SOMEONE asked for tales of the more unusual things which sometimes crop up in our research, in order to enliven the list and provide some entertainment. Well, here is one of mine:- I recently found myself in the eerie situation of gazing at the skeletal remains of a woman who was hanged for murder almost two centuries ago. Moreover, there is an outside possibility, not yet proven, that I am very distantly related to this evil person and also to her unfortunate victim! How? Bear with me folks, and all will be revealed..... A couple of years ago I became intrigued with the story of MARY BATEMAN, who was infamous as "The Yorkshire Witch". Born MARY HARKER, the daughter of a small farmer, in 1768 near the market town of Thirsk in the county of Yorkshire, she was one of the most evil women in the annals of British crime. She was possessed of a very clever mind, but it may be that lack of parental guidance as a child made her turn to the dark side of her nature and from an early age she was dishonest and dismissed from several jobs for petty pilfering. She was known to associate with gipsies and learnt some of their spells and mystical ways. In the year 1788 she turned up in Leeds, a large city in West Yorkshire, where she worked as a gown maker. But she was more interested in becoming famous as a fortune teller and warder off of evil spirits. We should remember that in the 18th century most people were unsophisticated and belief in the old superstitions and witchcraft was still widespread. In 1793 Mary Harker married John Bateman, a simple wheelwright, at Leeds Parish Church after a courtship of only three weeks. The poor fellow quickly came to regret the marriage when he discovered his wife's criminal ways! Mary's fame as a fortune teller rapidly spread and she collected victims from far and wide. Her technique was simple - she invented mythical helpers who "spoke" through Mary Bateman and told the unfortunate victims that unless they handed over all their worldly goods and possessions to her, terrible things would happen to them. One poor woman committed suicide by throwing herself into the canal after being robbed of everything she possessed. Then Mary's activities became more sinister and she poisoned two Quaker sisters and their mother, stripped their draper's shop and home of everything and told people they had died of the plague. She was, amazingly, believed and the authorities made only scant enquiries. Of course, some people were suspicious about her, but Mary always avoided her pursuers by changing her address constantly. She even committed a confidence trick on her own husband, telling him his father was dying and that he must go to him immediately. When the hapless John arrived in Thirsk he found his father alive and well, but on returning to Leeds he found his wife had sold up their home and all his clothes and disappeared! Another infamous trick she carried off was to produce eggs from a hen supposedly bearing the slogan "Christ is Coming!" The gullible paid her money to view this "miracle". Mary Bateman continued her reign of evil until in 1807 she murdered a woman called REBECCA PERRIGO. The unfortunate Rebecca had gone to her because she feared she was possessed by an evil spirit. Mary fleeced the poor woman and her husband WILLIAM PERRIGO of their possessions, finally telling them they must eat puddings she sent to them, otherwise they would both die of a terrible illness. Well, Rebecca did indeed die horribly, since the pudding contained arsenic! William could only eat a small mouthful of the foul mixture before throwing it away, which undoubtedly saved his life and brought Mary Bateman to her eventual doom. Incredibly, even after his wife's death William still believed in the supernatural powers of Bateman and went on being fleeced by her until 1809. At some stage, Mary had demanded four golden guineas from the couple and in return had supposedly sewn into a bed in their home four money notes in return. William retrieved the notes and discovered they were worthless pieces of paper. Finally, he went to the authorities and Bateman was arrested. Her trial at York in March 1809 was a sensation. She pleaded her innocence throughout, but the evidence was overwhelming. She was found guilty and sentenced to hang three days later. In court she tried to pull one final trick, claiming she was more than 4 months' pregnant and under the law she could not be hanged in that condition. However, the judge was not fooled. He assembled a jury of 12 married women to examine Mary. They declared she was lying! Even in the condemned cell Mary Bateman continued her wicked ways, robbing a fellow woman prisoner of her posessions by trickery. She was taken to the gallows on March 20 1809, still loudly protesting her innocence and refusing to repent, despite the entreaties of a priest. Her body was taken down and given to Leeds Informary for dissection, as was often the custom with execution victims in those days. The hospital raised about £30 by allowing the public to view her body, and they also tanned her skin and sold pieces of it off as souvenirs. If you have read this far, you will be wondering where my personal interest lies. Well, one day I was browsing through my files of the IGI for Yorkshire when I came across the marriage of William Perrigo and Rebecca Stockdale at Leeds in 1786! Further research established that this was the same Rebecca Perrigo who had been murdered by the Yorkshire Witch. I also found that Rebecca's sister Mary Stockdale had married William's brother James. This, of course, was a marvellous discovery for my one-name study of STOCKDALE/STOCKDILL etc. However, there was no evidence that I am directly related to the unfortunate Rebecca Stockdale/Perrigo. BUT - I discovered her mother was a SARAH MIDGLEY from the town of Pudsey, near Leeds, where I had ancestors on my mother's side called Midgley!!! I have not yet established the connection, but I am actively pursuing it. Then I was asked by a television company who are featuring the story of Mary Bateman in a family history series to help them with their research. They had found a direct descendant of The Witch and they asked me to help confirm the family tree. In the course of this, things became even more convoluted when I discovered that the infamous Mary Bateman's mother is believed to have been an ANN DUNNING from the small village of Felixkirk in North Yorkshire. I had numerous ancestors in the same village and I immediately recognised the name DUNNING. A Thomas Dunning, who may well have been Ann's sister, married the sister of my gt-gt-gt-grandfather! This would make Mary Bateman some kind of very distant relation to me by marriage. So am I related to both the evil witch and her victim??? Only time, and further diligent research, will tell. Oh, yes, - why was I recently looking down on her remains? Her skeleton still exists to this day, having been kept at Leeds Infirmary for almost 200 years. It is now on loan to a medical museum, where they are hoping to rebuild a mask of Mary Bateman's face. It is not on public show, but as an acknowledged researcher I was privileged to be allowed to see it. As I said, it was an eerie feeling looking at the remains of this exceptionally evil woman and wondering whether I was somehow part of the same family tree!!! Roy Stockdill Editor, The Journal of One-Name Studies The Stockdill Family History Society (Guild of One-Name Studies, FedFHS) STOCKDILL PREST YELLOW BOLTON WORSNOP GIBSON MIDGLEY BRACEWELL SHACKLETON BRADLEY MOODY in Yorkshire North & West Ridings MEAD YOUNG in Somerset, Wiltshire & Gloucestershire Web page of the Stockdill Family History Society:- http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/roystock ”Never ask a man if he comes from Yorkshire. If he does he will tell you. If he does not, why humiliate him?" - Canon Sydney Smith (scholar and humorist 1771-1845)