Jump to content

Warrington Murder 1851


algy

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 104
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Last from me I promise... I forgot to put this ealier with everything else.

 

Surgeon's general remarks [on the voyage to Van Diemen's Land].

 

"The Sir Robert Seppings was a 'fine vessel' of 620 tons well adapted to carrying 220 female convicts from England to Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land.

 

The main hatchway had been fitted with iron bars instead of the large upright posts which tended to stop light and free ventilation. These were far superior to the wooden bars and the surgeon strongly recommends they be fitted on all convict ships.

 

One of the water closets for the prisoners was fitted on the top with an iron grating, the invention of the Honourable Captain Dundas, 'it answered most admirably' and after a similar one was fitted to the other water closet they were never bothered with bad smells.

 

When the women embarked the weather was extremely cold, the winds from the north east. The wind changed to south west after several days and there was bad weather.

 

A very large number of cases are on the list, 337, and 6 died from various diseases, 11 were sent to the Colonial Hospital. There were no cases of continued fever which the surgeon attributes to the care paid to ventilation, cleanliness and dryness.

 

The surgeon goes on to enumerate all the different diseases suffered, in the order in which they appear in the nosological synopsis, with the numbers of each and very brief comments on some individual cases. [There are no remarks relating to the journey to Norfolk Island and back].

 

Signed L T Cunningham, MD, Surgeon RN, Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land, 20 October 1852."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do feel sorry for Bridget, she obviously had a hard life overall. I remember reading one of the witness statements who said she thought the screeching in the kitchen was Patrick 'beating his mistress', what a nasty, squalid, impoverished life they all lead. And that description of her as 'old and broken' is chilling. Neither of them very bright by the sounds of it, one of the Times articles said when they told her the sentence was commuted, they apparently had to tell her several times before she understood. The reason Patrick was desperate for the money was that he had failed to whitewash his boarding house (disease prevention I imagine) and was paying off a fine in instalments. So no municipal sanitation, just get the poor to pay for the futile gesture of whitewashing their houses and screw them for fines if they fail to do so.

 

I dunno, I know Peggy deserves the most sympathy. I don't think Bridget was an angel by any means, at best she aided and abetted, hid the corpse. AT worst she was an accomplice, coolly concealing the crime when Patrick ran off. Maybe she feared for her own life? Awful lives all round.

 

Anyway, last piece of the jigsaw for me, what happened to the bodies buried at the Jail when it was closed?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel bad now and you are right Tracey.

 

I feel sorry for her too especially as I've just found and read all 5 pages of the surgeons hand written medical notes for Bridget where he describes how she was on days, what she ate etc etc. Seems somedays she would only have arrowroot and wine and wouldn't take anything else.

 

They really seemed to have tried their best to look after the sick onboard.

 

She first became ill on 7th May and the notes span to the 14 June where he closes with 'This poor woman gradually sank and expired this morning at 8am'

 

(note by 'sunk' he doesn;t mean in the sea he means she gradually faded away

 

If you have an ancestry account I found them under Immigration & Travel - Passenger Lists - UK Royal Nacy Medical Journals 1817 to 1857.... and search Bridget Lyons BOB 1810

 

Whatever you do don't read the ones about the babies GULP :cry:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel bad now and you are right Tracey.

 

I feel sorry for her too especially as I've just found and read all 5 pages of the surgeons hand written medical notes for Bridget where he describes how she was on days, what she ate etc etc. Seems somedays she would only have arrowroot and wine and wouldn't take anything else.

 

They really seemed to have tried their best to look after the sick onboard.

 

She first became ill on 7th May and the notes span to the 14 June where he closes with 'This poor woman gradually sank and expired this morning at 8am'

 

(note by 'sunk' he doesn;t mean in the sea he means she gradually faded away

 

If you have an ancestry account I found them under Immigration & Travel - Passenger Lists - UK Royal Nacy Medical Journals 1817 to 1857.... and search Bridget Lyons BOB 1810

 

Whatever you do don't read the ones about the babies GULP :cry:

 

Dizz is it possible to send those details to me by email (or display them) please, I'm not on ancestry as after I had completed our family history I let it lapse.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Opps I've downloaded them for you too Algy as I saw your post just before I popped out and did them when I got back without checking back on here... do you want them twice :lol:

 

Obs' fault as I went on the hunt for potted shrimps again... I've got some and I must remember to tell him later.

 

Glad I downloaded them though as there are actually 8 pages of medical notes for her not 5 as I previously said and I must have skipped some when I read earlier. So thanks :wink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Will try to upload here first incase Cleo (or others who may have been interested :lol: ) don't have ancestry and wants to read them.

 

Not sure if they are clear enough to read though on here. Let me know and I'll delete them if you can't.

 

Page 1 of Bridget's Lyons Mediacl Notes

 

BLMedP1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So what's next then Algy as I'm a tad bored now it's ended. That was fun :lol:

I honestly don't know. I think we were extremely lucky in that there was a wealth of subject matter available on their crime especially as one of you discovered that Bridget had been shipped of to Australia. I shall keep digging and delving and hope I come across something worthy of our time and attention, thanks to Dizz, Cleo and Tracey for the detective work, we got off to slow start but finished with a flurry!!!

clap-animated-animation-clap-smiley-emoticon-000340-large.gif

 

This is a bit morbid but ends the topic as it ended for Bridget Lyons.

 

Burial at Sea.

 

714859.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...