For centuries, the breaking of British law was punished under the brutal Bloody Code. In 1660, there were 50 crimes which carried the death penalty. However, that had increased to 160 in 1750 and to a whopping 222 in 1815.
Many of these capital offences are what we today would see as trivial. Not only could treason, arson and murder give you a date with the hangman's noose or the axeman's axe, but so could crimes such as sheep stealing, going out at night with a blackened face, being in the company of gipsies for a month, damaging Westminster Bridge, malicious maiming of cattle, writing a threatening letter, destroying turnpike roads, stealing from rabbit warrens, writing a threatening letter, and begging without a licence if you are a soldier or sailor. If you were an unmarried mother and you concealed a stillborn child, you could expect to be sentenced to death. This is, of course, a time before liberals and do-gooders had much authority. It's little wonder that the British people in those days were too scared to do anything at all in case they suddenly discovered they had unwittingly committed a capital offence.
The number of capital offences in what was then the richest and most powerful country in the world probably decreased dramatically in the second half of the 19th century, but severe punishments were still handed out for trifling offences.
For example, Elizabeth Murphy received five years of hard labour in 1884 and seven years of police supervision..... for stealing an umbrella.
Dorcas Mary Snell, 45, was sentenced to five years of imprisonment with hard labour in 1883.......for stealing a rasher of bacon.
Mary Richards was jailed for five years in 1880 at the age 59 for stealing 130 oysters valued at eight shillings.
Mary Billingham was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment and hard labour in 1875 for helping to procure abortions.
The cases of Murphy, Snell and Richards are just two of 4,400 criminal records and 500 mugshots that family history website Ancestry.co.uk is publishing. They provide an astonishing insight into the way British justice was done at the time, and indicted that gender and the offence committed was no barrier to the full force of the law.
Ancestry.co.uk international content director Dan Jones said: 'Crime is more often associated with men; however, these intriguing records shed light on some rather colourful female lawbreakers of their day and, given the petty nature of many of their crimes, also serves as a reminder of how harsh our judicial system was not so very long ago.'
The collection was unveiled on Saturday at 'Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE' - the world's largest family history event, which is being held at London's Olympia this weekend.
Victorian bad girls: Police mugshots of 19th century women criminals revealed (along with the harsh sentences the no-nonsense justice judges handed down)
By Daily Mail Reporter
26th February 2011
Daily Mail
Thousands of criminal records detailing the harsh punishments handed our to female convicts in Victorian times will be published online for the first time today.
Family history website, Ancestry.co.uk is publishing more than 4,400 criminal records and 500 mugshots in its collection, which included one woman who received a five-year sentence for stealing an umbrella.
They provide an astonishing insight into the way justice was done at the time, and indicated that gender and the offence committed was no barrier to the full force of the law.
Harsh: Elizabeth Murphy was sentenced to five years in prison and seven years police supervision for stealing an umbrella. The records have been released by Ancestry.co.uk
Criminal: The record of Mary Richards, who was jailed for five years in 1880 for stealing 130 oysters valued at eight shillings
Women and young girls featured in the records include Mary Richards, who was jailed for five years in 1880 at the age 59 for stealing 130 oysters valued at eight shillings.
Another tells of Dorcas Mary Snell, 45, who was sentenced to five years of imprisonment with hard labour in 1883 for the theft of a single piece of bacon, although she was paroled two years later.
Elizabeth Murphy, who stole the umbrella, received five years of hard labour in 1884 and seven years of police supervision. She served three years of her sentence before receiving parole in 1887.
Locked up: The record of Dorcas Mary Snell details that she was convicted of larceny for taking a solitary rasher of bacon. She received five years.
Mugshots: Elizabeth Murphy (top) and Mary Richards pose for the police's camera after they were committed of their crimes
The records also detail the lengthy, unforgiving sentences given to women who procured abortions, including Mary Billingham who was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment and hard labour in 1875.
Age also didn't appear to matter to Victorian judges. The youngest girl in the records, named Ann McQuillan, is aged just 11, and among 115 girls under 18 who feature in the collection.
By contrast, 76-year-old Ann Dalton who was convicted for stealing 'two sheets' in 1863 is the oldest convict in the records. She received five years, serving three of them.
Murderer: Elizabeth Ann Staunton, 29, was convicted of killing Harriet Staunton in 1877, but was spared the death sentence and paroled six years later
Meanwhile, the records detail a number of violent crimes which women were convicted of.
Mary Morrison, a 40-year-old servant, threw sulphuric acid over her estranged husband for not paying her weekly allowance, shouting 'take that - I'll make you worse than you are'. She received five years in 1883 but served only three.
Elizabeth Ann Staunton, 29, was convicted of the murder of Harriet Staunton in 1877. Elizabeth was spared the death penalty and instead sentenced to life. She was granted parole six years later.
Acid attack: Mary Morrison threw sulphuric acid over her estranged husband for not paying her weekly allowance
Unforgiving: Mary Billingham, who helped to procure abortions, was given 20 years by a judge in 1875
Ancestry.co.uk said the records, the originals of which are held by the National Archives, provide a picture of the 'harsh' British judicial system at the time.
Ancestry.co.uk international content director Dan Jones said: 'Crime is more often associated with men; however, these intriguing records shed light on some rather colourful female lawbreakers of their day and, given the petty nature of many of their crimes, also serves as a reminder of how harsh our judicial system was not so very long ago.'
The collection was unveiled today at 'Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE' - the world's largest family history event, which is being held at London's Olympia this weekend.
Doomed: (Top left) Mary Lynch, who received five years for theft of a shirt and other items in Durham in 1881; (Top right) Fanny Oliver was sentenced to death in 1874 for the 'wilful' murder of her husband Joseph by poison; (Bottom) Elizabeth Hemsworth got five years for 'stealing wearing apparel' in 1881
dailymail.co.uk
Many of these capital offences are what we today would see as trivial. Not only could treason, arson and murder give you a date with the hangman's noose or the axeman's axe, but so could crimes such as sheep stealing, going out at night with a blackened face, being in the company of gipsies for a month, damaging Westminster Bridge, malicious maiming of cattle, writing a threatening letter, destroying turnpike roads, stealing from rabbit warrens, writing a threatening letter, and begging without a licence if you are a soldier or sailor. If you were an unmarried mother and you concealed a stillborn child, you could expect to be sentenced to death. This is, of course, a time before liberals and do-gooders had much authority. It's little wonder that the British people in those days were too scared to do anything at all in case they suddenly discovered they had unwittingly committed a capital offence.
The number of capital offences in what was then the richest and most powerful country in the world probably decreased dramatically in the second half of the 19th century, but severe punishments were still handed out for trifling offences.
For example, Elizabeth Murphy received five years of hard labour in 1884 and seven years of police supervision..... for stealing an umbrella.
Dorcas Mary Snell, 45, was sentenced to five years of imprisonment with hard labour in 1883.......for stealing a rasher of bacon.
Mary Richards was jailed for five years in 1880 at the age 59 for stealing 130 oysters valued at eight shillings.
Mary Billingham was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment and hard labour in 1875 for helping to procure abortions.
The cases of Murphy, Snell and Richards are just two of 4,400 criminal records and 500 mugshots that family history website Ancestry.co.uk is publishing. They provide an astonishing insight into the way British justice was done at the time, and indicted that gender and the offence committed was no barrier to the full force of the law.
Ancestry.co.uk international content director Dan Jones said: 'Crime is more often associated with men; however, these intriguing records shed light on some rather colourful female lawbreakers of their day and, given the petty nature of many of their crimes, also serves as a reminder of how harsh our judicial system was not so very long ago.'
The collection was unveiled on Saturday at 'Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE' - the world's largest family history event, which is being held at London's Olympia this weekend.
Victorian bad girls: Police mugshots of 19th century women criminals revealed (along with the harsh sentences the no-nonsense justice judges handed down)
By Daily Mail Reporter
26th February 2011
Daily Mail
Thousands of criminal records detailing the harsh punishments handed our to female convicts in Victorian times will be published online for the first time today.
Family history website, Ancestry.co.uk is publishing more than 4,400 criminal records and 500 mugshots in its collection, which included one woman who received a five-year sentence for stealing an umbrella.
They provide an astonishing insight into the way justice was done at the time, and indicated that gender and the offence committed was no barrier to the full force of the law.
Harsh: Elizabeth Murphy was sentenced to five years in prison and seven years police supervision for stealing an umbrella. The records have been released by Ancestry.co.uk
Criminal: The record of Mary Richards, who was jailed for five years in 1880 for stealing 130 oysters valued at eight shillings
Women and young girls featured in the records include Mary Richards, who was jailed for five years in 1880 at the age 59 for stealing 130 oysters valued at eight shillings.
Another tells of Dorcas Mary Snell, 45, who was sentenced to five years of imprisonment with hard labour in 1883 for the theft of a single piece of bacon, although she was paroled two years later.
Elizabeth Murphy, who stole the umbrella, received five years of hard labour in 1884 and seven years of police supervision. She served three years of her sentence before receiving parole in 1887.
Locked up: The record of Dorcas Mary Snell details that she was convicted of larceny for taking a solitary rasher of bacon. She received five years.
Mugshots: Elizabeth Murphy (top) and Mary Richards pose for the police's camera after they were committed of their crimes
The records also detail the lengthy, unforgiving sentences given to women who procured abortions, including Mary Billingham who was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment and hard labour in 1875.
Age also didn't appear to matter to Victorian judges. The youngest girl in the records, named Ann McQuillan, is aged just 11, and among 115 girls under 18 who feature in the collection.
By contrast, 76-year-old Ann Dalton who was convicted for stealing 'two sheets' in 1863 is the oldest convict in the records. She received five years, serving three of them.
Murderer: Elizabeth Ann Staunton, 29, was convicted of killing Harriet Staunton in 1877, but was spared the death sentence and paroled six years later
Meanwhile, the records detail a number of violent crimes which women were convicted of.
Mary Morrison, a 40-year-old servant, threw sulphuric acid over her estranged husband for not paying her weekly allowance, shouting 'take that - I'll make you worse than you are'. She received five years in 1883 but served only three.
Elizabeth Ann Staunton, 29, was convicted of the murder of Harriet Staunton in 1877. Elizabeth was spared the death penalty and instead sentenced to life. She was granted parole six years later.
Acid attack: Mary Morrison threw sulphuric acid over her estranged husband for not paying her weekly allowance
Unforgiving: Mary Billingham, who helped to procure abortions, was given 20 years by a judge in 1875
Ancestry.co.uk said the records, the originals of which are held by the National Archives, provide a picture of the 'harsh' British judicial system at the time.
Ancestry.co.uk international content director Dan Jones said: 'Crime is more often associated with men; however, these intriguing records shed light on some rather colourful female lawbreakers of their day and, given the petty nature of many of their crimes, also serves as a reminder of how harsh our judicial system was not so very long ago.'
The collection was unveiled today at 'Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE' - the world's largest family history event, which is being held at London's Olympia this weekend.
Doomed: (Top left) Mary Lynch, who received five years for theft of a shirt and other items in Durham in 1881; (Top right) Fanny Oliver was sentenced to death in 1874 for the 'wilful' murder of her husband Joseph by poison; (Bottom) Elizabeth Hemsworth got five years for 'stealing wearing apparel' in 1881
dailymail.co.uk
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