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  1. #1
    spison
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    Default Criminal lunatic

    (Moderators please move this if you think it should be somewhere else.)

    Oh dear! How was one classified a criminal lunatic? What crimes may they have committed? Where would they have been tried?

    I have just decided that the following criminal lunatic is almost certainly my ancestor.

    This is my family: A James Sirdefield was my 4X great grandfather. I am directly descended from his son, Benjamin Sirdefield, who was born in Darlaston, Staffordshire, in 1816, whose parents were James and Mary Sirdefield and whose father was a shoemaker. (I have Benjamin's marriage certificate to Martha Ashton.)

    In 1851 one James Sirdefield is in St George the Martyr, Southwark, classified as a Criminal Lunatic. (HO107 1565/lost the folio p.21 - copyright TNA). This man was born in Darlaston, Staffordshire, in 1788 and was a shoemaker.

    Mary, James's wife, probably died in 1853 and I believe that he remarried in 1854, aged 65, in Darlaston. I think James died in 1860 so he doesn't show up again on any census. I'm ready to buy these three certificates. I can't find James and Mary in 1841C on Ancestry as while Sirdefield is unusual, it is very variously spelled and terribly transcribed - the best one I've found was Turdifield. I haven't found Mary in 1851. I've followed Benjamin and his brother Isaac through till 1891.

    I've read some stuff about criminal lunatics and have googled but there is so much out there a synopsis would be appreciated as would any advice.

    Jane

  2. #2
    Super Moderator christanel's Avatar
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    Hi jane
    There is a James Surdefield on the 1841 here HO107 Piece 1084 Book 10 Folio 10, Page 14. but he is aged 50 which is a little young for your man but he is a shoemaker and a patient in Bethlem Hospital

    Mary? HO107 Piece 979, Book 6, Folio 13, Page 18, Line 4. Again is Sudefield

  3. #3
    spison
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    Thanks so much christanel,
    I have taken note of your references and will check them out when I can next get to the library. Unfortunately I have other things on tomorrow as I am really bursting a boiler to look. Bethlem Hospital comes up often when I google 'Criminal lunatic' so it could very likely be the same man. The ages of the 1841C could explain the age difference - born 1791 is pretty close to born 1788. I'll check out Mary and see where she is and who she's with. Her maiden name should be Butler so maybe there will be a hint with what I know to be my family. I'll dig a little. Was this Anc***ry or FMP?
    Jane

  4. #4
    sueannbowen
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    Interestingly Jane, someone has submitted an amendment to James' name on Ancestry. Possibly someone also researching him. If you are interested I will PM you the detail.

  5. #5
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    The National Archives catalogue may point to some records of interest. A search term of "criminal luna*" plus the relevant dates might be good to try. Among many records it throws up -

    HO 44 Home Office: Domestic Correspondence from 1773 to 1861
    HO 44/39 Correspondence 1841-1854.

    Scope and content
    ff 247-250. Ralph Price, treasurer, Bridewell hospital, enclosing quarterly reports on criminal lunatics by physicians at Bethlem hospital. Further reports at ff 251-252, 257-259, 278

    Covering dates 1844 Nov 1

    I'm not sure whether that's going to cover your man - perhaps I'm misreading it.

  6. #6
    gasser
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    There are two references to James Sirdefield in the Morning Post 1836 and The Standard 1854, source 19th century British Library Newpapers. The latter confirms he was resident at Bethlem hospital.

  7. #7
    spison
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    Thanks Waitabit and Kerrywood. So he could read and write well!

    Well! Well! How interesting is this!? He is almost without doubt my g-g-g-g-grandfather. The certificates and some more census searching will hopefully completely round it out.

    Quote Originally Posted by gasser View Post
    There are two references to James Sirdefield in the Morning Post 1836 and The Standard 1854, source 19th century British Library Newpapers. The latter confirms he was resident at Bethlem hospital.
    For anyone in Australia who is wondering - the 19th Century newspapers are accessible from home provided you hold a National Library of Australia Readers Card. Gasser's references have given me this background and hopefully Bethlem Archives will have some original documents.

    James stabbed his wife, Mary, in Darlaston in November 1836. Her evidence was that he was insane and the case was stopped. The 1854 article is very long with a huge amount of background info. He sued one David Kidd and was awarded damages. He was released from Bethel in 1853. It will be interesting to see exactly what date in 1853, Mary Sirdefield died. Once out he went to his children in Dolston, Staffordshire. I don't yet know which children but it doesn't appear to be Benjamin or Isaac.

    Thanks for everyone who helped point me in the right direction.

    Jane

  8. #8
    Name well known on Brit-Gen
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    Quote Originally Posted by gasser View Post
    There are two references to James Sirdefield in the Morning Post 1836 and The Standard 1854, source 19th century British Library Newpapers.
    Jane, did you also see the report of the court hearing published in The Examiner on Sunday, March 26, 1837?

    It contains some rather graphic details of the circumstances of the offence, and refers briefly to other members of the family.

  9. #9
    Geoffers
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    Quote Originally Posted by spison
    Oh dear! How was one classified a criminal lunatic? What crimes may they have committed?
    There are two parts to a crime, the act and the mental state of a person to commit the act.

    If someone was judged in a court to be incapable of forming the necessary intent (lack of mental ablity, temporary insanity, etc) then they could not be guilty of the act of the crime.

    In 1800 some chap called Hadfield tried to shoot George III. Hadfield was judged insane and so could not be guilty of the act of trying to kill the king. The powers that be decided that members of the public taking pot shots at royalty and getting away with it wasn't really cricket and so quickly passed the Criminal Lunatics Act. This allowed for the detention of criminal lunatics until the Crown decided they would be safe for release.

    The 1800 Act led onto the County Asylums Act 1808 "for the better care of lunatics, being paupers or criminals in England".

    It was for a criminal court to decide if someone was a lunatic. The offence wasn't really important (it could be any offence), the state of mind was what mattered.

    Does that very brief description help?

  10. #10
    kaysii
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    You could try contacting the archivist of the Bethlem Hospital where the records of the patients are held. www.
    bethlemheritage.org.uk/ They are very helpful and you should be able to get copies of the relevant records. The archivist, for a reasonable fee photographed the records and emailed them to me.

    For "normal" admissions you can actually look up the admission registers, but unfortunately this has not been done for the transfers of the criminal patients into the hospital.
    kaysii

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