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Benjamin DANBY |
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Ann COOPER |
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John Thompson DANBY |
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Crime Doesn’t Pay for John Thompson Danby John Thompson Danby was a bit of a bad lad, indeed
he was a recidivist larcenist. It
seems that he was first apprehended by the long arm of the law in 1876 after he
stole two gold watches and six silver ones from his employer one Thomas
Sewell in January of that year.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 months hard labour at the
Newcastle Spring Assizes for that one. The ‘short sharp shock’ of hard labour was
no deterrent to our John, however and in 1878 he again finds him self in
front of the beak. He pleaded
guilty this time to nicking one “gold albert guard and locket”
(whatever that may be) belonging to a certain William Phillips. Although not all of the investigative process is
apparent from the depositions of witness in this trial, it seems that Mr
Phillips, a farmer from East Canton, left the items a chest of draws in his
bedroom on the 4th March and was “much astonished” to find
them missing when he next wished to wear them on the 10th
March. He contacted Police
Constable Todd. Who it was that
grassed up our John remains a mystery but PC Todd seems to have had enough
“information received” to quickly prompt him to make enquiries in
a Darlington pawn shop, where a Miss Mary Jane Miniken was able to inform him
that our John, using the alias James Lamb, had twice called on the 7th
of March, firstly to pawn the locket for two shillings and later to pawn the
gold albert guard for five shillings.
As a result of more “information” PC Todd pursued John to You’d think he’d have learnt his lesson
by now…but no!
…’cos, THEN, on the 1881 census John turns up doing more
porridge in Wormwood Scrubs! This
particular stint at Her Majesty’s pleasure turns out to be the result
of yet another tea leafing escapade.
On the 3rd July 1879 his fatal attraction to bright shiny
things seem to have gotten the better of him yet again and John
“fraudulently convert[ed] to his own use a silver watch and steel
chain” worth £2 and belonging to the unfortunate George Eden of
Easingwold. Mr Eden, a farm labourer, testified that on the 26th
June he met John in the New Inn pub in Huby and asked him to repair his watch
for him. They agreed that the
work would be completed by the 28th June and that they would meet
up again at the New Inn on that date in order that John could return the
watch. John didn’t show
however. The next day George Eden then called at John’s home in
Shillington. John told him that
the repairs were not yet finished but promised that the work would be
complete by the 1st July.
When Mr Eden next called on the 5th July he found that John
was no longer living there. It
seems that on 3rd July
John, accompanied by a blacksmith who’s name remains a mystery, sold
the watch to watch maker Joseph Baker for 9 shillings. Again the processes of the police investigations are
unclear but it seem that an Inspector Ellseby initially arrested John at his
new lodgings in Easingwold for failing to report to Police (remembering that
he was still under police supervision form his conviction the previous
year). After questioning
Inspector Ellseby made enquiries with Joseph Baker and consequently charged
John with having converted the property fraudulently to his own use. Once
cautioned John stated only “I say nothing”. Once again John pleaded guilty and the same
Northallerton magistrate who sent him down in 1878, Mr JRW Hildyard Esq.,
this time gave him five years penal servitude and three years police
supervision. John’s penal records relating to this latter
offence show that he began prison life on remand at HM Prison Northallerton
and was then transferred to spend time within the walls of Pentonville,
Millbank, the Scrubs and then Pentonville again for a couple of days prior to
being released early on licence. John’s records indicate that his level of
literacy was ‘imperfect’ but he none the less corresponded
frequently, whilst inside, to his sister Mary Perkins (nee Danby). There is a notable absence of any
correspondence or other contact from others of his siblings. John at least managed to keep his nose pretty clean
whilst he was inside and he does thankfully seem to have shown no evidence of
violent behaviour. His only
reprimands during his stint in the Scrubs were for “laughing and
talking” when he was meant to be working and “losing his
stock”, for which transgressions he was cautioned. Work inside for John consisted of the
“tread wheel”, weaving baskets, and duties in the “stone
shed”. In 1882 he did argue
that he should be given some “outdoor” work on account of his
health stating that “his present work in the stone shed does not agree
with him”. He was duly
examined by the medical officer who found “no medical grounds why this
man should change labour”. Indeed the records give a very detailed picture both
of John’s physical appearance and of his state of health. A slight, tiny man, of 5ft 3”
John had light brown eyes and brown hair, fresh complexion and oval
face. He had distinguishing scars
on the crown of his head, chin and right ankle and also had a mole on his
belly…oh and a hairy chest, apparently. John’s general health seems to
have been good and his physical condition on entering Millbank was described
as “spare but muscular”.
He was hospitalised in Pentonville for an abscess and in Millbank had
a solid tumour partially removed by a combination of “caustics and
incisions” A watchmaker by trade John must have served a proper
apprenticeship as the indenture was apparently kept by him in HM Prison
Northallerton. This got lost
somewhere in the transfer between Northallerton and Pentonville and John made
enquiries about it’s whereabouts.
The Governor of Pentonville corresponded with the Governor of
Northallerton about this but the document never turned up. John was finally released on licence on 20th
September 1883 and his destination on that day was St Giles Mission at 10
Brook Street, Holborn. His family
hadn’t disowned him altogether however as John turns up as the
informant on his elder brother, Benjamin’s death certificate in 1889
and he is resident with
Benjamin’s widow, Jane Eleanor Danby (nee Watson) and her family in
Newcastle on the 1891 census. His
own death was reported by his other sister Elizabeth Ann Bowey (nee Danby). My efforts to track my great-great grand uncle’s
criminal career are on going.
Watch this space! We have
from his penal records two lovely ‘mug shots’ of him. If permission is granted by the public
records office these might at a later date be posted on this site.
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