Sarah Malcolm
Sarah Malcolm (* late May 1710 in Durham ; † 7 March 1733 in London ) was an Irish robbery who was portrayed by William Hogarth three days before her execution .
Life
Sarah Malcolm was born in County Durham in late May 1710, according to court records, to an Irish businessman. The father moved his place of business to Dublin soon after the birth . With an income of 100 pounds sterling, the father, who is actually considered to be wealthy, enabled his daughter to get a proper education. In the mid-1720s, Sarah accompanied her parents on a business trip to London , where she hired herself as a maid . The father returned to Dublin after the mother's death. After a few jobs in private households, Sarah Malcolm got a job, first as a waitress, then as a laundress at the Black Horse in Boswell Court near Temple Bar , a simple category inn. During this time she made friends with Mary Tracy and the young brothers James and Thomas Alexander, who persuaded Sarah to small thefts from their clients.
The murder
On late January 28, 1733, the wealthy Mrs. Lydia Duncomb, an 80-year-old old woman, who was staying at Temple Court, was strangled together with her 60-year-old companion Mrs. Harrison. The 17, according to other sources, 26-year-old maid was killed by numerous violently stabbed knives. The murder was not revealed until the afternoon of the following day. Sarah Malcolm was suspected of being a former servant of Mrs. Duncomb. A search of her room found a silver jar owned by Mrs. Duncomb and a blood-stained coat. During the subsequent physical examination, the cash assets of the murdered woman tied into Sarah Malcolm's hairstyle were discovered.
The process
The gathering of evidence at Old Bailey on February 23, 1733 lasted five hours. Sarah Malcolm denied the murders for which she charged Mary Tracy and the Alexander brothers. As a participant in the robbery, she only took the silver vessel and the cash fortune. Her own menstruation tainted her skirt . The unconvinced jury found Sarah Malcolm guilty after just 15 minutes. The charges against Tracy and the Alexander brothers were dropped.
Detention in Newgate
Sarah Malcolm was incarcerated in Newgate Prison pending execution of the death sentence . Sarah Malcolm was an Irish Roman Catholic but received Anglican spiritual assistance in Mr. James Guthrie . Some of her last visitors tried to profit from her fate. Reverend Mr. Piddington, according to the documents of the time full professor of the detention center, wrote an eleven-page justification with Sarah, which he sold for 6 pence after the execution.
The portrait
On March 4 or 5, 1733, William Hogarth made a drawing of Sarah Malcolm on her death row, which he then painted in oil and engraved in copper. Hogarth is said to have said after his visit that Sarah Malcolm was capable of any wickedness because of her performance. Hogarth's original drew on further copies and versions, which differ from the original mainly in technical details and changing attributes such as a preacher, rosary, knife or defense writing on the table in front of Sarah. The sheets were also sold for 6 pence. Hogarth sold his oil portrait for six guineas . It is now in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland .
the execution
The cruel circumstances and the age of the perpetrator gave the reason to carry out the execution not in Tyburn , but as a special deterrent near the scene of the crime in Fleet Street , where the gallows was erected at the level of Old Miter Court ( location ). Sarah Malcolm was taken to the execution site from Newgate at 10:00 a.m. She wore a black smock, hat and gloves. After announcing that she had made her print-ready confession last night, she passed out and was hanged shortly after awakening . Under the rush of visitors, one of the makeshift stands on Fleet Street collapsed, causing several broken arms and legs. Sarah Malcolm's removed body was issued for a fee by the undertaker several days after the execution.
font
- A True Copy of the Paper Delivered the Night Before her Execution, by Sarah Malcolm to the Rev. Mr. Piddington, Lecturer of St Bartholemew the Great . 1733
literature
- The Complete Newgate Calendar , 1926, Volume?, Pp. 73ff.
- Jane Magrath: (Mis) Reading the Bloody Body: the case of Sarah Malcolm , Women's Writing, 11, 2 (2004), pp. 223-236.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, Volume 55, Part 1, E. Cave, London 1785, p. 345.
- ^ The Romance of Crime. A Collection of Celebrated Criminal Trials, Etc., Henry Vizetelly, London, Fleet Street, 148, p. 85.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Malcolm, Sarah |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | irish robbery |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 1710 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Durham |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 7, 1733 |
| Place of death | London |