The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 1/2: being a series of memoirs and anecdotes of notorious characters who have outraged the laws of Great Britain from the earliest period to 1841.Pelham, Camden
History
The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 1/2: being a series of memoirs and anecdotes of notorious characters who have outraged the laws of Great Britain from the earliest period to 1841.
Pelham, Camden
Crime -- Great Britain; Criminals -- Great Britain; Newgate (Prison : London, England)
On the 25th May, 1752, M'Canelly and Morgan were brought out of prison
in order to be hanged. Their behaviour was as decent as could be
expected from persons of their station. They both declared that Stanley,
who escaped, was the sole contriver of the robbery. They died in the
Catholic faith, and were attended by a priest of that persuasion.
ELIZABETH JEFFRIES AND JOHN SWAN.
EXECUTED FOR MURDER.
The case of these offenders is one of the greatest atrocity. It appears
that the female was the niece of a gentleman of respectability residing
at Walthamstow, who, having acquired an ample fortune, and having no
children, adopted his brother's daughter, and made a will in her favour,
bequeathing to her nearly his whole estate. The girl, however, returned
her uncle's kindness with ingratitude, and having heard him declare that
he would alter his will on account of her bad behaviour, she determined
to
[Illustration: _Duel between Lord Mahon and the Duke_]
prevent his carrying his design to her detriment into execution by
murdering him. She soon discovered her inability to complete this
project single-handed, and she gained the assistance of her accomplice
in the crime, John Swan, who was in the employment of her uncle, and
with whom there is good reason to believe she was on terms of intimacy.
They endeavoured to suborn a simple fellow named Matthews to assist
them, but although the promise of a large reward at first staggered him,
his terrors eventually steeled him against the temptations held out to
him. The night of the 3rd July, 1751, was fixed upon for the completion
of this villany; and at the trial, which took place at Chelmsford,
before Mr. Justice Wright, on the 11th March, 1752, the following facts
were proved:
Matthews having travelled from Yorkshire was accidentally met in Epping
Forest by Mr. Jeffries, who gave him employment as an assistant to Swan,
who was his gardener. After he had been at work only four days, he was
sent up stairs by Miss Jeffries to wipe a chest of drawers, and she
followed him, and asked him if he was willing to earn one hundred
pounds? He answered that he was, "in an honest way;" on which she
desired him to go to Swan. He accordingly joined him in the garden, and
he offered him seven hundred pounds to murder their master. He
acquiesced; and on his being dismissed two days afterwards, Swan gave
him half a guinea to buy a brace of pistols; but having spent the money
given to him, he was ordered to meet Miss Jeffries and Swan at
Walthamstow on the Tuesday following, at ten o'clock at night, the
object being then to carry out their intentions with respect to the
murder.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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