It’s the bicentennial today of the unnatural passing of the Yorkshire witch.
Mary Bateman ran her fraudulent fortune-telling business under the name “Mrs. Moore”, and had some years’ success separating fools from their money without running afoul of the law.
In fact, she outlived her fatal crime — plying with poisoned puddings a bilked couple, lest they realize their medium was defrauding them — by months, even continuing to leach money off the surviving husband after her ministrations had killed the wife.
Let’s just say she knew how to pick her clientele.
When the sucker finally got wise to the scam,* the jig was up for Mary in a sensational trial. (It’s recounted at length here — and capped by what must have a grimly comic spectacle when Mary attempted to plead her belly and the women in the courtroom bolted for the exits to avoid impaneling on a jury of matrons to adjudge the claim. The judge ordered the doors shut up before his jury pool could escape.)
Three days after conviction, she was hanged at York Castle before a crowd of thousands, who subsequently paid (.pdf) to see her corpse (and to get cured cuts of her skin as charms: even unto death, Mary had ’em swallowing her snake oil).
After execution, Mary Bateman’s body was given over for dissection in Leeds — remaining a curio worthy of public preservation to this day at that city’s Thackray Medical Museum. (Update: The museum reports that Ms. Bateman’s remains were only on loan from Leeds University, and have since been returned.)
* Source of enlightenment? Not the death of his wife, but the fact that magical financial windfalls promised by the Yorkshire witch had failed to materialize after two-plus years of paying her.
On this day..
- 2020: The Nirbhaya Gang Rapists - 2020
- 1738: Nicolas Doxat de Demoret - 2019
- 1549: Thomas Seymour, more wit than judgment - 2018
- 1954: Ernst Jennrich, for 17 June 1953 - 2017
- 1916: Abraham Bevistein, child soldier - 2016
- 1531: Sikke Freriks, Menno Simons inspiration - 2015
- 1899: Martha Place, the first woman electrocuted - 2014
- 2007: Taha Yasin Ramadan, Iraqi Vice-President - 2013
- 1428: Matteuccia di Francesco, San Bernardino casualty - 2012
- 1393: John of Nepomuk, Bohemian rhapsody - 2011
- 1897: Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling, Pearl Bryan's murderers - 2010
- 1933: Giuseppe Zangara, who is not on Sons of Italy posters - 2008
I know this is a long time after but if Abigail does pick up this messsage can you please get in touch at slb66j@gmail.com. I just wish to know which of Mary’s children you decend from.
I’m sure she’d be very proud of your spelling.
mary batemen was my gate grate grate grate grate grate grate grandaughter and i enjoyed reading this story it was intresting to find out things about your family
That was a very interesting topic to write on. I enjoyed reading it. Thank you for expanding our historical knowledge.