James Maybrick
James Maybrick was a well known cotton merchant in
Liverpool. The mysterious emergence of the so-called Maybrick
journal in 1992 however, immediately thrust him to the forefront
of credible Ripper suspects. Regardless of the Diary's
authenticity, the story of James Maybrick is remarkable in its
own right. Convicted of his murder in 1889, Maybrick's wife was
sentenced to be hanged. The trial, by any standard, was a
horrible travesty of justice. Within two years, the trial's
presiding judge died in an insane asylum. Fifteen years later,
Florence Elizabeth Maybrick was finally released from prison.
Here is the remarkable story.
The Maybrick
family had been established in Liverpool for several generations
when James was born to William and Susannah on October 24, 1838.
Of James' six brothers, two never survived to adulthood. One
brother, James, was his namesake and died in 1837 at the age of
four months. Alfred Maybrick died at the age of four in 1848. Of
the four remaining brothers, William became a carpenter and
gilder's apprentice. Thomas, born in 1846, and Edwin, born in
1851, went into commerce and participated in the cotton business.
One brother of note achieved considerable fame and success in his
own right as a composer of popular music. Michael Maybrick, born
in 1841, wrote such songs "The Holy City", "Nancy
Lee", and "A Warrior Bold". He used the stage name
Stephen Adams.
While the marriage of James Maybrick to Florence is well known
and documented, Scottish lawyer William MacDougal alleged in 1891
the existence of a previous spouse. Although no marriage
certificate has ever been found, the 1891 census records,
released in 1992 after one hundred years, appear to confirm this
allegation. Sarah Ann Robertson, listed as single and aged 44,
was residing in London at the time. Other legal documents,
however this same person as Sarah Ann Maybrick. In 1868, her step
father's will, for example, shows her as "Sarah Ann
Maybrick, wife of James Maybrick." Upon her death on January
17, 1927, she is listed in the records as "Sarah Ann
Maybrick, otherwise Robertson." She lived for a while on
Bromley Street, near Whitechapel, and on Mark Lane, across the
road from Whitechapel. In all probability, James Maybrick's
association with Sarah Ann lead to familiarity with the area
where the Ripper murders occurred.
By 1871, census records James Maybrick was unmarried and back
in London living with his mother. About two years later, he
formed Maybrick and Company, Cotton Merchants with his brother
Edwin as a junior partner. In 1874 James left for the thriving
cotton port of Norfolk, Virginia to establish a branch office.
This decision later proved to be a crucial turning point in the
life of James Maybrick. Upon his return to England in the early
spring of 1880, two significant changes had occurred.
Three years after
arriving in Norfolk, Maybrick contracted Malaria. After an
initial but unsuccessful prescription of quinine, a second
consisting of arsenic and strychnine was tried. Perhaps a bit
bizarre by modern medical standards, it was not unheard of in the
1870's. "Fowler's Medicine" which contained arsenic,
was a popular tonic at the time. Arsenic also appealed to James
Maybrick because it was believed it increased virility. He was
not alone however, for arsenic and strychnine abuse was becoming
fashionable among professional men in both America and Britain.
Arsenic is addictive, and overwhelming evidence suggests James
Maybrick carried this habit to his grave.
On March 12, 1880, Maybrick departed New York aboard the SS
Baltic. During the six day voyage to Liverpool, he was introduced
to beguiling 18 year old Florence Chandler and her mother,
Baroness Caroline von Roques. Florence, known as Florie, was a
five foot three strawberry blonde with blue eyes. Born in Mobile,
Alabama on September 3rd, 1862, she was related to important and
influential figures in Southern society. Although Maybrick was 24
years her senior, a whirlwind romance immediately ensued. Upon
their arrival in Liverpool, James and Florie had already planned
a marriage for the following summer. The fashionable wedding took
place on July 27, 1881, in London at St. James Church,
Piccadilly.
Florie prematurely gave birth to a son, James Chandler, known
affectionately as "Bobo", eight months after the
wedding. In 1882, the Maybrick's returned to America with their
infant. For the next two years, the family divided its time
between Norfolk and Liverpool. Declining business opportunities
prompted Maybrick to return to England in March of 1884. He
formally resigned from the Norfolk Cotton Exchange on August
22nd, 1884. The family resided in Grassendale, a suburb of
Liverpool. An economic slump however, also occurred in England
that same year. Maybrick became increasingly distressed with
health and financial worries. His use of arsenic and other
"powders" continued.
On July 20th, 1886, Florie gave birth to a daughter, Gladys
Evelyn. The birth of their second child did little to help the
Maybrick's troubled marriage. It was rapidly deteriorating,
despite the Maybrick's acceptance in Liverpool's social circles
and an outward display of affluence. By this time, James had been
showing signs of substance abuse for several years. In 1887
Florie discovered there was another woman in her husband's life,
perhaps Sarah Ann Robertson, the original "Mrs.
Maybrick." Later that same year, Florie met Alfred Brierly,
a cotton broker, with whom she also had an affair. By this time,
the couple had probably moved to separate beds, and the first
Ripper murder was less than nine months away.
In about early March of 1888, the Maybrick's moved to the
palatial Battlecrease House in Aigburth, less than a mile away.
The estate consisted of several acres of well tended gardens,
trees, a pond stocked with fish and a small natural stream.
Despite their new home, the Maybrick's marital discord continued.
James maintained his gloomy disposition, hypochondria and hot
temper. Violence erupted on the night of March 29, 1989, which
resulted in a black eye for Florie. About a month later on April
24th, Florie purchased a dozen fly papers, something she would no
doubt regret for the rest of her life. Also on that same day,
James obtained another one of his prescriptions as his heath
continued to fail. More "medicine" arrived by package
on the 26th, and the following day James Maybrick was seriously
ill, apparently from an overdose of these substances.
From this point on, James Maybrick never regained his health.
After seeing his doctor on May 3rd, he visited his office for the
last time. Assuming the Diary is authentic, this would probably
have been the time he made the final entry, which is dated that
same day. Probably fearing the worst, Michael journeyed from
London as his brother's health rapidly declined. At 8:40 p.m. on
May 11, 1889, James Maybrick died.
Michael took charge of family matters after his brother's
death, including the ailing Florence. Florie, even before James
passed away, was already suspected of poisoning him. Although
these suspicions lacked substance and based primarily upon rumor,
Florie was confined her room at Battlecrease House and formally
charged with the crime on the 14th. On May 30th, the body of
James Maybrick was exhumed from its final resting place in
Anfield Cemetery and examined for arsenic. On June 30th, Florie
was brought before the Magistrate for the first time to hear the
"evidence." James' brothers, servants and doctors all
testified against her. On July 26th, the case was committed to
trial scheduled to begin on the 31st of that month. It ended
after seven days.
The trial was presided by Mr. Justice Fitzjames Stephen,
father of J.K. Stephen, a Ripper suspect in his own right. By any
standard, was a horrible travesty of justice. The evidence was
based on suspicion, rumor and innuendo. Testimony was later
recanted and crucial evidence favoring Florie either disappeared
or remained unheard by the jury Surprisingly, James Maybrick's
arsenic addiction was never introduced during the trial, and a
blatantly biased Judge Justice Stephen repeatedly made
inflammatory statements against the defendant.
Unfortunately for Florie, her inadequate legal counsel failed
to produce essential evidence that could have exhonerated her.
The prosecution alleged that Florie had obtained the arsenic from
the fly papers she had purchased at the time of her husband's
illness, yet no fly paper fibers had ever been found in the meat
juice she was alleged to have used to poison him. Furthermore, it
was later determined impossible to produce sufficient arsenic in
suitable form to cause death from fly paper. Regardless of the
fact there was simply no real hard evidence against Florie, the
jury took only 35 minutes to deliberate. The verdict was Guilty!
Justice Stephen assumed the full dress of the criminal Judge
consisting of a black cap when he pronounced the following
sentence:
"The court doth order you to be taken from hence to the
place from whence you came, and thence to the place of execution,
and that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead, and that
your body be afterward buried within the precincts of the prison
in which you shall be confined after your conviction. And may the
Lord have mercy upon your soul!"
The sensational trial received considerable coverage on both
sides of the Atlantic. Florie was not without her supporters
however, and many prominent people appealed for her release,
including three American presidents and Robert Todd Lincoln.
Florie was a survivor, and endured not only the shadow of the
gallows but sickness, solitary confinement and hard labor. Her
ordeal lasted fifteen years, and in 1904 was finally released
from prison. In an ironic twist of fate, the Maybrick case was to
be Justice Stephen's last, and he died in 1894 in an insane
asylum in Ipswitch. Florie however, lived on!
Initially upon her release, Florie went to a convent in Truro,
Cornwall for six months. She then went to France to visit her
mother before finally sailing home to America. In response to
public demand for her story, she published her memoirs, entitled
"My Fifteen Lost Years" in 1904. In 1907, Britain's
Court of Criminal Appeal was introduced, primarily as a result
the Maybrick case. In 1918, Florie was financially destitute and
moved to Connecticut for employment as a housekeeper. The
following year she purchased a small tract of land in
Gaylordsville and had a three room cottage built.
By this time, Florie used her maiden name of Chandler in hopes
it might help maintain her privacy. Although she seems to have
enjoyed a certain level of anonymity in Connecticut, she became
increasingly reclusive. Locally, she was known as the "Cat
Lady". On October 23rd, 1941, Florence Elizabeth Chandler
Maybrick was found dead at the age of 79. The report of her death
once again made front page news one last time. She was buried in
South Kent, Connecticut.
The story of James Maybrick was not associated with the Ripper
case until the emergence of the diary in 1992. While the
authenticity of the journal may be hotly debated, it nonetheless
has yet to be proven a forgery. Whether it is real or a fake, it
maintains remarkable constancy with the known facts. The diary
also introduces what some would call startling evidence to support its authenticity .
