Hi: I'm just catching up on a backlog of emails. I was looking at: HOPE BURIALS 1831 Jun-Dec. on the list was "2 Oct 1831, Benjamin WRAGG Bradwall 21, this body stolen" and later in the same list "26 Oct 1831, William BRADWALL Smaldale 28, this body stolen same night" i had to wonder what might be the primary reasons for stealing a body/bodies in this time period? Would this have been an isolated incident? Thanks--WendyE

Bodies were stolen and sold to medical students and was common across the whole country. Just over the border today but in Derbyshire at this time period at Appleby were a couple of brothers who would regularly steal bodies for medical students. They would watch the grave yard for fresh burials and then in the dead of night exhume the bodies. As I understand it there was no law against body snatching and they were charged with stealing the shroud they were laid to rest in Rob -----Original Message----- From: WendyE Gorlick <nionon@gmail.com> To: derbysgen <derbysgen@rootsweb.com> Sent: Fri, 30 Nov 2012 18:09 Subject: [DBY] Stolen body/bodies ? Hi: I'm just catching up on a backlog of emails. I was looking at: HOPE BURIALS 1831 Jun-Dec. on the list was "2 Oct 1831, Benjamin WRAGG Bradwall 21, this body stolen" and later in the same list "26 Oct 1831, William BRADWALL Smaldale 28, this body stolen same night" i had to wonder what might be the primary reasons for stealing a body/bodies in this time period? Would this have been an isolated incident? Thanks--WendyE ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to DERBYSGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

grave robbers in derbyshire, I thought it happened mainly in london area, aileen   Nobody ever climbed a mountain by saying   'I can't' ________________________________ From: WendyE Gorlick <nionon@gmail.com> To: derbysgen@rootsweb.com Sent: Friday, 30 November 2012, 18:08 Subject: [DBY] Stolen body/bodies ? Hi: I'm just catching up on a backlog of emails. I was looking at: HOPE BURIALS 1831 Jun-Dec. on the list was "2 Oct 1831, Benjamin WRAGG Bradwall 21,  this body stolen" and later in the same list "26 Oct 1831, William BRADWALL Smaldale 28, this body stolen same night" i had to wonder what might be the primary reasons for stealing a body/bodies in this time period? Would this have been an isolated incident? Thanks--WendyE ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to DERBYSGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi Wendy Most likely for dissection in medical schools There was an act passed to licence those schools in 1832 There was not enough bodies from capital punishment so the "resurrection men" liberated a few from graveyards for a price Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) On 30/11/2012 18:08, WendyE Gorlick wrote: > Hi: > I'm just catching up on a backlog of emails. > > I was looking at: HOPE BURIALS 1831 Jun-Dec. on the list was "2 Oct 1831, Benjamin WRAGG Bradwall 21, this body stolen" and later in the same list "26 Oct 1831, William BRADWALL Smaldale 28, this body stolen same night" i had to wonder what might be the primary reasons for stealing a body/bodies in this time period? Would this have been an isolated incident? > > Thanks--WendyE

WendyE Gorlick wrote: > I was looking at: HOPE BURIALS 1831 Jun-Dec. on the list was "2 Oct > 1831, Benjamin WRAGG Bradwall 21, this body stolen" and later in > the same list "26 Oct 1831, William BRADWALL Smaldale 28, this body > stolen same night" i had to wonder what might be the primary > reasons for stealing a body/bodies in this time period? Would this > have been an isolated incident? Unfortunately not all that isolated. The recently deceased could earn a "nice" living for the body snatchers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_snatching Probably the most famous body snatchers were Burke and Hare, two Irishmen who took the supply of fresh corpses to a new level - they murdered. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burke_and_Hare_murders http://burkeandhare.com/bhperps.htm There's also a book, "The Italian Boy" by Sarah Wise about the murder and body snatching of a boy in London. It's good book and worth getting hold of a copy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Burkers <www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-italian-boy-by-sarah-wise-6166226.html> -- Charani (UK) OPC for Walton, Ashcott, Shapwick, Greinton and Clutton, SOM http://wsom-opc.org.uk