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The Aberdeen Boys School of Industry
1928 An illustration of the Aberdeen Boys School of Industry in around 1841.
The first Industrial School was opened on 1st October 1841 in Chronicle Lane. It was set up by Sheriff William Watson and was intended for the industrial training of boys between the ages of 8 and 14 years. These boys were the children of the poorest classes, and chiefly 'those who are found to infest our streets, begging and stealing.'
They were educated and provided with food and worked for a few hours per day at teasing wool, netmaking or gardening. Dinner was broth, beef and bread, or occasionally potato soup, or kail.
The boys would go home to their families after 8pm, but those who were homeless went to the House of Refuge.
Religious worship was also an important part of their regime. In the first six months of the school, 109 boys were admitted, although the average daily attendance was less than 60. It was reported that juvenile vagrancy and crime had decreased attendance at the Industrial School was made compulsory.
It was then found necessary to find a larger building in 1856 which eventually became Oldmill Reformatory. Industrial Schools existed until the mid 1930s. Treasure 34: A Selection of Original Scots Songs in Three Parts
2322 Although the union of the Parliaments between Scotland and England had taken place almost a hundred years before, as the 18th century was drawing to a close there was still much fascination regarding the differing cultures. In time, Victorian society would give this fascination a renewed vigour, helped by Queen Victoria's passion for Scotland - including the establishment of Balmoral Castle as her residence North of the border. Before that time though, in the late 1790s, books were produced offering English readers an insight into their neighbours' traditions.
One such book was entitled 'A selection of original Scots songs' edited by Franz Haydn and published between 1790 and 1794. The book is designed to introduce the reader to the music and lyrics of traditional songs in Scotland. Haydn's book reproduced the songs along with corresponding music, and also offered a glossary to help with the more obscure language.
Burns' song 'My Heart's In The Highlands' - more popularly regarded today as a poem - makes an appearance in the selected works by Franz Haydn. With the collected works produced between 1790 - 1794, this was at a time when Burns began to suffer from the illnesses which would eventually end his life just a couple of years later.
Robert Burns
Celebrated across Scotland every year, Robert Burns Day takes place on 25 January and is an opportunity to remember Scotland's Bard and his work. Known the world over as the National Poet of Scotland, Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) was born in Alloway, Ayrshire. Burns' early life was one of balance; he toiled on his family's farm by day, and was taught reading and writing by candlelight at night. He conversed in Scots, while learning passages from English texts to further his studies. Although regarded by history largely as a poet, Burns also composed many songs - perhaps his most famous work 'Auld Lang Syne' being one of the few traditionally remembered in song form. One of our treasures this month celebrates Robert Burns' work and that of many other traditional Scottish musicians. Aberdeen Women's Alliance: The Gibbetstane
2329 The rectangular set of cobblestones or cassies outside the Tolbooth on Castle Street marking the site of the gallows in the Castlegate. Aberdeen Sailors' Mission and Home
2751 The granite facade of the Aberdeen Sailors' Mission and Home building, built in 1893-95, that has been retained and incorporated into a large residential development on Mearns Street. This appears to be all that remains of the building.
The eastern elevation we can see here was part of a three block extension to the institute designed by architect James Souttar. There was also an entrance to the building on James Street. A preview of the opening of the building, with a detailed description of it, can be read in the Aberdeen Journal of 26th September 1895, page 7.
Queen Elizabeth II's first solo opening ceremony was the Aberdeen Sailor's Home, after it was reconstructed, on 3rd October 1944.
Also of local interest in this image is a car from the well-known firm Panda Rosa Metals. This family business specialise in ferrous and non-ferrous metal recycling and have been operating in Aberdeen for many decades.
Mearns Street, originally running from Regent Quay to Virginia Street, was constructed on the site of a previous thoroughfare called Pork Lane. This was described as a narrow lane of congested tenements and had a reputation for ill-health and crime.
Post Office directories indicate that Pork Lane was demolished in around 1885-86 and that Mearns Street was established by 1887-88. This development was part of a programme called the Shorelands Scheme of Improvements.
In October 1886, the Improvement Committee of Aberdeen Town Council recommended the name of the new street in compliment to the master of shore works who had initiated the improvement scheme, Daniel Mearns (Aberdeen Weekly Journal, 23rd October 1886, page 4).
Mearns (1838-1913) was a shipping merchant, councillor for the St. Clements Ward, active in the Aberdeen Harbour Board and went on to serve as Aberdeen's Lord Provost between 1895 and 1898. The Last Speech, Confession and Dying Declaration of Three Unfortunate Men
171 Originally broadsides were single sheets of paper printed on one side. They were mainly text, intended to be read unfolded, posted in public places. They were first used for the printing of royal proclamations and official notices but later they served as a vehicle for political agitation and popular culture such as ballads, songs and scaffold speeches.
They were sold on the streets and cost a halfpenny or penny. The mechanisation of the printing industry at the beginning of the 19th Century saw a phenomenal increase in the amount of street literature, including broadsides. By the middle of the century, however, cheap newspapers, weekly magazines and "penny dreadfuls" started to take over.
This broadside tells of the day of execution for three Aberdeen men for the crime of theft and stouthrief (which is the associated crime of assaulting a person defending their property). The sheet details the repentant manner of the offenders and their admonishment to the gathered spectators to "take warning and beware of braking the Sabbath, bade company, and disregard of parental instruction, &c."
This is followed by a resigned letter from William Buchanan's parents that, in the context of the severity of the punishment, evokes the austere moral and religious character of Aberdeen at the time.
A variety of other broadsides are available to view on the Silver City Vault, including one detailing the life and execution of William Allen for the crimes of murder and robbery. The Execution of William Allan
172 This broadside details the life, crime and execution of William Allan. He was executed in Aberdeen on Friday the 10th February, of an unspecified year, for the murder of Alexander M'Kay.
The sheet gives an account of Allan's life and speculates on how he came to this unhappy fate. The account contains themes common to crime and punishment broadsides of bad company, alcohol and a disregard of parental authority. There is also at times an unexpected similarity to modern crime reporting: "We do not think that the annals of crime furnish an example of a murder perpetrated from so small a temptation as that which operated on the mind of Allan, who was aware, before he committed the deed, that the victim of it possessed only the paltry sum of thirty-five shillings."
One passage which describes Allan's appeal to the advanced age of his victim recalls the justifications of Dostoyevsky's Raskolnikov: "He even arraigned the justice of his sentence on the ground that he had only taken away a life which would, in a short time, have terminated from the effects of indisposition and old age."
Allan is initially unrepentant and rude to the assembled clergy but then makes a last minute appeal for religious assistance on the morning of his execution.
Unfortunately, unlike Raskolnikov and Sonya in Siberia, there was no hope of redemption for Allan - at least not in this life: "After hanging the usual time, the body was cut down, and delivered to the doctors." Bank Robbery, and Reward of Five Hundred Guineas
181 A broadside detailing the robbery of the Castle Street offices of The Banking Company in Aberdeen. The document provides details of the crime and offers a reward for information leading to the capture of any of the perpetrators. The reward announcement by A. & J. Cadenhead, City Fiscals, is dated 9th May 1838.
This broadside was printed at the Aberdeen Constitutional Office by J. Davidson. Treasure 41: Mary Garden Record Collection
210 We hold a number of original vinyl records in our collections, including those of Mary Garden, a local girl who found global fame as an opera singer in the early 20th Century.
Born at 35 Charlotte Street on 20 February 1874, Mary Garden left her native Aberdeen around the age of nine when the family moved to America in search of better opportunities and a new life.
After a period of uncertainty and several moves, a young Mary accepted a role as a childminder in Chicago, with payment taking the form of singing lessons to further her obvious interest. By 1896, Mary had shown sufficient progress that she accompanied her tutor to Paris in a quest to pursue a career in opera.
Mary's first big break came in 1900, when she performed in the new opera, Louise after the main star became unwell. A series of leading roles followed in 1901, including Thaïs, Manon and Madame Chrysanthème. For the next decade, Mary courted both limelight and controversy as she portrayed leading characters on stage, while being romantically linked to various composers and directors off-stage. Adding fuel to these fires of speculation, Claude Debussy chose Garden to create the title role of his new play, Mélisande, overruling the preference of his own librettist.
At the outbreak of the First World War, Mary attempted to enlist in the French army - but with her identity discovered, she instead turned to nursing at a hospital in Versailles. When she returned to America, she continued to raise funds for the French Red Cross. Her efforts during both war and peacetime generated awards from Serbia and France.
Mary appeared in two silent films - the first released in 1918 - but she found difficulty adapting to the new medium and this separate career never took off. She returned to her first passion and continued to perform in opera until the mid-1930s.
In 1921, Mary was offered the role of director of the Chicago Opera Association, and as she was still performing - undertook both roles with fervour. Under her tenure, the Association took on many new and exciting artists and works.
At the outbreak of war in 1939, Mary chose to remain in Paris, until the German invasion forced her to escape, leaving all of her possessions behind. In June 1940, she returned to Aberdeen but the lure of teaching the next operatic generation proved too strong and she once again travelled to America to coach young stars and give lectures in 1949-1950.
By this time, it appears that Mary's memory had started to suffer - evidenced by the 1951 autobiographical publication Mary Garden's Story which was riddled with factual errors. The book received disastrous reviews and possibly led to her decision to reside permanently in Aberdeen from 1954.
Mary died in 1967 in the House of Daviot, a country hospital near Inverurie, aged 92. Fifty friends attended a small ceremony. A small commemorative plaque is located at 41 Dee Street where the Garden family lived, and a small garden is dedicated to her memory in Craigie Loanings.
Although she remains relatively little known in her native Aberdeen, Mary's legacy is considerable in the United States - particularly in Chicago where her stewardship of the Opera Association is still remembered fondly.
Treasure 50: Heroines of Shakspeare
221 Celebrating 400 years since the death of the literary great, one of our April treasures looks at an unusual publication concerning the works of William Shakespeare.
Published in the mid-19th Century, this wonderful volume was donated to Aberdeen Public Library by Miss Emily Jane Duthie, a retired teacher living on Skene Terrace.
Born in India in 1868 Miss Duthie was the daughter of Robert Duthie, Superintendent of the Scottish Orphanage in Bombay during the days of the British Empire. The school was founded in 1847 by Scottish Christian Missionaries to educate the daughters of Scottish Presbyterian Soldiers based in India. Since then, the school has continued to thrive and is now one of the most prestigious in Mumbai.
It is highly likely that Miss Duthie's early years based at the institution, followed by her own studies and subsequent career would have introduced her to the world of Shakespeare and perhaps piqued an interest in the many female characters depicted therein. The kind donation clearly demonstrates her continuing desire and passion to educate others in later life, once her career as a teacher had come to an end.
"The heroines of Shakspeare" is chiefly an art book; a means to showcase the forty-eight imagined portraits of the Bard's fictional characters. The attempt to capture a visual representation of the prominent female characters provides a neat bridge between Shakespeare's contemporary audiences (who would have seen female roles assigned to young boys), and our modern age of television and film which is frequently dominated by physical appearance.
Although educated Victorian audiences would have been familiar with the written words, the illustrations attempt to capture a definitive image of each character, including approximate age, costume, physical features and demeanour as revealed by the playwright.
The images are portraits of Hamlet's Ophelia, Othello's Desdemona, Romeo and Juliet's Juliet and of course - Lady Macbeth (from the Scottish play!)
The illustrations are printed on thick paper from original engravings by portrait artists including Augustus Egg, John Hayter and John William Wright. The book is bound with gilt edges and also contains sturdy decorated endboards.
The curious spelling of Shakespeare in the title reflects the fact that during the Bard's own lifetime there was no single accepted form - the man himself spelling his own name differently in various editions of his work. Although this may seem strange to modern readers the tradition harks back to an era when language was much more fluid, and established forms of spelling simply did not exist in the way that we know today.
Aberdeen Women's Alliance: The Cost of Killing "Witches"
222 This extract from the accounts of the Burgh of Aberdeen 1596/97 was published in the Miscellany of the Spalding Club and details the costs involved in the killing of two women, Janet Wishart and Isobel Cocker, who were accused of being witches. Treasure 63: Scenes and Characters from the work of Charles Dickens (1908)
239 This treasure from our collections features 866 drawings illustrating the novels of Charles Dickens. The work of eleven artists is featured - many depicting the poverty, crime and oppression of Victorian Britain.
The volume was re-published after the death of Charles Dickens in 1870 and enjoyed great success, with many viewing the illustrations as an accurate depiction of Dickensian characters.
The artists who contributed to the publication were well respected in Victorian London and included Charles Green, 'Phiz' (also known as Hablot Knight Browne), and Fred Barnard - best known for his illustrations of Dickensian characters Bill Sikes and Little Nell.
This treasure features in our exhibition for July 2016 to coincide with our Celebrating Dickens programme of free events and activities in Aberdeen Central Library. The programme features readings of Dickens' work in English and Doric, a talk on the author's early work and free creative workshops for teens. Speak to a member of staff or pick up a leaflet in the library. Violation of the Remains of the Dead
467 A broadside from 15th February 1813 by the Provost, Magistrates of Aberdeen and the Sheriff of the County of Aberdeen admonishing against the robbing of graves and warning of the severe punishment for those who commit this crime. Peter Williamson
468 A broadside from 1758 presenting the case of Peter Williamson (1730-1799), who, in his pamphlet French and Indian Cruelty Exemplified in the Life and Various Vicissitudes of Peter Williamson, denounced the merchants of Aberdeen for having been involved in the kidnapping of children to be sold as slaves in America.
Williamson claimed to be one of those children who suffered this terrible fate. Though to this date there is no historical documents to definitively confirm Williamson's account.
On his return to Aberdeen, the town's magistrates accused Williamson of calumny, imprisoned him, and forced him into an admission of guilt. They also publicly burned the offending pages of his pamphlet in the Town Square and banished him from Aberdeen on the 23rd June 1758.
Only ten days later, on the 3rd of July 1758, this broadside shows that Williamson had found witnesses to prove he was born in Aberdeenshire from honest parents and that he had told the truth in his book about his experiences.
The lower half of this broadside is the statement from Sir Archibald Grant of Monymusk, an Aberdeen County Justice of the Peace, that indicates that he had been presented with evidence of Williamson's claims and that he believed them to be true.
Wrongfully persecuted, Williamson was ready to prosecute the merchants of Aberdeen for the "illegal behaviour" they had inflicted on him. Williamson eventually won his his lawsuit in 1762.
The broadside both makes the case for Williamson in his dispute with the Aberdeen magistrates and serves as an advertisement for his book.
Aberdeen City Libraries hold a number of books about the life and work of Peter Williamson and he has an entry on the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography by P. J. Anderson, revised by A. W. Parker (available online with an active library membership). Dying Confession, Behaviour, and Letters of George Thom
478 This broadside reports the circumstances around the crime and punishment of George Thom. This resident of Harthill in the parish of Newhills was executed on 16th November 1821 for having poisoned his brother-in-law, William Mitchell of Burnside, Keig, in order to inherit his possessions. The witnesses and evidence against him left him with no other choice than to confess his crime.
The document presents Thom as an astute and sagacious 61-year-old man whose life was ruined by avarice. He is introduced more as a sinner than as a criminal, and the references to religion are numerous. Moreover, emphasis is given to his final repentance and contrition, a motive to praise the work of the attending Clergymen.
The broadside makes reference to Rev. Mr. Thom, Ordinary of the Prison, and Rev. Dr. James Kidd (1761-1834).
Besides his confession and a letter addressed to the family of the victim, the broadside reports a declaration signed by Thom in which he certified the complete innocence of his wife. Indeed, in an article published on the Aberdeen Journal on 5th September 1821 we read that both he and his wife were suspected for the crime at the beginning of the investigation. She was eventually considered innocent.
This broadside was printed by J. Booth, Jnr., of Chronicle Street, Aberdeen. The Dying Confessions of William Gordon and Robert McIntosh
479 Five days before his execution, having murdered his wife, William Gordon recounts his crime. He recalls the evening of the murder. Both intoxicated, he and his wife went out. They had an amicable time. Gordon does not recall much from their return home, bar that he went for his pipe. He later discovered his wife dead. He declares having had no recollection of her death. Three weeks later, Gordon remembers having shoved her to the floor, to which she shouted 'Murder!'. Gordon also remembered having scissors in his hand, which leads him to believe that to have been the murder weapon.
This confession begins by citing the book of Hosea from the Christian Bible. Gordon then articulates the nature of his sin, confessing it to be the 'sin of drunkenness'. He compares the severity of his sin to the eternality of God's omnipotence. His confession warns its readers against sinning as he has. He does not apologise for the murder of his wife, instead expressing regret for becoming intoxicated. This marks the text particularly interesting for understanding perceptions of alcoholism and alcohol related crimes in nineteenth-century Scotland. Fascinatingly, though facing death, Gordon still devotes two paragraphs to acknowledging various people that supported him during his incarceration. Gordon concludes the main body of the text by imploring his audience to take up Christianity.
The confession is reprinted in Aberdeen's Journal, on 5th June 1822, five days after Gordon's execution. The paper confirms that Gordon authored this text, saying it was distributed by the Reverend Thom. The confession is well written and articulate, revealing the author's profound knowledge of Christian scripture. Gordon himself was from the parish of Cabrach, made a livelihood selling fishing tackle, and was aged around forty-five at the time of the murder.
The accompanying editorial declares that many had come to believe that the murder 'had been perpetrated by the unhappy man while under the influence of that most baneful of human vices, and, of course, a prey to all the evil passions which it naturally engenders.' The view that the death was caused by excessively drinking, and that the defendant had not consciously decided to murder her, was prevalent. Remarkably, 'many Gentlemen (including several of the Jury who tried him)' lobbied King George IV to commute Gordon's sentence. The judge, however, refused to capitulate.
Accompanying Gordon's confession is that of the twenty-two-year-old Robert McIntosh, on 29th May 1822. McIntosh describes the conditions of his imprisonment in the dungeon, expresses regret for the repercussions of his crime and prostrates himself before God. The Journal reports that McIntosh had murdered the forty-year-old Elizabeth Anderson of Crathie. The paper continues that McIntosh had slit Anderson's throat. At the time, Anderson had been promised marriage by him and was pregnant with his child.
The Journal reports the day of their execution. In the Old Court Room, Psalm 51 was sung. Gordon joined in loudly. As they went to the scaffold, both prayed. The paper reports McIntosh's nerves getting the better of him, and him being brought a glass of water. After Gordon finished praying, at twenty minutes past three, they were hung. Gordon passed very quickly. McIntosh, on the other hand, 'struggled considerably, and was convulsed for several minutes', due to the rope being improperly set up. The Journal reports that countless thousands witnessed their hanging, the first of its kind in seventy-years. The Last Speech and Confession of Alex Martin
480 This broadside recalls the execution of Alex Martin at Aberdeen on 27th August 1824. It provides a brief biography of him, before providing his dying confession. Martin was executed for the crime of stouthrief, a crime he had committed in Kemnay, close to Aberdeen. This was the Scottish crime of 'overpowering or depriving by force a man of his property.' He was tried for his crime in Edinburgh at the High Court of Justiciary earlier in the year.
During Martin's confinement, he had been visited by various clergymen, with whom he had engaged in severe penitence. The broadside makes reference to Rev. Mr. Thom, Ordinary of the Prison, Rev. Dr. James Kidd (1761-1834), Rev. Mr. Pennan and Rev. Mr. Lyon. Later in the broadside, Martin also thanks Mr. George Turreff, Mr. Alex. Brown, jailor, John Gray, under-turnkey, and Mr. John Fyfe, messenger.
The broadside's account of Martin's life states that when at school, he had lost father. His mother then lost all control over him, and Martin was devoid of any sentiment of righteousness. 'Abandoned to profligacy and vice', Martin led a life of violent crime. He had previously been found to have assaulted a girl in Edinburgh.
On the day of his execution, various prayers were delivered. On the thirty-two-year-old Martin reaching the scaffold, he delivered a lengthy sermon to the crowds in attendance on the evils of 'sabbath-breaking' and bad company. The broadside reports that he did not faulter when speaking. After he finished praying, he gave the signal that he was ready. He did not die immediately, but appeared to suffer a great deal, convulsing as he hang.
In the confession itself, Martin repeatedly refers to his sin of excessive drinking. He describes a 'wicked inclination' that led him to drink, which was the cause of many of his crimes, 'which perhaps I would not have committed if I had kept sober.' Martin asks that his experience be a warning to those who excessively drink.
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