npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Sun. — 1845-06-02 (London, England)

POLICE INTELLIGENCE. GUILDHALL. On Thursday Thomas Cox, a dock labourer. living in Whitecross-street, was brought before Mr. Al lerman Challis, charged with assaulting his son, George Cox, with a poker. Hannah Cox, the wife, a decant-looking woman, said she was frequently beaten by her husband. He was in the habit of spending what he earned, and this led to strife at home. She did not wish to tunish him for the assault upon herself, but she rather came to give evidi nei for her son, who rise married and living separate fr.im them. Her husband had beaten her, and she was lying on the bed on Miinday when her son came up. He saw what had happened, and said it was no man that would beat a woman. Her husband started up, and ordered him to leave the room. The son replied he had called to see his mother, and he should not go. Her husband took up the poker, and struck him with it. It was feared her son was seriously injured, and the father was taken into custody by the police. George Cox, whose arm was in a sling, sated that upon calling to see his mother he heard: below stairs that his father had been beating her dreadfully. Ile went up stairs, and found her lying on the bed with her hair hanging loose about. He asked her what was the matter ? She replied, " Nothing ;" but his father said he would not put up with her abuse. Witness told him he did not behave like a man to her. His father seized the poker, ard ordered him to leave the room. This he refused to do, and his father struck at his head with the poker. Witness warded the blow off with his arm. He was obliged to go to the doctor, who said his arm was not broken, but the bone was severely injured. Mr. Alderman CHALLts told the prisoner this appeared to be an aggravated assault, and he should be glad to hear anything he could offer in excuse. The prisoner replied, when a son liftedhis arm against his father, what would not a man do ? He admitted he struck at the wainscoat in a moment of irritation. He had a most abusive wife, who gave him " tongue-pie" for supper, and tongue again at bretkfast. Ilis case would maw sympathy from evi.ry gentleman in Court if he-could tell it. His sin told him in his own place that. he had been " at his tricks again, and he would not have it."  Mr. Alderman CHALLIS said, however much his wife might abuse him, it would not justify ;he resort to blows; and if he did not learn to control his temper, he would conimit murder some day and be hanged. Ile had nearly committed that crime even now upon his own sen. He should commit him to the sessions, as the magistrates there could punish him more severely than magistrates sitting out of sessions. He ordered def.aulant to find bail, nitnself in 201., and two sureties in 101. each. The prisoner was committed in default of sureties.
The Sun. — 1837-08-31 (London, England)

COACII PROPRIETORS.—It may probably surprise I then ran into the water, determined to swim out and be many of our readers to be informed of the extent to which drowned rather than be killed and eaten ; but I turned individual persons in England embark their capital in what litick, and the native that attacked me did not continue the is termed the coaching line. Mr. Chaplin, who is the attack ;on the contrary, he acted kindly to me, and saved occupier of the five following " yards," as they are termed me from violence frOm the hands of the others. 1 soon in London—namely, those of the Spread Eagle and Cross perceived that every one of the crew except a boy like my- Keys, Gracechurch-stroet ; the Swan with Two Necks, self, named Sexton, was murdered. Some had their brains Lad-lane ; the White Horse, Fetter-lane ; and the Angel, dashed out, and others were stabbed, and the savages after- behind St. Clements—has no less than 1,300 horses at wards stripped the bodies and let them down with the tide, work, in various coaches, on various roads ; and Messrs. keeping all the heads, which they placed in a row be fore Horne and Sherman, the two next largest coach propriethe fire. They ate no pet except the e} es and cheeks. tors in London, hard about 700 each. Those who have Next day they took us off to another island in their canoes, not witnessed it might perhaps be still more astonished in which they brought all the heads of the crew, and on at the regularity and case with which these prodigious— landing on the beach we saw a Newfoundland dog, which we apparently overwhelmig—establishments are conducted, by at once knew to be Capt. D'Oyley's, and which lie had brought the means of foremen and subordinates well traiacd to from the Isle of Wight with him, and soon afterwards we saw Vick business. Mr. Chaplin is likewise the proprietor of George and William D'Oyley. George appeared to be seven two London hotels, residine in that called e Osborne's," in or eight years old, and William was about fourteen or fifteen the Adelphi.-2'he Tut!, the Chase, and the Road. months. They were with some of the native women. George approached the canoe in which Sexton and I were, and oe asked him what had I:ecome of his father and mother? He There have been only five entries of notices of marriage in the marriage notice-book kept by the Leeds superreplied that the blacks had killed them, and the captain, • and Mrs. Armstrong, and the servant girl, and that he an I intendent-registrar, since the Act came into operation, eight 1 his little brother were all that remained alive. I told him l The Museum of King's College yesterday morning weeks ago.—Liverpool Standard. that all the crew were murdered except myself and Sexton. .received a present from the Bank of England of twenty The natives then took us b into. some open huts which they ' millions of nk of England fter being destroyed y'fidreced to the size of.  W OR
The Sun. — 1837-10-14 (London, England)

MURDER OF THE GOVERNOR OF PRESTWICH WORKHOUSE BY ONE OF THE PAUPERS.  PRESTWICH, THURSDAY.—On the 4th of September last a most unprovoked and brutal assault was committed upon Mr. Jonathan Fielding, an elderly man, the Governor of the Workhouse, situate in the township of Prestwich, near Manchester, by Joseph Dennerley, one of the paupers resident in the workhouse. It appeared that about nine months ago, Dennerley, with his wife and three children, were received as paupers into the workhouse. Since that time, Dennerley, who is a man of violent temper, disliking the restraint under which by the rules of the establishment he was placed, has set at defiance the authority of the Governor, and frequently took the liberty of leaving and returning to the house whenever he thought proper. On other occasions, whilst in the workhouse, his conduct has been of so riotous and disorderly a nature, that Mr. F. has been reluctantly constrained, in order to enforce his authority as governor of the house and insure obedience of the rules, to send Dennerley to the New Bailey Court-Louse, Salford, where he has been brought before the Magistrates arid punished by imprisonment. He had frequently threatened that he would be revenged upon the Governor for having caused him to be taken before the Magistrates, but little notice was taken of his threats. On the 4th of September, Dennerley, having only just suffered an imprisonment of three weeks in the New Bailey, was employed at the workhouse in weaving. In the course of preparing the warp for weaving it is necessary that the threads should be rubhei with a sort of paste made of flour, and called in weaver's phraseology " the sow ;" after which the threads are dried by means of an iron heated for the ptirpose. On the day in question, Mr. Fielding, the governor, together with two women, named Taylor and Schofield, were in one of the rooms used by the paupers as a day-room. He was attending to some " sow" which was boiling on the fire, when Dennerley came up to the fire-place, and taking his dryingiron from the fire, turned with the iron round upon Mr. Fielding, and struck him two most savage blows upon his head. The poor old man instantly fell to the flour, and the women screamed out for assistance, whilst Dennerley coolly exclaimed, " I have killed him." He instantly left the place and ran off, intending to escape. He was, however, pursued, and captured by a man named Samuel Biacklev, by whom he was taken back to the workhouse. Whilst in the kitchen he seized a table knife and cat his throat in a frightful though not dangerous manner, and he was secured against making any further attempts upon his life by being placed in safe custody. An inquest on the body of the deceased took place yesterday, at the workhouse, when, after evidence had been heard, the Jury returned a verdict of " Wilful murder against Joseph Dennerley," and the Coroner committed the prisoner to take his trial at the next South Lancashire Assizes, at Kirkdale.  The prisoner is a middle-sized, thin man, apparently about forty years of age, and of a passionate and unforgiving temper.
The Sun. — 1837-08-17 (London, England)

PHILLIPS.--Her uncle had gone to Bedfordshire in a few days after the transaction. She still lived with Fisher, and had gone down to Hertfordshire with him. She did not tell the policeman all ; he asked her if the prisoner had committed the capital offence, and she said " No," because he was a stranger. George Fisher deposed to having been at the Angel on the 25th of June. He, Margaret Larman, and W. Norman, left there about half past twelve. The prisoner left about the same time. After they had gone on some two hundred yards, they waited to assist Mrs. Goodman's foreman, when he saw the prisoner pulling at Margaret Larman, and when he asked what he had to do with her, the prisoner knocked him down. He was insensible, and when he got up he was alone with the drunken man. He went for policemen, and was returning with them when he met his other friends. The prosecutrix told him what had taken place next morning. George Wardle, of the foot patrol, was on duty on the morning of the 25th June, when Fisher and another came up and complained of ill-usage, and wanted him to go and look for a female. He went, and on the road met the prosecutrix, whose gown was all over dust and much torn. She complained of ill-usage. The prisoner was taken into custody on the 11th July. When the prisoner was taken he asked if the prosecutrix had sworn against him, for if she did he would either be hung or transported. Matthew Jennings, the landlord of the Angel, remembered the parties being at his house on the night in question. The prisoner went out. with Norman and Larman ; Fisher went out in three or four minutes after. Soon after they went out he heard the cry of " Murder!" but did not leave the house, for in about a minute after Norman and Fisher came up, and he told them where to find the police. They went off in that direction, and soon after the prisoner came up, and said they had been meddling with Mrs. Goodman's foreman. He said something about a bundle, but he could not now recollect what. He went away, and soon after the woman came up, and he directed her to the road he had sent Fisher and Norman.  Thomas Austin, in his cross-examination, said, when he asked the prosecutrix if she had been violated, she said " No, he only wanted to do it." The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE complained of the absence of the uncle, Norman. lie was the most important witness, and in his absence it would not be safe for any Jury to convict in such an extraordinary case as the present. He did not wish to say one word with respect to the evidence which had been given ; but in the absence of Norman he would recommend the Jury to acquit the prisoner. A verdict of acquittal was then immediately returned.
The Sun. — 1837-03-01 (London, England)

FLITTINGS OF FANCY.—" Here are two very agreeable volumes of tales and sketches, by Robert Sulivan, Esq. This gentleman has a fertile imagination, dud a great general knowledge of character. Ile steers from grave to gay with great skill, and the volumes before us are full of variety and are highly entertaining. Mr. Sulivan shines most brilliantly in his humorous moods. As a proof of this, we may instance his opening tale, Teresina,' which, • too, has some beautiful touches of nature. Our author's dra- ; matic sketches evince* much talent, and we, must not forget to , observe that in the course of the volumes there are many clever satirical sketches of fashionable follies, and scenes and characters in almost every grade of life."—Dispatch. The dinner patties of the Earl of Sefton will shortly be resumed.  The Abbotsford Club, perhaps the most active and enterprising of any of the existing literary societies, and which since its formation, in honour of Sir Walter Scott (if anything can be said to be in honour of such a man), has printed so many valuable works, has just put forth a very interesting volume connected with Scottish history. We allude to the " Memoirs of the Reign of Mary Queen of Scots," by the eighth Lord Berries, who derived most of the materials from his family records, the fifth, sixth, and seventh Lords, bat especially the fifth, being so intimately connected with the events of the earlier portion of the work. The Club is indebted for- this contribution to R. Pitcairn, Esq. In general we Are opposed to these exclusive Associations, and think that. like the Surtees Club, it would be better to make the books saleable • but as the Abbotsford Club prints only from manuscripts, the members have an excuse for being chary of their productions, and however novel may be the subject, we knolw from experience that the public at large care little for matters intrinsically of great importance, especially to literary • antiquaries. The original M. S. of Lord Herries's tt Memoirs," in his own handwriting, was destroyed with the Scotch College at Douay, during the French revolution. Mr. Pitcairn's hand.. sonic contribution is from a transcript, probably unique. Mr. Dawson, M.P. for Derby having declined to come forward again as a candidate for the representation of Derby, Mr. Duckworth, the Chancery Barrister, hai con_ sented to come forward on the Reform interest at the next election..  The Newcastle testimonial to Earl Grey will be inomediately The splendid column will be erected at the end of Grep:street, in Mr. Grainger's new town, the completion or which will be effected early in the ensuing summer. The model of the statue to be placed on tbo • top .of the column by Mr.• Bailey has been exhibited, and is , pronouoced to be an admirable resemblance.— Tyne Mercury. -Monday se'nnicrht.9 died at Walton; near Wis— bech, aged 75. Mrs. Marriott, formerly of Guyhirn. Sire moo the widow of Mr. Marriott, who was murdered there by fad_ Irishnion (all of whom were executed,. and two gibbetted), anti Mrs. M. was left for dead.
The Sun. — 1837-02-27 (London, England)

COL:RT.—Robert Hetherington was placed at theae bar, charged with having unlawfully, maliciously, and feloniously stabbed and wounded Joseph Atkinson, of Warble Bank,. in the parish of Westward, with intent to murder him. Joseph Atkinson said, I am an innkeeper, and live at Warble Bank, about two miles from Wighton. I have a . wife and step-daughter living with me. About ten o'clock of " the night of the Ist of June we all went to bed-; about eleven . o'clock some one called out if Joe," and soon after " Joe v Atkinson ;" I then got up from bed and threw up the bed- room window, and inquired who was there ; a man said " it; me." I said I did not know him ; he said " if I sawhim I would know him, could he stop all night?" I then puts down the window, went down stairs, and lighted a candle; C opened the door, he came in and I bolted the door • he camel, towards the fire-side, and sat down ; he then asked me if tra knew him, and I said I did not; I asked him if he was a son; of Andrew Nixon's, and he said no; he said you must know" me, I lived servant in this neighbourhood, with Dennison, or the Heads; I told him I knew little of his servants; he then asked for a pint of ale, which I gave him ; be .then said he,, was thrown late, he was intending to go to Cockbridge, to. look after some draining, as they were giving a better pricethere than where he had been working at Caldbeck and. Sebergham. After he had drank the pint of ale, I reo nested him to go to bed, which he agreed to. I took the carAe and went up stairs before him, we passed through our own sleepkg room to his room. I walked first, showed him his bed, set the candle down, and retired to bed. I had slept a short time, and awakened out of my sleep. I felt something touch zny .throat, and was prevented from rising by an attempt at stra.n gulation. I then felt a stab at my breast. • I then made a, second attempt to rise, with that struggle I awakened my wife, who looked up and said, " In the name of goodness what has come to us now, have you let in a man to murder us ?" - On that_ I stretched out my left arm to seize him, and seized the man by the breast, saying, " Arc you the villain I let in ?" The man never made answer. The man struck me violently upon my left arm with a sharp instrument. By that time my wife was getting up. As soon as she got upon the bed, and was coming across it at the foot of the bed, he left me and seized her. Immediately after I went down stairs into the kitchen, but fainted away by loss of blood, and was insensible for some time. The prisoner at the bar is the man I let into my house. _ _ - _  -Other evidence was adduced, after which the Jury found the prisoner Guilty. The prisoner was put down, and shortly after placed at the bar, when the Learned Judge, after putting on the black cap, proceeded to pass the awful sentence of death upon the prisoner—that he should be taken from thence, to.a place of execution, there to be hanged till he was dead„ and entreated Cod to have mercy on hig soul. The Assizes concluded to-night at a late hour, and to-mo rrow the Commission will open at Newcastle.
The Sun. — 1837-12-14 (London, England)

CORONER'S INQUEST AT BRIGHTON.—On Monday afternoon a Coroner's Inquest was taken at Brighton, to inquire into the circumstances attending the death of Richard Frankland, a shorthand writer in the House of Commons and Courts of Law, whose body was found in the sea, near the Chain Pier, in a state of decomposition, on Saturday morning. last. His establishment consisted of a housekeeper, two servants, and a clerk. He was thirty-seven years of age, and his general state of health was very good, On the sith of November a friend of the deceased came up from Shrewsbury to witness the procession of the Queen's visit to Guildhall. Deceased was very abstemious ; but his friend lived freely, and they drank together for some days. At length deceased, in a fit of derangement, got up one morning and left his home. and he was traced to Brighton, and from shence to Shoreham, On the 13th of November witness (Edward Heise) • asked deceasA to dine with him, but be declined, observing that he was, unfortunately, engaged. Seeing that he looked unwell, witness asked him what was the matter, and he replied that be had " got the blue devils," and was very low, and could not sleep at night. He left his home on the 15th. Witness was quite satisfied that the body was that of his friend. He further stated that the deceased was in no pecuniary difficulties, and that his profession returned him not less than 1,000/. a-year. The Jury returned a verdict of " Found drowned, but by what means he came into the water there was no evidence to show." Monday morning, between 1 and 2 o'clock, as the watchman on duty at Westminster-bridge was proceeding over it, in passing the recess in the centre of the bridge on the left side leading from Parliament-street, he observed a brow n paper parcel lying on the seat. Seeing no person there he immediately took possession of the parcel, and conveyed it. without loss of time to the police station-house in Tower-street. Lambeth. The watchman here delivered up the parcel to. Inspector King, who on opening it found it to contain the dead body of a newly born male infant. There were marks of violence perceptible on various pays of, the body, but more particularly one which appeared on'tlse left temple, which was cut open, and from which the blood bad flowed. The wound appeared as if it had been infr,eted with some sharp instrument, and was considered by ';rose who examined it as of such a nature as to be the prine:„pal cause of the child's death. The body when found was w-,-apped up in two large pieces of coarse sheeting, and the arms and legs tied together with pieces of tape. The outsi '4O covering of the sheeting in which the body was enveloped. was a large sheet of brown paper, carefully tied round with, a piece of cord. The police inspector subsequently apprirsd the parish officers of the circumstance, with a view 1 that an immediate inquiry might be instituted to discover the parties concerned in the suspected murder of the infant.
The Sun. — 1837-12-09 (London, England)

THE GLASGOW WEAVERS. Mr. WAKLEY presented a petitiren which had been agreed to at a numerous and most respectable meeting, but which was signed only by the Chairman on behalf of the meeting. The petitioners prayed for the repeal of so much of the law of Scotland as permitted a vexatious delay of justice, through the interference of the Law-officers of the Crown. The petitioners had been induced to appeal to the House, in consequence of the great hardship suffered by certain working men of Glasgow, who were accused of conspiring to procure a violation of the law, and were also accused of murder. Their trial had been vexatiously postponed, and he (Mr. Wakley) was glad to see the Lord-Advocate in his place, and he hoped the Learned Lord would be able to give an explanation of that oppressive delay. Captain PE CHE LL supported the prayer of the petition, and bore testimony to the respectability of the meeting from which it emanated. The LORD ADVOCATE was sure that he could satisfy the House of the propriety of the proceedings complained of by the petition. A murder was committed in the streets of Glasgow, under circumstances which gave the authorities no means of ascertaining who were the murderers. An investigation was made, of which the result was that the President, Treasurer, and Secretary of the Glasgow Trades' Union were taken up upon the charge of murder. The trial of these persons was delayed, because, according to the laws of Scotland, no witness could be brought forward at the trial whose name and description were not set forth in the summons. Every person must see that it was material to have a full detail of all the circumstances and all the documents that could be adduced in evidence.—( Hear, hear.) When the case came before the Court, Counsel took objection to the relevancy. of the indictment. The Court came to the opinion that the indictment was relevant—it entered into a chain of incidents which went over a considerable time. After that decision was pronounced, information of most important evidence was communicated to the public prosecutor, which he could not avail himself of under that indictment. Accordingly a new indictment was framed. By the law of England a man might be tried the day after the crime was committed. In Scotland, however, he could not be tried until full notice had been given by such a paper as that which he (the Lord Advocate) now held in his hand, containing a full detail of all documents and papers. The case was of great importance, and he should not be doing his duty if he entered into any details which might prejudice the prisoners in the minds of the public.—( Hear, hear.) But be could assure the House that no delay should take place that could possibly be avoided. --(Hear, hear.) It was his most anxious wish to bring this trial to a conclusion, as soon as the forms of the law of Scotland would allow.—( Hear, hear.)