Mary Ann grew up in Durham county, northeastern England. Soon she became pregnant by him with her twelfth child. One of her patients at the infirmary was an engineer, George Ward. One could simply walk down to the corner shop and buy enough arsenic to kill a man a few times over. 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. 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. 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. The trap door wasnt placed high enough to break her neck. She came back home three years later, taking up work as a dressmaker. Ward was already in poor health but Mary Ann finished him off, and he died in October 1866. 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. 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. 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 was desperate and living on the streets. 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. Riley went to the village police and convinced the doctor to delay writing a death certificate until the circumstances could be investigated. Her brother Robert was born in 1835. Soon after Mowbray's death, Mary Ann moved to Seaham Harbour, County Durham, where she struck up a relationship with Joseph Nattrass. It is said that the prisoner, who is comparatively a young woman, has. Her daughter, Clara, 19, was living with Sarah in St Lukes Terrace, Ferryhill. 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. For women of the working class, the sudden death of a husband could easily throw them into devastating poverty with little way out. However, the couple did not divorce. They were married in August 1865, but the marriage didnt last long. mary ann cotton surviving descendants. [9], Mary Ann Cotton, she's dead and she's rotten Several petitions were presented to the Home Secretary, but to no avail. For many people in Victorian Britain, being born into a working-class family meant that one's life was often touched by tragedy. In 1872 Nattrass died, leaving his meagre belongings to Mary Ann. According to Mary Ann Cotton, Cotton wed Robinson in 1867. Reportedly just weeks after her arrival in 1866, one of his five children succumbed to gastric fever. The second, which took place in February 1873, was to center on the deaths of Nattrass, along with those of Robert and Frederick. We told the story in Memories 96, with, as ever, a few inaccuracies. After three minutes, she died of strangulation. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. A court-appointed lawyer put forth the idea that Charles had ingested arsenic through wallpaper, says the RadioTimes. 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. 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. 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. Margaret had acted as substitute mother for the remaining children, Frederick Jr. and Charles. However, Mary Ann was widely regarded as the countrys deadlist killer until Harold Shipman, who was thought to have murdered as many as 260 people in the late 20th century. 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. Then Nattrass became ill with gastric fever, and died just after revising his will in Mary Anns favour. Instead, Cotton dropped only two feet and proceeded to choke, still alive. She grew a dislike of children while working as a housemaid, and this didn't stop once she had children of her own. However, he died the following year, and Mary Ann reportedly collected money from another insurance policy. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY. Before their final break, Cotton had attempted to get Robinson to insure both himself and the remaining children. At the age of 16, she moved out to become a nurse at Edward Potter's home in the nearby village of South Hetton. Mary Ann had cashed in William's life insurance, equivalent to about 1,700 in today's money. 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. He fled and changed his surname: some say he went abroad; others that he returned to his hometown of Darlington where, reconciled with his wife, he ran a small beerhouse. She complained that the last surviving Cotton boy, Charles Edward, was in the way and asked Riley if he could be committed to the workhouse. Her father, a miner, was killed in an accident when she was just nine. Up in the air. There appears to be no trace of John Quick-Manning in the records of The West Auckland Brewery or The National Archives at Kew. Mary Ann Cotton, she's dead and forgotten, 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. He threw her out. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can 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. 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. The defense in the case was handled by Mr. Thomas Campbell . Affair with James Nattress, a married man, while married to Mowbray and possibly again, after Nattress was widowed, while she was "married" to Cotton. At the beginning of it all, the girl who would become Mary Ann Cotton seemed, frankly, pretty unremarkable. She apparently wanted to give Quick-Manning the dubious honor of becoming husband number five. 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. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's That is until she grew overconfident and made a remarkable blunder. Despite all the deaths, there was still no evidence against Mary Ann, and she was completely free from suspicion. Product Description. She told Riley that the boy was sickly and added: I wont be troubled long. Mary was only ever convicted of one murder, the poisoning with arsenic of her 7-year-old stepson, Charles Edward Cotton. Riley went to the village police and convinced the doctor to delay writing a death certificate until the circumstances could be investigated. The attending doctor later gave evidence that Ward had been very ill, yet he had been surprised that the man's death was so sudden. In March 1870, Margaret died from a mysterious stomach problem which allowed Mary Ann to dig her claws into the Cotton family. Yet, he preserved a section of the boy's stomach in a jar. She enjoyed crafting, hosting ceramics classes for many years, creating scrapbooks of family memories, and making special cards for every occasion. Cotton had rather more luck at work, where she came across a patient named George Ward. She was coming home to Durham, and to her adoptive parents, pregnant with her third child. In a close-knit community like the Durham coalfield, it would have been impossible for Margaret to escape the notoriety of her birth. Daughter of Michael Robson and Margaret Lonsdale Soon after, Mary Ann learnt that her former lover, Joseph Nattrass, was living 48 kilometres (30mi) away in the County Durham village of West Auckland, and was no longer married. 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 had been expected to bank. She had two children with Robinson but the first one, Margaret Isabella, died within a few months of her birth. Her stepson, Frederick Jr., and Robert, her infant son with Frederick, died early 1872. He threw her out. She named her Margaret Edith Quick-Manning Cotton, partially to target her latest lover as the father of the child. James Robinson was a shipwright at Pallion, Sunderland, whose wife, Hannah, had recently died. 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. Mary Ann belonged to Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish (St. Stanislaus Church) and was a member of the Rosary Altar Sodality. The doctor who attended Charles had kept samples, and they tested positive for arsenic. Female Serial Killers in Social Context reports that Mary Ann's first move was to approach Thomas Riley, a grocer who also happened to be the local assistant manager for the poor relief. He was also a widower who had lost two of his four children and lived in Northumberland. Depiction of Mary Ann Cotton. (The lack of documentationsuch as birth and death certificatesleaves many details of Mary Anns life open to dispute.) And her killing spree started right here in. Cotton took her daughter, Isabella Jane, who had been living with Margaret, with her. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. At least 15 of those were family members. In Low Moorsley, Tyne & Wear. 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. When she 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 make friends. She was believed to have murdered up to 21 people, mainly by arsenic poisoning. Soon after, Mary Ann learnt that her former lover, Joseph Nattrass, was living in the nearby village of West Auckland, and no longer married. The insurance policy Mary Ann had taken out on Charles' life still awaited collection. She was, as The Northern Echo reports, remembered after her 1954 death as "intelligent, warm and kind-hearted." Yet, she wasn't alone. After George Ward's death and the subsequent insurance payment, Britannica reports, Mary Ann Cotton became a housekeeper for widower James Robinson in 1866. Stuff You Missed in History Class (Podcast). Riley, who also served as West Auckland's assistant coroner, said she needed to accompany him. One of the more chilling legacies of Cotton's time on Earth is a children's nursery rhyme. She lies in bed with her eyes. Margaret, her husband, and their baby daughter Clara moved to the United States in 1893, but she then returned to Durham in 1894 as a young widow. 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. Was still legally married to James Robinson, Mary Ann & Mowbray's children: (3 rumored but unsubstantiated children), Mary Jane (-1860), Margaret Jane (-1865), John Robert (-1864), Isabella (-1867), George Ward (-1866), husband (briefly) - already ill and in the hospital when they met and married, 5 children of James Robinson & his late wife, Hannah, Margaret Lonsdale Robson Stott, mother (-1867), Child of Mary Ann & James Robinson: Margaret Isabella (-1868), 4 Children of Frederick & Unknown Cotton: 2 (before 1869) plus Frederick Jr and Charles Edward Cotton (-1872) - for whose murder she was arrested, tried and hung, Child of Mary Ann & Frederick Cotton: Robert Robson Cotton (-1870), Frederick Cotton, Sr, bigamous (she was the bigamist, not him) husband (-1871), Lady Killers, BBC Radio 4, Episode 7: Mary Ann Cotton (more info on. The delay was caused by a problem in the selection of the public prosecutor. 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. Alternate titles: Mary Ann Mowbray, Mary Ann Robinson, Mary Ann Robson, Mary Ann Ward. Mary Ann Cottons trial, for allegedly murdering her stepson Charles, was delayed for several months so that she could give birth. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. Mary Ann Cotton, tied up with string. 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. As per Female Serial Killers, the two were married in 1865, shortly after he was discharged from the hospital. His name is carved with countless thousands of others on the Menin Gate at Ypres. 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. What clouds hung over the family? After she was finally apprehended in 1872, some estimated that she may have killed as many as 21 people, according to Britannica. By . He was John Quick- Manning, who was probably the excise officer at West Auckland Brewery and who was definitely married to someone else. Daily Mirror. Although his doctor acknowledged Wards poor health, he was surprised that the man died so suddenly. Rumour gave rise to suspicion and scientific investigation. Mary Ann found employment as a nurse, and it was here that she met her next husband, George Ward. 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. Plus, it really was everywhere, from the green dye in clothes, to wallpaper, to rat poison. As per Find A Grave, she thereafter appeared as "Margaret Edwards" on the 1881 census and later married John Joseph Fletcher in 1890. Mary Ann was quickly arrested. The delay was caused by a problem in the selection of prosecution counsel. A more complete version runs: She lies in her bed With eyes wide open. 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. Death surrounded her from an early age. 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. There was also a stage show, The Life and Death of Mary Ann Cotton, that premiered in West Hartlepool not too soon after the real Cotton's execution. Mary Ann Robson Cotton (1832-1873) - Find A Grave Mary Cotton was born in North England during the Victorian Period. 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. Soon after she entered the home, Robinson's infant son died of yes, you guessed it "gastric fever.". Today we dive into the serial killer Mary Ann Cotton. In August, Mary Ann married Robinson, and the couple had two children, though only one survived. In 1852 she married William Mowbray, and over the next decade or so, the couple had eight or nine children. According to Psychology Today, female serial murderers often have a drive that's pretty distinct from their male counterparts. The last straw was when he found she had been forcing his children to pawn household valuables for her. Around this time she took up with a former lover, Joseph Nattrass, but later became pregnant by another man, John Quick-Manning. [8], The Mary Ann Cotton case was partly dramatized on an episode of the 2022 BBC Radio podcast series Lucy Worsley's Lady Killers. Five days later, Mary Ann told Riley that the boy had died. Robinson refused to meet with his estranged wife in person, though he sent his brother-in-law. 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. However, it was accepted, and Russell conducted the prosecution. Several petitions were presented to the Home Secretary, but to no avail. Only two of her children survived her, including this new arrival. According to the RadioTimes, a local Doctor Kilburn conducted a rushed inquest and determined that the boy had died of gastroenteritis. She rekindled the romance and persuaded her new family to move near him. Lying in bed with her eyes wide open. mary ann cotton surviving descendants mary ann cotton surviving descendants. Perhaps this is what caused the young family, in May 1893, to sail from Liverpool on RMS Umbria to New York for a new life. 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. Mary (Robson) Cotton is Notable. William and John went off to fight. [10], Death of Charles Edward Cotton and inquest, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Mary Ann Cotton | Biography, Murders, Trial, & Execution", "Dark Angel: How were Mary Ann Cotton's terrible crimes uncovered? He decided to throw her out of their home and retained custody of their surviving child, George. She is believed to have murdered up to 21 people in total. However, it was accepted, and Russell conducted the prosecution. All three children were buried in the last week of April and first week of May 1867. Once again, Mary Ann collected insurance money from her husband's death. [2] Though, as the Journal of Victorian Culture reports, there was some financial relief available to widows, it was often highly restricted. Mary's mother remarried a few years later, but Mary hated her stepfather. The only birth recorded was that of their daughter Margaret Jane, born at St Germans in 1856. Robinson married Mary Ann at St Michael's, Bishopwearmouth on 11 August 1867. She was regarded as Britain's Greatest Female Mass Murderer. She is believed to have murdered up to 21 people in total. . The census revealed that her boys were working underground William was a collier and John was a pony driver. She supposedly did it using arsenic, a terrible poison that causes intense gastric pain and results in a rapid decline of health. Mary Ann Cotton's trial began on 5 March 1873. login . Although she is often said to be Britains first female serial killer, this is a false claim. She sent her surviving child, Isabella, to live with her mother. Like many of the other dead people in Cotton's wake, Ward presented symptoms that were alarmingly similar to arsenic poisoning. She was charged with the murder of Charles Edward Cotton, and her trial began in March 1873. As per History Collection, Cotton was hanged at Durham County Gaol on March 24, 1873. Their second child George was born on 18 June 1869. The Messed Up Truth About 19th Century Murderess Mary Ann Cotton. Where, where? She probably would have got away with it for longer had she not been so keen to murder Charles Edward or at least not been so open about her desire to see him die. It went like this: Mary Ann Cotton, she's dead and she's rotten. Updates? She sent her remaining child, Isabella, to live with her mother. According to some sources, she left home at age 16 to work as a nurse but returned three years later and became a dressmaker. 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. Of Mary Ann's 13 children, only two survived her: Margaret Edith (18731954) and her son George from her marriage to James Robinson. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA. From above, out of sight of the gallows, members of the Press are gathered. According to the Journal of Social History, working class mothers were especially likely to see their own children sicken and die, even if they weren't intentionally causing the illnesses. She was hanged at Durham Gaol. SO how guilty was Mary Ann Cotton? Though many killers are male, it turns out that women have turned to serial murder as well. 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