A missing murderer

[St. Peter]

Frances Isabella Stallard was born in Chale in 1856. In 1875 she gave birth to an illegitimate daughter. In 1877 she was found guilty of murdering her child. The death sentencewas commuted to life imprisonment and she was sent to Knaphill prison in Surrey. The prison was closed in 1889 but I cannot find out where she was tranferred to. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
She was released from prison at some date unknown and died at Brading in 1922

[Jan1954]

Hello again,

I have had a rootle round the ether and found a website for Knaphill (http://www.theknaphillian.com/historyofknaphill.htm). Under the bit about the prison it says, "The female prison continued to be used until October 1895 when it too was closed and the last of the women transferred to Holloway."

So, perhaps Holloway is the next place to have a look for Frances. :)

[Jan1954]

You might find something in the National Archives (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/searchresults.asp?SearchInit=0&txtsearchterm=holloway+prison&txtfirstdate=1893&txtlastdate=1920&txtrestriction=&hdnsorttype=Reference&image1.x=21&image1.y=9) as well. :)

[MaureeninNY]

The Times, Thursday, Jul 25, 1889; pg. 10; Issue 32760; col F
Release of a convict-Frances Stallard,who was sentenced to death 12 years ago at Winchester for the murder of her infant child,and whose sentence was commuted to penal servitude for life,was released from Woking Convict Prison on Thursday. An account of the distressing case was recently published by Mrs Houston,entitled "Only a Woman's Life". A petition was sent to the Home Office,and Mr Matthews,after consultation with Lord Coleridge,who passed the death sentence,ordered the prisoner to be released.

Maureen in NY

[Jan1954]

By 1901, she was back on the Island.

RG13; Piece: 1027; Folio: 102; Page: 27

6 Birkbeck Cottages, Avenue Road, Sandown

Frank Salter, Head, wid, 48, General Labourer, b IOW, Town not known
Ethel Salter, dau, unm, 16, Nurse, b IOW, Lake
Frank Salter, son, unm, 15, b IOW, Lake
Leonard Salter, son, 12, b IOW, Lake
Laura Salter, dau, 11, b IOW, Lake
Freda Salter, dau, 10, b IOW, Lake
Frances Stallard, 48, unm, Housekeeper, b IOW, Chale

[Jan1954]

It looks like she was back there by 1891 as well.

RG12; Piece: 890; Folio 104; Page 5

23 George Street, Ryde

Alice Acock, Head, 41, Scholastic, b Oxfordshire,Oxford
Annie Acock, Cousin, 33, Living on own means, b Gloster (sic), ?????
Edith Newall, Governess, 19, b Harefield, Middlesex
Rose Gloscow (?), Scholar, 14, b I of W, Ryde
Louise Bernard, Scholar, 14, b France, S Jean de Savigney
Fanny Stallard, servant, S, 32, General Servant, b I of W, Chale

[susan-y]

The Times, Thursday, Jul 25, 1889; pg. 10; Issue 32760; col F
Release of a convict-Frances Stallard,who was sentenced to death 12 years ago at Winchester for the murder of her infant child,and whose sentence was commuted to penal servitude for life,was released from Woking Convict Prison on Thursday. An account of the distressing case was recently published by Mrs Houston,entitled "Only a Woman's Life". A petition was sent to the Home Office,and Mr Matthews,after consultation with Lord Coleridge,who passed the death sentence,ordered the prisoner to be released.

Maureen in NY

This is so interesting...I'd love to know what story " Only a Woman's Life" told...obviously she had been falsley charged...

Sue

[Lesley Robertson]

This is so interesting...I'd love to know what story " Only a Woman's Life" told...obviously she had been falsley charged...

Sue


It might be worth checking the Internet Archive (free downloads of out of copyright books) or Abe Books (worldwide linkup of small second hand bookshops) to see if they have it. Or try interlibrary loan.
Maybe she rolled onto the child in bed and they thought she'd smothered it... It might be worth looking for the birth & death certs for the child.

Lesley

[St. Peter]

Thank you, Maureen,
Most useful and very interesting. Together with the other threads I have received I now know much more about Frances Isabella. At the time of the trial, after the sentencing, there was a national outcry in the papers which led to the commuting to a life sentence.
St. Peter.

[St. Peter]

Much as you would like it to be a false conviction or an accident, I'm afraid she did commit murder. I have an account of her trial, taken from a book called 'A History of Newport Old & New'. It is quite lengthy but a brief summary is as follows:
One evening in Cowes, Frances Stallard met a young shipwright from Lymington and subsequently beame pregnant. The man, George Gatrell, departed rapidly to the West Indies. In January 1875 gave birth to Agnes Ellen in the workhouse at Parkhurst.
When the child was 5 months old frances got a job in Ventnor and agnes was put into care. This lasted 21 months until a policeman stated that the child was being neglected, so Frances and her mother walked 20 miles to collect the baby and take it home to Chale. The child was now 2 years old but could not sit upright or walk and often bled at the nose and ears.
After 4 weeks Frances took the child saying that she was going to Wroxall to hand it over to relatives of the father and they would take it to live on the mainland. In the days that followed Frances' mother became suspicious and after a search the body of a young child was found drowned in a stream.When faced with the accusation Frances confessed saying that she had put a flannel over the child's mouth because she would not stop crying.
During the course of the trial Frances' employers said that she was 'often strange in manner' and there was also pleas for clemency on the grounds of her youth, the desertion by the father, the child's ill health, and circumstances in general. However, the judge donned the black cap and she was taken back to her cell to await execution. There then followed a considerable outcry, not only locally but also countrywide following an article in The Telegraph. As a result the death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment
Looking at the events today, with hindsight, it is obvious that Frances was of low mentality, suffering from post natal depression and quite incapable of looking after and supporting the child.

[v.wells]

A very sad accounting of what I am sure was a common occurrence back then. Life was so truly difficult for women in ordinary circumstances but Frances Stallard's situation was really heartbreaking.

[*bunty*]

Yes, it is hard to put yourself in this woman's shoes. It must have been a terribly hard time.

[Penny Gallo]

The fact that the child was bleeding from the ears suggests that the poor little thing had already had considerable maltreatment at the hands of the foster-home, may have had goodness-only-knows what other injuries and was probably extremely fractious. It must have been a nightmare for this poor lone young woman.

What does surprise and gratify me is the way that she is accepted back into Society afterwards, ie the fact that she is employed once more as a servant in households with children. Obviously local people felt there were extenuating circumstances. I wonder what happened to Gatrell?

[St. Peter]

I haven't been able to track down George Gatrell. One or two men of that name appear in the census records but I don't think they are the George I was looking. The nearest being a George Gatrell born in Ringwood in 1846 but he is listed as a blacksmith and there is no evidence that he was ever a shipwright in his younger days.

[MaureeninNY]

Going by newspaper reports which lists his mother as Martha,I'm quite sure that on the 1851 and 1861 census he's the George Gat*rell born about 1847 in Lymington. I haven't really tried to track him down after that.

Maureen in NY

[Fiona67]

1888, 12rno. 28. Only a Woman's Life. By One who
saved it, Lon., 1889, 12mo. (An account of the trial
and conviction of Frances Stallard for child-murder in
1877, and of the commutation of her sentence through
the efforts of Mrs. Houatoun, who was convinced of the
woman's innocence. The publication of this book led
to her release, after an imprisonment of twelve years,
Lord Coleridge, who had originally tried the case, having
so advised.)

[georgiep]

Births mar qtr 1875 IOW
Agnes Ellen Stallard
Death jun qtr 1877 IOW
Agnes Ellen Stallard aged 2yrs.

Sleeping with angels.
God bless the little darling.

GeorgieLP