton, fdd 31 oktober 1832, dd 24 mars 1873 (avrttad), var en engelsk seriemrdare som tros ha mrdat totalt uppemot 21 personer. The trial got going on March 3 and Mary Ann was found guilty of the one murder four days later. George Robinson was the other. [7] The drama was inspired by the book Mary Ann Cotton: Britain's First Female Serial Killer by David Wilson, a criminologist. 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. 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. 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 The second, which took place in February 1873, was to center on the deaths of Nattrass, along with those of Robert and Frederick. . Mary Ann Cotton, she's dead and forgotten, The first focused on Charles' death and took place in August of 1872. Her family describe her as being immensely private, intelligent, warm and kind-hearted, and a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. Whether or not he suspected his wife of something worse than fraud isn't clear, but we do know that Robinson refused, saving their lives. Yet, he preserved a section of the boy's stomach in a jar. Mary Ann and her only surviving child Isabellawent to live in Sunderland. 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 collected another insurance payout and moved on. 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. Mary Ann would also eventually give birth to his child. contact IPSO here, 2001-2023. Things seemed to grow worse for the family after Mowbray took out life insurance policies on himself and their three remaining children. At the end of her life, as she spoke with officials, Cotton did not offer an explanation for any of her murders. Mary Ann was born into a working class family, and her first marriage was to a mining labourer. 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