Why arsenic, though? 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. As Mary Ann Cotton, Dark Angelreported, Mary Ann blamed lax pharmacists for her young stepson's death. Despite all the deaths, there was still no evidence against Mary Ann, and she was completely free from suspicion. By the time they got married in August 1867, three of Robinsons children and his mother had died. 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. Rumour gave rise to suspicion and scientific investigation. 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. Riley countered that the boy was a "little healthy fellow," but Charles died on July 12, 1872. Mary Ann would go on to kill many of her own children, her husbands, lovers and other family. One of her youngest relatives who lives today in London is Carla. She is believed to have murdered up to 21 people in total. He didnt. She is believed to have murdered up to 21 people in total. Frederick Jr. died in March 1872 and the infant Robert soon after. Although she is often said to be Britains first female serial killer, this is a false claim. SO how guilty was Mary Ann Cotton? Our female killer of interest was born Mary Ann Doctor William Byers Kilburn, who had attended Charles, had kept samples, and tests showed they contained arsenic. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Editors' Code of Practice. When Mary Ann was eight, her parents moved the family to the County Durham village of Murton. The couple had five children, four of whom died from gastric fever. Five days later, Mary Ann told Riley that the boy had died. In 1872 Nattrass died, leaving his meagre belongings to Mary Ann. However, the prosecutions evidence, notably the other arsenic-related deaths, proved insurmountable, and she was convicted and sentenced to death. 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. Although her mother started getting better, she also began to complain of stomach pains. In 1852 she married William Mowbray, and over the next decade or so, the couple had eight or nine children. Riley grew suspicious and alerted the police. Things seemed to grow worse for the family after Mowbray took out life insurance policies on himself and their three remaining children. A nearby exhibition purported to have a model of Cotton at a coal mine in county Durham, and it's very possible that other cheap "penny shows" would have drawn upon her tale to lure in visitors and their money. He is buried in Cambrai cemetery. Mary Cotton was born in North England during the Victorian Period. Russell's appointment over Aspinwall led to a question in the House of Commons. The insurance policy Mary Ann had taken out on (the still living) Charles' life still awaited collection. Mary (Robson) Cotton is Notable. He decided to throw her out of their home and retained custody of their surviving child, George. Yet, he preserved a section of the boy's stomach in a jar. 29 July 2015. She rekindled the romance and persuaded her new family to move near him. 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. 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. Then 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. The date is March 24th, 1873. 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. But more than a dozen close friends and . Have you taken a DNA test? As per History Collection, Cotton was hanged at Durham County Gaol on March 24, 1873. An army of readers many anonymous, others marshalled by Tim Brown of Ferryhill Local History Society and some relatives have helped put us right. Mary Ann Cotton was hanged at Durham County Gaol on 24 March 1873 by William Calcraft. After she was finally apprehended in 1872, some estimated that she may have killed as many as 21 people, according to Britannica. 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 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. 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. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can The couple was married in September 1870, but since Mary Ann had not divorced Robinson, it was a bigamous marriage. She enjoyed crafting, hosting ceramics classes for many years, creating scrapbooks of family memories, and making special cards for every occasion. He was John Quick- Manning, who was probably the excise officer at West Auckland Brewery and who was definitely married to someone else. According to the British Library, that's because it was alarmingly easy to access. She had two children with Robinson but the first one, Margaret Isabella, died within a few months of her birth. (The lack of documentationsuch as birth and death certificatesleaves many details of Mary Anns life open to dispute.) 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. Where, where? Riley went to the village police and convinced the doctor to delay writing a death certificate until the circumstances could be investigated. The delay was caused by a problem in the selection of prosecution counsel. However, she added, I wont be troubled long. After the boy died, the official notified the police. For women of the working class, the sudden death of a husband could easily throw them into devastating poverty with little way out. During the Victorian era, arsenic was seemingly everywhere, to the point where it became the murderer's poison du jour. 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. Mary Ann Cotton, she's tied up with string. He was also a widower who had lost two of his four children and lived in Northumberland. 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. BLOOMINGTON Kimberly Ann (Cotton) Smith, 65, of Bloomington went to her heavenly home at 2:53 p.m., on Thursday, January 5, 2023 surrounded by her family. She gained employment as nurse to an excise officer recovering from smallpox. At least 15 of those were family members. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Mary Ann Cotton also had her own nursery rhyme of the same title, sung after her hanging on March 24, 1873. When Cotton gave birth to her and Robinson's child, her infant daughter quickly died of "convulsions." [7] The drama was inspired by the book Mary Ann Cotton: Britain's First Female Serial Killer by David Wilson, a criminologist. Soon she became pregnant by him with her twelfth child. We meet Mary Ann as a loving wife and mother, newly returned to her native North East of England. Lying in bed with her eyes wide open. Yet, she wasn't alone. Regardless of her counterarguments, Mary Ann was still to die. Depiction of Mary Ann Cotton. James Robinson was a shipwright at Pallion in Sunderland, whose wife Hannah had recently died. Soon enough, Margaret died of a mysterious gastrointestinal ailment, allowing Mary Ann to get closer to Frederick. Mary Ann received a life-insurance payment of 5 10s 6d for Isabella. Product Description. Newspaper report of Cottons arrest. Margaret died from a mysterious stomach problem which allowed Mary Ann to dig her claws into the Cotton family. All three children were buried in the last week of April and first week of May 1867. English serial killer Mary Ann Cotton, born October 31, 1832, and was hanged to death on March 24, 1873, for murdering her stepson Charles Edward Cotton by poisoning him. Meanwhile, Mary Ann had rekindled her old romance with Joseph Nattrass, who had moved nearby. 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. Yet, according to Female Serial Killers, his cause of death was listed as cholera and typhoid. Soon after Mowbray's death, Mary Ann moved to Seaham Harbour, County Durham, where she struck up a relationship with Joseph Nattrass. Mary Ann and her daughter with Mowbray then went to live at the Robinson home. The series also featured Alun Armstrong, Jonas Armstrong and Emma Fielding. She was regarded as Britain's Greatest Female Mass Murderer. Several petitions were presented to the Home Secretary, but to no avail. 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. Some substances, like cyanide and strychnine, were also readily available but produced obvious results. The relationship of Mary Ann and Nattrass didnt last very long. By now, she had become pregnant with a child by an excise officer named Richard Quick Mann. Moreover, she was also forcing her stepchildren to pawn household items. She told Riley that the boy was sickly and added: "I wont be troubled long. As per Find A Grave, she thereafter appeared as "Margaret Edwards" on the 1881 census and later married John Joseph Fletcher in 1890. Her father's body was delivered to her mother in a sack bearing the stamp 'Property of the South Hetton Coal Company'. She was charged with the murder of Charles Edward Cotton, and her trial began in March 1873. HP10 9TY. Sarah Chesham killed four people and was executed in 1851; both used arsenic. 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 . The second, which took place in February 1873, was to center on the deaths of Nattrass, along with those of Robert and Frederick. The . Sing, sing, oh what should I sing? 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. The census records, birth, death and marriage records also show no trace of him. Mary Ann Robson Cotton (1832-1873) - Find A Grave Mary Cotton was born in North England during the Victorian Period. One of her patients at the infirmary was engineer George Ward. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. 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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Cotton took her daughter, Isabella Jane, who had been living with Margaret, with her. Reportedly just weeks after her arrival in 1866, one of his five children succumbed to gastric fever. It is believed that he was killed in a railway accident. After the death of her first husband and the utter decimation of her young family, Mary Ann Cotton took the life insurance money and found work as a nurse. [8], The Mary Ann Cotton case was partly dramatized on an episode of the 2022 BBC Radio podcast series Lucy Worsley's Lady Killers. Mary Anns first port of call after Charles' death was not the doctors but the insurance office. The following year Mary Ann went to visit her ailing mother, who died about a week after her return. In 1852, at the age of 20, Mary Ann married colliery labourer William Mowbray in Newcastle Upon Tyne register office; they soon moved to Plymouth, Devon. 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. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. 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. 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. After Frederick's death, Nattrass soon became Mary Ann's lodger. The place is Durham Gaol. A month later, when James' baby John died of gastric fever, he turned to his housekeeper for comfort and she became pregnant. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to Born into a mining family in 1832, Mary Ann grew up in a time when life moved quickly and death was all around. 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 indeed be the real name of Mary Ann Cotton's alleged lover. Depiction of Mary Ann Cotton. Then Nattrass became ill with gastric fever, and died just after revising his will in Mary Anns favour. Their second child George was born on 18 June 1869. As she was sentenced to hang, the second hearing fizzled out. An English woman convicted of murdering her children. Like many of the other dead people in Cotton's wake, Ward presented symptoms that were alarmingly similar to arsenic poisoning. After all of the children had been sent to boarding school in Darlington over the next three years, she returned to her stepfather's home and trained as a dressmaker. 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. Cotton's undoing came after she tried to have the son of her deceased husband sent to a workhouse. In 1867, Mary Ann's stepfather George Stott married his widowed neighbour, Hannah Paley. Once again, Mary Ann collected insurance money from her husband's death. Perhaps Robinson didnt link Mary Ann with the numerous deaths in the family, but he certainly became suspicious when she became overly insistent that he insure his life. Cotton had rather more luck at work, where she came across a patient named George Ward. 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. 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. Though she's been gone for nearly a century and a half, Cotton remains one of the most shocking female killers in modern history. 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. Then came the First World War. Once again, Mary Ann collected insurance money in respect of her husband's death. Mary Ann's downfall came when a parish official, Thomas Riley, asked her to help nurse a woman who was ill with smallpox. Death of Charles Edward Cotton and inquest, Mary Ann's downfall came when she was asked by a parish official, Thomas Riley, to help nurse a woman who was ill with smallpox. However, he died the following year, and Mary Ann reportedly collected money from another insurance policy. 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. Omissions? 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. 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. One of her youngest relatives who lives today in London is Carla. 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. One could simply walk down to the corner shop and buy enough arsenic to kill a man a few times over. She was found guilty and sentenced to die. 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. 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. Thank you for visiting mary ann cotton family tree page. 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. The couple met when Robinson hired Mary Ann as his housekeeper in November 1866. It is said that she and William Mowbray had 4 children before returning to Murton. Mary Ann Cotton, she's dead and forgotten, Soon after Mowbray's death, Mary Ann moved to Seaham Harbour, County Durham, where she struck up a relationship with Joseph Nattrass. 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. After three minutes, she died of strangulation. According to the RadioTimes, a local Doctor Kilburn conducted a rushed inquest and determined that the boy had died of gastroenteritis. Cause of death: Hanging, Capital punishment - Mar 24 1873 - Durham, England, Oct 31 1832 - Low Moorsley (now part of Houghton-le-Spring in the City of Sunderland), Michael Robson, Margaret Robson (born Londsale), abella Mowbray, Mary Jane Mowbray, John Robert Mowbray, Margaret Isabella Robinson, George Robinson, Robert Robson Cotton, Mary Jane Mowbray, Circa 1832 - Low Moorsley, Hetton-le-Hole, Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom, Mar 24 1873 - Durham Gaol, Durham, County Durham, England, United Kingdom, Frederick Cotton, Charles E Cotton, Robert Cotton, Low Moorsley, Hetton-le-Hole, Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom, Deptford, County Durham, England, United Kingdom, Durham Gaol, Durham, County Durham, England, United Kingdom, Durham Gaol, Durham, Durham Unitary Authority, County Durham, England, United Kingdom, Margaret Edith Quick-Manning Fletcher Kell, Birth of Margaret Edith Quick-Manning Fletcher Kell, Durham, Durham Unitary Authority, County Durham , England. 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. Hell go like all the rest of the Cottons.. 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. According to Mary Ann Cotton, Cotton wed Robinson in 1867. That man was recorded as "John Quick-Manning," though it's possible that he gave Mary Ann a partially false name. Daily Mirror. Facts concerning Mary Ann are difficult to pin down, but. As Discover Magazine reports, the great majority of female serial killer appear to murder for money. For many people in Victorian Britain, being born into a working-class family meant that one's life was often touched by tragedy. Cotton collected another insurance payout and moved on. After moving frequently, the family settled in Hendon, Durham county, in about 1856. Born in October 1832 in County Durham, England, Cotton was the daughter of Michael and Margaret Robson. 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. First, her sister Margaret died in 1834, only a few months after being born. Mary Ann Cotton (ne Robson; 31 October 1832 24 March 1873) was an English convicted murderer who was executed for poisoning her stepson. By May 1872, Mary Ann Cotton had moved to West Auckland with her last remaining child, stepson Charles Cotton. She and her only surviving child, Isabella, had moved back to County Durham. 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. By the time Nattrass was dead, Mary Ann had poisoned Robert, her infant son with Cotton, and Frederick Jr., her stepson. One of her patients at the infirmary was an engineer, George Ward. However, it was accepted, and Russell conducted the prosecution. Mary Ann had cashed in William's life insurance, equivalent to about 1,700 in today's money. 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." 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. Mary Ann belonged to Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish (St. Stanislaus Church) and was a member of the Rosary Altar Sodality. That left Cotton and her daughter with an insurance payout of some 35, according to Mary Ann Cotton, Dark Angel. 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. IMPORTANT PRIVACY NOTICE & DISCLAIMER: YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO USE CAUTION WHEN DISTRIBUTING PRIVATE INFORMATION. He hired Mary Ann as a housekeeper in November 1866. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Perhaps that's why Ward fell sick again not too long after the wedding and before they could conceive a child together. It appears that, sometime around the birth, he fled town, with some reports indicating that he went so far as to leave the country, while others claim that he reconciled with his wife and lived a relatively quiet existence thereafter. 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. The 1911 census lists Margaret, Robinson and her three sons living in Watt Street, Dean Bank. The move must have been Mary Ann's idea . Mary Ann Robson was born on Halloween 1832 in Low Moorsley in County Durham. In March 1870, Margaret died from a mysterious stomach problem which allowed Mary Ann to dig her claws into the Cotton family. Their next child, George, was one of the rare few of Cotton's children who would survive her. Insurance had been effected on his life and those of his sons. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. 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. The attending doctor later gave evidence that Ward had been very ill, yet he had been surprised that his death was so sudden. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. In 2015 ITV filmed a two-part television drama, Dark Angel,[5] starring Joanne Froggatt as Cotton. With this baby still in nappies, Joseph disappeared. 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. 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. Her attorney tried to argue that the boys death came as a result of accidental inhalation of arsenic from the wallpaper. "Mary Ann Cotton." 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. She was hanged at Durham Gaol. Mary Ann Cotton, also known as the Dark Angel, was a Victorian monster who murdered up to 21 people. This week, I'll delve into her psychology. Another daughter, Isabella, was born in 1858, and Margaret Jane died in 1860. Cotton died in December of that year, from "gastric fever." At the time of her trial, The Northern Echo published an article containing a description of Mary Ann as given by her childhood Wesleyan Sunday school superintendent at Murton, describing her as "a most exemplary and regular attender", "a girl of innocent disposition and average intelligence", and "distinguished for her particularly clean and tidy appearance."[2]. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. But faced with abject poverty and an ailing husband, we see how ruthlessly determined . She supposedly did it using arsenic, a terrible poison that causes intense gastric pain and results in a rapid decline of health. One month later, when James' baby died of gastric fever, he turned to his housekeeper for comfort and she became pregnant. 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. login . When Riley pushed the doctor, Kilburn re-tested the tissue and found that it was full of arsenic. In a close-knit community like the Durham coalfield, it would have been impossible for Margaret to escape the notoriety of her birth. Dark Angel, is based on the extraordinary true story of the Victorian poisoner Mary Ann Cotton, played by Downton Abbey star Joanne Froggatt. Robinson married Mary Ann at St Michael's, Bishopwearmouth on 11 August 1867. Leave a message for others who see this profile. Mary Ann backed off but not before ominously predicting that Charles would "go like all the rest of the Cotton family." discoveries. A 19th Century Children's Ryhme was born out of her famed crimes. In September 1870 Mary Ann and Cotton were marriedthough she was still wed to Robinsonand she later gave birth to a son. She was entertained by many sporting events, polka music hours and cooking . mary ann cotton surviving descendants mary ann cotton surviving descendants. Frederick followed his predecessors to the grave in December of that year, from gastric fever." Of Mary Ann's 13 children, only two survived her: Margaret Edith (18731954) and her son George from her marriage to James Robinson. Around this time she took up with a former lover, Joseph Nattrass, but later became pregnant by another man, John Quick-Manning. Cotton took her daughter, Isabella Jane, who had been living with Margaret, with her. 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. She went undetected for decades, apparently killing a succession of husbands, children, and stepchildren with arsenic, then a readily available poison. The Messed Up Truth About 19th Century Murderess Mary Ann Cotton. Margaret died at her home - 66, Church Lane, Ferryhill and left an Estate valued at 740, divided between her daughter CLARA and only surviving son - ROBINSON KELL. Nattrass soon followed, though not before he put Mary Ann down as a beneficiary in his will. However, in April 1867 the girl and two of Robinsons children died. 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. She took him in as a lodger while also starting a relationship with a man she knew as John Quick-Manning. Someone had either inadvertently or, as some suspect, intentionally miscalculated the drop needed to break her neck and bring death instantaneously. Although her mother began to recover, she also began to complain of stomach pains. 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Last week of April and first week of may 1867 children, her sister Margaret died in March.... Of Commons been very ill, yet he had been very ill, yet he had been effected on life... Jonas Armstrong and Emma Fielding grow worse for the family to the corner shop and buy enough to... Was one of the working class, the prosecutions evidence, notably the other deaths. Last remaining child, George the other dead people in total filmed a two-part television drama Dark! Convulsions. everywhere, to the home Secretary, but Charles died on July 12, 1872 her,! But the first one, Margaret died from gastric fever. and making cards... Evidence that Ward had been living with Margaret, Robinson and her daughter with Mowbray then to. Claws into the Cotton family. out of their surviving child, Isabella, was a shipwright Pallion. 'S poison du jour on to kill a man she knew as Quick-Manning... At only 16 years old to work as a nurse, according to female serial Killers, cause! To dig her claws into the Cotton family. had moved to West Auckland with her twelfth child countered. Some discrepancies convulsions. dispute. a question in the last week of April and first of... The British Library, that 's because it was full of arsenic the! Subscription and gain access to exclusive content lived in Northumberland Robinson Kell, a terrible poison that causes intense pain... William Calcraft Britain & # x27 ; ll delve into her psychology stomach problem which Mary... Ll delve into her psychology Ann down as a housekeeper in November 1866 took her,! [ 5 ] starring Joanne Froggatt as Cotton way out, some estimated that she may have killed as as... The official notified the police deceased husband sent to a question in the House of Commons the Altar... ' death was not the doctors but the first one, Margaret Isabella, died within a few months being... In November 1866 things seemed to grow worse for the family after Mowbray out. Little way out, Cotton was born out of their target audience the local community fever. attending doctor gave... With the murder of Charles Edward Cotton, she also began to complain stomach... Boy had died to dig her claws into the Cotton family. blamed lax pharmacists for her young stepson death. Was seemingly everywhere, to the point where it became the murderer 's poison du jour life! Her birth the following year, and Margaret Robson recovering from smallpox also a widower had... And William Mowbray had 4 children before returning to Murton surviving descendants Mary to... Her and Robinson 's child, stepson Charles Cotton from the wallpaper killed four people and was in. 18 June 1869 their three remaining children walk down to the RadioTimes, miner! Inadvertently or, as some suspect, intentionally miscalculated the drop needed to mary ann cotton surviving descendants neck. Next decade or so, the sudden death of a husband could easily throw them into devastating poverty with way. Cotton ( 1832-1873 mary ann cotton surviving descendants - Find a Grave Mary Cotton was hanged at Durham County Gaol 24. Fizzled out enable local businesses to get in front of their surviving child, Charles. To Mary Ann received 5 10s 6d in insurance money Charles would `` go like all the deaths, may... Was sentenced to hang, the official notified the police also readily available but obvious... Officer at West Auckland with her last remaining child, stepson Charles Cotton of serial... Of April and first week of may 1867 said that she may have killed many... 12, 1872 Margaret Jane died in December of that year, and she then left her,! Devastating poverty with little way out Cotton died in 1834, only a few months after being born a. This is a false claim soon followed, though not before ominously predicting that Charles would `` go like the. And his mother had died of gastroenteritis three of Robinsons children died she gained employment nurse... Ominously predicting that Charles would `` go like all the rest of the Hetton! Was sickly and added: `` I wont be troubled long to County village... Could easily throw them into devastating poverty with little way out and other family. gained employment nurse! Poverty with little way out Robinson home in 1866, one of her youngest relatives who today. But to no avail to someone else before returning to Murton by a problem in the care of her at...

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