|
 |
 |
|
|
|
| Author |
Message |
    
Chris Scott
Chief Inspector
Username: Chris
Post Number: 802
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 5:52 pm: |       |
"Mrs Fiddymont" was the witness, described as landlady of the Prince Albert in Brushfield Street, who reported a bloodtstained stranger visiting her establishment on the day of the Chapman murder.
For a lady with such an unusual surname she has proved to be remarkable elusive. Researchers, myself included have searched under all sorts of permutations - Fiddament, Fiddyman etc - without success.
I think I can now cast some light in this elusive lady. If my reading of the 1891 census data is correct then her real name was Emma Mounteney but she probably went under the name of Mrs Piddymont.
In the census data for Brushfield Street, I found details for a public house referred to in 1891 as "The Market House", located at 65 Brushfield Street. The list of residents in that year is listed as follows:
Emma A Mounteney (Head) aged 47 Licensed Victualler
Widow
Samuel Piddymont (Servant) aged 38 Manager
Married
Jessie Brook (Niece) aged 18
Annie Ingram (Servant) aged 22 Barmaid
Edith Mitchell (Servant) aged 21 Housemaid
Hetty Sykes (Servant) aged 19 Barmaid
George Osborne (Servant) aged 21 Barman
Rose Wright (Servant) aged 17 Scullery Maid
David Lillie (Servant) aged 20 Potman
The very unusual nature of the manager's surname - Piddymont - and its striking similarity to the name we are looking for - Fiddymont - cannot be coincidence, even less so as both concern people running public house in Brushfield Street!
My best guess is that the widowed Mrs Mounteney may have posed as Mr Piddymont's common law wife or in the period 1888-1891 the actual Mrs. Piddymont - who I have yet to trace, was living with her husband in the public house.
However the plot thickens as the name Piddymont in the original census data may indeed be a transcription error for Fiddymont. the place of birth for Samuel Piddymont (in Brushfield Street) is given as Norwich, Norfolk and in March 1876 the marriage of a Samuel Walter Fiddymont was registered at Yarmouth, Norfolk. The maiden name of his bride was either Hannah Riches or Edith Spaulding (the index list all partners for that day's entries). However i have traced Edith in the 1881 census as the wife of William West, the fourth entry on the marriage index. therefore, by a process of elimination, Samuel Fiddymont's wife would be Hannah Maria Fiddymont (née Riches)
It would therefore be my guess that the Mrs Fiddymont mentioned in 1888 evidence was either Hannah Fiddymont whom I have still to trace in 1891 data, or, and in my opinion, more likely, Emma Mounteney as Samuel's common law sife.
I am posting below both the household details for 1891 and an enlargement of samuel's name to show it has indeed been entered on the returns as Piddymont
Chris
  |
Chris Scott
Chief Inspector
Username: Chris
Post Number: 803
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 6:00 pm: | |
Looking at the enlargement of names above, i now read Emma Mounteney's age as 41, not 47
Chris
|
Natalie Severn
Detective Sergeant
Username: Severn
Post Number: 139
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 7:02 pm: | |
Another fascinating bit of research Chris-Thanks
again.
Natalie |
Chris Scott
Chief Inspector
Username: Chris
Post Number: 804
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2003 - 10:41 pm: | |
I have managed to extend the info above by tracing the 3 major characters in 1881.
1) Emma Mounteney - is listed in 1881 as Elizabeth A Mounteney but the presence of a niece of the family name Brook (as in 1891) and place of birth make this identification pretty certain:
Address:
298 Compton Buildings, London
Elizabeth A Mounteney (Head) aged 34 born Westminster - Waistcoat Maker
Ellen M Brook (Sister) aged 31 born Fulham - Waistcoat Maker
Edith Brook (Niece) aged 17 born Kingston - Waistcoat Maker
Ellen E Brook (Niece) aged 9 born Kensington
Mable C Brook (Niece) aged 3 born St Pancras
Samuel Piddymont/Fiddymont
His marriage details give his names as Samuel Walter - in the 1881 census these are reversed (not unknown!) and details are as follows:
Address:
51 Station Street, Norwich, Norfolk
James Tuller (Head) aged 55 born Coleby, Norfolk - Carriage maker
Ellen Tuller (Daughter) aged 10 born Stratford, Essex
Walter S Fiddymont (Boarder) aged 28 born Norwich, Norfolk - Carpenter
3) Hannah Fiddymont - I surmised in the first post that Samuel had married Hannah Maria Riches. I found Hannah Fiddymont living with her family, the Riches and described as a Carpenter's wife, which fits from both angles:
Address:
5 Alfred Terrace, Great Yarnouth, Norfolk
John Riches (Head) aged 55 born Catfield, Norfolk - Commission Agent
Emily Riches (Wife) aged 57 born Barton Turf, Norfolk
John M Riches (Son) aged 20 born catfield, Norfolk - Butcher
Hannah Fiddymont (Daughter) aged 22 born Catfield, Norfolk - Carpenter's Wife
Agnes O Fiddymont (Grand daughter) aged 4 born Catfield, Norfolk
Alfred Fiddymont (Grandson) aged 3 born Ludham, Norfolk
Ethel Fiddymont (Grand daughter) aged 1 born Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
The one missing link is still finding Hannah Fiddymont in the 1891 data but I think we can say with certainty now that the Samuel Piddymont in the 1891 Brushfield St return should definitely be Samuel Fiddymont.
Chris
|
Erin Sigler
Inspector
Username: Rapunzel676
Post Number: 177
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 2:04 am: | |
Chris, you're a genealogical wizard. Thanks for the great info!  |
Natalie Severn
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Severn
Post Number: 1113
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Friday, September 10, 2004 - 5:01 pm: | |
This Mrs Fiddymont seems to have been taken extremely seriously by the police at the time.In Paul Begg"s new book he quotes sources that say that a man entered her pub and aroused the suspicion of her and her friend,a Mrs Mary Chappell after asking for ahalf pint of ale.He was wearing a brown stiff hat pulled down over his eyes,a dark coat and no waistcoat.She also noticed his shirt[blue checked was torn at the shoulder,there was a narrow streak of blood under his right ear,blood spots on the back of his right hand and dried blood between his fingers.
She drew the ale looking at him through the mirror and she noticed that he turned his backas soon as he realised he was being watched. He swallowed his ale with a gulp and went out.The women managed to get help from aMr Joseph Taylorwho managed to follow him and draw up alonside him.The man glanced at him and Taylor later told a journalist "his eyes were as wild as hawks".The man was rather thin and about 5ft 8ins with a ginger moustache and sandy coloured hair.He looked aged 40-50.He had a shabby genteel look,pepper and salt trousers,which fitted badly and he seemed to be holding his coat together at the top.The man,said Taylor was clearly bewildered and didnt know where he was going[after csossing Brushfield Street three times].The man stopped following the man after Dirty Dicks in Half Moon Street.
I hadnt read Mrs Fiddymont"s statement properly before and was surprised at how many similarities I picked up from various other witness statements[salt and pepper trousers-wild[very strange]eyes,
5ft 8ins tall,"shabby genteel"etc
and all this at 7am on the 7th September. |
|
Use of these
message boards implies agreement and consent to our Terms of Use.
The views expressed here in no way reflect the views of the owners and
operators of Casebook: Jack the Ripper.
Our old message board content (45,000+ messages) is no longer available online, but a complete archive
is available on the Casebook At Home Edition, for 19.99 (US) plus shipping.
The "At Home" Edition works just like the real web site, but with absolutely no advertisements.
You can browse it anywhere - in the car, on the plane, on your front porch - without ever needing to hook up to
an internet connection. Click here to buy the Casebook At Home Edition.
|
|
|
|
