npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Sun. — 1842-04-18 (London, England)

SUICIDE OF A RELIEVING OFFICER.—The little town of Shoreham, Sussex, was thrown into a state of considerable excitement yesterday (Thursday) morning by the report that Puttock, the relieving officer of the Steyning Union, had shot himself. 'The report proved to be true. Puttock resided near Bonfield, and was in the habit of attending the meetings of the Board of Guardians at Shoreham on Wednesdays. He drove to Shoreham on Wednesday afternoon; but, instead of going to the meeting himself, he s"nt a boy with his bag. He put his horse and cart up at the Bridge Inn, which is occupied by Mr. Alechen, where he took some refreshment. Between five and six o'c'ock he went out, and shortly after he was gone some person came to inquire for.hirn. He wa,s not to be found. About seven o'clock in the evening a little girl went. to the water-closet at the back of Alechen's house, and finding the door fastened. she came away. Another person went to the place about a quarter before eleven, and the door was still fastened. The landlord was apprised of the circumstance, and he immediately took means to force the doer open, when he discovered the dead body of Puttock, with a pistol in each hand. It was evi • dent tat he had fired both pistols off; the first one had merely scarred his cheek, and the bullet was found in the wall; but the second one had taken a fatal effect,ihaving gone through the skull. The bullet was extracted by Mr. Bore, surgeon, of Shoreham, from between the skull and the scalp. He had been relieving officer to the union ever since the passing of the New Poor-law Bill, but what induced him to pat au 'end to his existence wo have not heard. 0 United Se vice Gazette of Saturday states that bur Majesty been graciously pleased to direct the restoration to the army of Captain Richard Anthony Reynolds, late of the 11th Hussars. He will be Gazetted in a few clays as a captain of the 9th Lancers, now tinder cyders for India. The Memorial of Pau gives the following as an additional instance of the disasters which attend the custom in that part of the country of letting off fire-arms at the celebration of weddings :._As a bridal party were ret unlit?, from the Church of Lestelle, a few clays ago, one of them, instead of discharging his piece in the air, fired it horizontally, and lodged the wadding in the breast of a young man scarcely twenty years of age, the only support of an aged mother, and killed him on the spot. We learn from Alexandria, March 22, "that some French engineers have been sent by the Pacha to the mouth of the canal of Mahmoudie, on the great Nile, to establish locks, so that merchandise maybe forwarded without the necessity of unloading,
The Sun. — 1842-12-12 (London, England)

ATTEMPTED MURDER ANY SUICIDE. r On Thusday evening last, the inhabitants sit. winning were alarmed by the intelligence that an ed Atempt had been made to murder a female, narfnor. forMargaret Gardiner, by an individual who hal es merly been her lodger. The man in question, Jairtr. Marshall, a mason, had been residinc, in Kilwinnifol. for a considerable time past, but had lately „ilea And Ireland, where he had been for a short periv`"A the only returned on the same evening he attempte",er life of his victim, and sacrificed his own. He met .leci with great seeming kindness, and afterwards inviiew her to walk with him, and managed to get her ife yards away from the house, when he drew a 'nen. and_, stabbed her in the lower part of the abdamthe I ortunately, the weapon came in contact with busk of her stays, and was thereby diverted raid its intended course, else no doubt the wound 1%:,°„,,L1 0 have proved fatal. She shileked " Murder," and into the house, and medical assistance was t' are diately sent for, and the wound dressed. IVe the glad to say that she is rapidly recovering. but, 03 meantime Marshall had made his escape, he search being instituted by the police and was found lying in the garden, and taken to a place of security. He soon after exhibited signs of tieing a extremely ill, and confessed to his having "ri.ing strong dose of arsenic. He expired, after doing great agony, on Friday at noon. The nearly 70 man was about 60 years of age—some saYineriti-j'etne —and previous to his death stated that he nation of all the way from Ireland with the sole inte.n,";iilly perpetrating the deed that has been so provlue"lo, others, he frustrated. He had been previously three ern, e,s,,i,ave ried, and love and jealousy combined are saiQ"o the rashhe been the incentives to the commission act. He is also said to be the last of thealin!;fivercelebrated gypsies of the same name.--AP tis er.
The Sun. — 1842-04-21 (London, England)

DISTRESSING CASE OF SUICIDE.—An inquest was held last evening, at the George, High-street, Wapping, befere Mr. Baker, en the body of Wm. Macdonald, aged 10, a clerk employed in the London-docks. Caroline Stewart deposed that the deceased occupied lodgings in her house. On Thursday week last the deceased returned home greatly excited, and said that he had been suspended from his employment. He said that whilst engaged in an office in the London-docks during the absence of Mr. Mitchell, the chief clerk, he recollected having committed an error in his books, and went away to the room where they were kept to correct it. When he returned to the office he found Mr. Mitchell there, who reprimanded him for having quitted the place without his leave, and, as a punishment, suspended him. The following Monday deceased went for his salary, and whilst waiting fur it, he was accosted by Mr. Mitchell, who declared that if he found him loitering about the office he would give him into the custody of a policeman. Deceased appeared to be much affected at this treatment, but was afterwards assured by Mr. Chandler, a gentleman connected with the Docks, that he should be reinstated. Arrangements had been making for, deceased's marriage with a young lady to whom he was much attached, and it was to have taken place a few days ago; but witness observed that since he received notice of his suspension he took little of his former emjoyments„ and gave way to despondency. On Saturday night last lie appears to hale taken a large dose of arsenic, and died from the effects of it at eleven o'clock the next morning. Mr. Garrett, surgeon, said that he had made a post mortem examination of the body, and though he could not positively say that the deceased had taken poison, he thought, from the appearance of the intestines that he had taken a large dose of white arsenic. Deceased, on Thursday week last, purchased twopenny worth of arsenic, ant said it was to destroy rats. Verdict, Temporary Insanity. DR.
The Sun. — 1842-01-19 (London, England)

COURT--PASHIONABLE. A grand ball was given at Naples on the-sth instant, in honour of the birth of the Prince of Wales, and the brilliancy of the fete could not be surpassed. Among the company were Don Sebastian, and his nephews, the sons of Don Carlos, who return to Rome next month. The Duke of Richmond left town on Saturday for Goodwood Park.  The Marquis of Hertford has been suffering during the past week from a severe cold. The Earl and Countess of Darlington have arrived in town from Penton Hall.  The Earhand Countess of Gainsborough have arrived in Paris from Barham Court, near Maidstone. Viscount Melbourne has been -visiting Viscount Palmerston during the past week at Broadlands. Lord and Lady Carrington have returned to town from Lincolnshire. The Earl of Aberdeen has been invited by the Queen to Windsor Castle, during the stay there of the King of Prussia.  The Marquis and Marchioness of Londonderry entertain a succession of visitors during the week at Wynyard Park.  raISCELLANEOUS.  The present is the second occasion of a visit of a reigning King of Prussia to this country. The last visit was in 1814, when the father of the present King came over with the Emperor Alexander of Russia, now twentyeight years ago. Costa Rica, the late scene of the earthquake in Central America, is called the " The Rich Coast," from its actual fertility, abounding in gold mines, cocoa, pasturages, sugar, and corn. San Jose, the capital, contains about 16,000 inhabitants, and has two fine harbours. The whole country is mountainous in the extreme. Owing to some new regulations of the Ironmongers' Company, with regard to the letting of their Irish estates, no less than 360 tenants are on the point of being dispesseiSed of their lands in the manor of Lizard, in Derry. Most of them are linen-manufacturers to the Coleraine market, cultivating flax on their ground ; and are nearly all Presbyterians. A man named Jupp, who kept, the Star at Reigate, threW himself under the Brighton train, at Redhill, on Monday, and was smashed to pieces. The cause of this determined suicide is not known.  The relation of two Queens, viz., Mrs. Wyndmore, cousin of Mary, Queen of William the Third, as w ell as of Queen Anne, died in Emanuel Hospital in 1772, having been supported fifty years on charity. The anniversary of St. Paul's conversion in the year 85, A.C., falls on the day of the Prince of Wales's christening. The Prince's nurse, Mrs. Brough, is to have a commission in the army for her eldest son,
The Sun. — 1842-09-08 (London, England)

REPORTED DEATH THE KING  OF HANOVER. We have just received the melancholy intelligence of the death of the King of Hanover, from a gentleman who reached London this afternoon direct from Dusseldorf.  His Majesty attended a review on Saturday last at that place, and appeared in perfect health during the day ; but having taken some ice, or other refreshment, was suddenly seized with illness, and diedeither on Saturday night or early on Sunday morning. The melancholy fact was matter of common conversation at Cologne.—Eveningr Paper. [The Dutch and German papers of the 6th instant, received last night, make no allusion to this report.]  SUICIDE IN THE SERPExTWE:—Yesterday morning, at an 'early hour, a person of gentlemanly appearance, was seen to throw himself off the bridge of the Serpentine, in Hyde Park, into the water. The men belonging to the Royal Humane Society, on receiving intelligence of the suicide, commenced dragging for the body, and about five o'clock they succeeded in finding it. The deceased, whose name is unknown, was taken to the receiving house of the Humane Society, and medical assistance wag rendered, but life was found to be quite extinct. The deceased appears to be 40 to 45 years of age, stout built, and about 5 feet six inches in height, and was dressed in a black coat, black silk waistcoat, dark trowsers, and Wellington boots. His appearance denotes that he has moved in a respeotable sphere of life. FATAL ACCIDENT ON TILE RlVER.—Yesterday evening- a lamentable accident, attended with loss of life, occurred on the river, nearly opposite Rotherhithe, as the Waterman steamer No. 2 was proceeding to Woolwich. A vessel called the Eden, from Newcastle, having just cast anchor at this spot,' the Captain was about. to proceed on shore in the long boat, and in the act of crossing the river, the bOat, which also contained three sailors, was struck by the prow of the steamer, and immediately swamped. The four persons strug. gled for some time in the water, until several boats put off from shore and succeeded in saving the three sailors, but we regret to state that the Captain sank almost immediately after the collision, and never rose more. The engineer of the steamer saved one of the sailors at the risk of his own life.
The Sun. — 1842-12-03 (London, England)

DETECTION OF SHEEP-STEALERS, AND SUICIDE OF THE SHEPIIERD.—A circumstance has just Occurred in Hertfordshire which goes to prove what has always been asserted by the chief constable of the county, that when farmers are in the habit of having sheep stolen the shepherd is generally connected with the thieves. On the forenoon of Friday, the 25th of November, information was brought to the chief conetable at Hertford that two wether sheep and a ram had been stolen some time during the previous night from the farm of Mr. Cheffins, near Ware. Captain Robertson immediately dispatched Inspector Dunn, of the rural police, by railway to London, and directed Inspector Barnes to go by the high-road to Smithfield, with instructions how to proceed. At Enfield Barnes he met a light cart belonging to Humphrey, a butcher of Hoddesdon, driven by a lad named Welch, who, being closely interrogated, admitted that he had been employed by Humphrey to convey two wether sheep and a ram to London, and stated that they had been delivered to Mr. Mossman, a salesman. Being convinced from the description given of the sheep by Welch that they were those stolen from Mr. Cheffins, Barnes returned to Hoddesdon and took Humphrey into custody, in whose possession Si. 15s. was found, which he admitted having received from Mossman, but refused to give any account of the sheep sold by him. Barnes then proceeded to London, taking with him the shepherd of Mr. Cheffins, and from information received from Mr. Mossman, who rendered every assistance to the police, the inspectors were enabled to trace the two wether sheep to the yard of the Ram public-house in Smithfield. The skin of the stolen ram (it having been already killed) was also traced and recovered from the fell-monger, to whom it had been sold, and both that and the sheep were subsequently identified by Mr. Cheffins as his property. The shepherd, upon being shown the sheep in London, evinced symptoms of uneasiness, and desired to be allowed to go home. He accordingly left London at eleven o'clock on Monday morning, but did not reach his master's until twelve o'clock at night, having in the meantime, as it is supposed, given information of the discovery of the sheep to others of the gang, with whom it was now found he was connected ; and at three o'clock on Tuesday morning it was discovered he had committed suicide, the unfortunate man having nearly severed his head from his body.
The Sun. — 1842-07-18 (London, England)

CORONER'S INQUEST. On Saturday afternoon an inquest was held before Mr. Payne, at Howard's Coffee-house, St. James's-place, Houndsditch, on the body of David Levy, aged 56, an orange-merchant, of No. 2, Sugar Bakei's-vard, in that neighbourhood, who committed suicide in a very determined manner. Suicide being rare among the Jews, and it being their Sabbath, the large room in which the inquiry was held was crowded with Israelites. Lazarus Isaacs, of King-street., St. James's-place, fruiterer, examined—On Friday afternoon, on returning home from a fruit sale,. I was stopped by deceased's wife, and she asked me if I had seen " poor Levy ?" I answered, " No." She then told me she had not seen hint since eleven o'clock, and that he had been much troubled in mind for the last few days. I had not seen him as usual in the morning at the orange market. In the evening I saw Mrs. Levy again, and she told me her husband had not as yet come home, and begged that I would look for him. I did so, and going up stairs to his bed-room, on the second floor, I found the door locked, and on calling I received no answer.. Mrs. Levy then desired me to burst the door open, which I did with her assistance. I discovered on the bed a prayer-book, and upon it was a piece of bread and some salt. I also found a phial, and looked under the bed, but could not see deceased. Mrs. Levy, on searching behind the door, exclaimed, "My God ! there he is hanging." He was hanging by a cord, fastened to a staple and two wooden pegs, one end of the rope being round the three fastenings, and the other round his neck. With assistance I cut him down ; and in my opinion he had been dead three hours.
The Sun. — 1842-05-28 (London, England)

TELLERS. Inglis, Sir R. H. Escott, Bichkam  RAILWAY RETURNS►.  We extract from the Railway Magazine the sums received on the principal Railways of Great Britain for the week ending on the day of the month prefixed to each. The return includes the money received for passengers, parcels, carriages, horses, mails, and merchandize : Week Name of Railway. Miles Total. ended Opened. £. s. d. May 21 Birmingham & Derby Junct. 48 1,267 16 5 20 Birmingham and Gloucester 55 1,715 8 10 14 Brandling Junction 25 954 1 6 20 Chester and Birkenhead .. 21 Dundee and Arbroath 22 Eastern Counties ......... 21 Edinburgh and Glasgow Glasgow and Ayr 21 Glasgow, Paisley, & Greenock 22i 800 4 6 21 Grand Junct., Chester &Crewe 113 8,613 6 3 21 Great North of England 45 1,438 1 5 22 Great Western 23 Hayle lB 217 6 3 21 Hull and Selby 21 Lancaster & Preston Junction 201 529 13 9 20 Liverpool and Manchester 3l 5,135 9 0 21 London and Birmingham.— 11.2 i 16,255 3 3 26 London and Blackwall 3i 917 18 5 21 London and Brighten Ditto Shoreham Branch 24 London and Croydon 26 L.ndon and Greenwich 3i 952 1 8 22 London and South Western 19 Manchester, Bolton, and Bury 10 643 4 8 23 Manchester & Birmingham 21 Manchester and Leeds 21 Midland Counties s7i 2,921 18 li 21 Newcastle and Carlisle ...... 19 Newcastle and North Shields 7 420 16 10 22 Northern and Eastern ... 21 North Midland 20 North Union 21 Preston and Wyre l9 252 19 7 23 Sheffield and Manchester 7 519 5 4 22 Ulster 21 York and North Midland 2B 1,654 9 0  Mr. Freshfield, M.P., has been placed in mourning by the demise of his lady, eldest daughter of the late J. Sims, Esq.. of Church-hill House. The Licensed Victuallers of this city met yesterday, and the Birmingham Licensed Victuallers' Society on Tuesday, and both determined upon a petition against the clause proposed to be introduced by Mr. Pakingtou, in the Bill now before Parliament for the better regulation of public-houses, for preventing the opening of all such houses before one o'clock on Sundays.— Worcester Herald. SUICIDE ni A
The Sun. — 1842-04-08 (London, England)

APRIL 8, 1842  CRIMINAL COURT.—(THIS DAY.) OLD COURT, Alexander Francis Baillie Nicholson, aged 31, postman, was i"diet....:4; tor stealing three post letters containing money, sie being at the time employed in the Post-office. The Attorney-General, Mr. Adolphus, and Mr. Sheppard appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Clarkson defended the prisoner. It appeared that the prisoner was engaged in the Pest-office for the purpose of taking the letters from the stampers' table to the sorters' table. On the Ist March last the prisoner was observed to select three letters from a bundle which had been stamped, and which were lying on the stampers' table. The prisoner was given into custody, and searched, and the three letter s were found upon him, all of which contained money. Mr. CbARKSON addressed the Jury for the prisoner, and observed that the case was too clear and plain for hint to advance any defence upon it. He should however call witness?s, who would prove that the prisoner was subject to fits of insanity, and that he had on several occasions attempted suicide. On one occasion the prisoner had hanged himself with a pocket handkerchief, and it was with the utmost difficulty that animation had been restored. On another occasion the prisoner had attempted suicide by cutting his throat. The witnesses would further state that the prisoner's father, his brother, and his sister, had all died by their own hands. He (Mr. Clarkson) stated these facts, and would call witnesses to substantiate them, for the purpose of mitigation of punishment; and lie hoped, and felt confident that they would receive the fullest consideration of the Jury and the Court. The prisoner's sister•in-law, together with ether witnesses, were then ca:led, all of whom corroborated the statement of the Learned Counsel.  The Learned JUDGE then summed up the evidence, and the Jury immediately returned a verdict of Guilty. Mr. Justice ERSKINE then addressed the prisoner in a very impressive manner, and said that for the sake of public justice, and as a warning to others, it became absolutely necessary to inflict a most severe penalty. He earnestly entreated the prisoner, wherever he should be placed, to wait with patience till that time when the Almighty should in the course of nature deem it fit to call him hence. It appeared that the prisoner had been providentially saved from self-destruction on more than one occasion, and it was by the merest chance that be was not then standing before that awful tribunal, to which we must all one day go, and there receive the doom that awa ted that crime which the Almighty had screxpre3sly forbidden. His Lordship, in concluvion, intimated that it was not probable the full sentence of the Court would be carried into effect, but still it was necessary that that sentence should be passed in order that it might act as a warning to others. The sentence of the Court was that the prisoner be transported beyond the seas to such parts as her Majesty should, with the advice of her Privy Council, think fit, for the term of his natural life.
The Sun. — 1842-04-08 (London, England)

HORRIBLE DEPRAVITY. Wednesday an investigation, which lasted many hours,- was gone into before Mr. W. Carter, the coroner for Surrey, at the King's Arms, near the new church at Camberwell, respecting the death of azabeth Madden, aged 6.9, whose suicide, it will be seen, was the result of the unparalleled infamy of her sun and daughter. Inspector Pike stated, that on Sunday morning, :bout eight o'clock, he was walking on the banks of the Surrey Canal, whoa his attention was directed to something I.oating on the water, which he at one time supposed to be a dog, but on closer examination ho discovered 'to be the body of a woman. He procured assistance, and the tie. ceased was got out of the water, but life was quite extinct, and he directed it to be conveyed to the above house. The identification of the body having been established, James Madden was next ca!lei in. said he was a printer, to,iding at No. 12, New-street, Last-lame, Walworth. The deceaset was his mother, and on Sunday he heard her body had been found in the Surrey Cana'. lie saw her alive at half.past one o'clock on Sunday; she was then in Burdett-street, II alworthcommon, and he did not leave her until half-past ten o'clock at night; she was then in apparently good health. To the Coroner.--Before he went away she asked him if he would stop to sleep. He would not go home, as his sister was very drunk. The Coroner.—Had the deceased been in want of food ? Witness—Yes. A Juror—Now, you are upon your oath, and many of the Jury know more than yon imagine ; state what camel the destitution, and apparently the suicide, of your own mother? Witness—My dater p'.e:lged all for liquor. The Juror—Was it your mother's property ? Witness—No; she was a laundress, and the linen belonged to families at the west end of the town, for whom she worked. The Juror— How long is it do you suppose she has wanted proper nourishment, or even ordinary food? Witness—Six weeks ! The Coroner—On this night of which you have been speaking what occurred between you and your mother? Witness—She said she should be driven away by some person. She was lightheaded, and all was pawned, and thatn such uccahu ead hera beastly state Elizabeth Wigg, the. daughter, was sent for, and when she came to be sworn was 'evidently istate of intoxication that the Coroner refused to take her evidence, and ordered her out of the room. The brother-in-law of tit,' daughter was brought forward by Mr. Clifford, the relieving-officer. lie stated that he saw his sister-ha-law on Saturday, and alto was'