Wanting info on the GUESTLING POISONINGS. Mary Ann GEERING was hung in 1949 for the murder of her husband Richard GEERING and two sons. Would like to find out the names of the other children. They had 8. Norma in Australia

----- Original Message ----- From: "Norma Burgess" <normaburgess2@bigpond.com> To: <SUSSEX-PLUS@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 8:29 PM Subject: [SXP] GEERING family I think that the year of execution was 1849; not 1949. Robin > Wanting info on the GUESTLING POISONINGS. Mary Ann GEERING was hung in > 1949 > for the murder of her husband Richard GEERING and two sons. Would like to > find out the names of the other children. They had 8. > > Norma in Australia > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > SUSSEX-PLUS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > __________ NOD32 2790 (20080114) Information __________ > > This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. > http://www.eset.com > >

Hello list, Perhaps the children would rather not have their names published on the web. After all they may very probably still be alive. Geoff

Hello List A very valid point Geoff! Care should be taken when writing about families, many of whom will have descendants alive. I have seen an instance of someone's 'enthusiasm' boiling over when publishing details of a family (with loads of 'perhaps', 'probably' or 'I would think' all these plus mistakes) to whom they are not related; of course with very few or no sources. Good research is great; badly researched data hurts all interested in Family Research. K ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SUSSEX-PLUS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Serious criminal cases are the lifeblood of newspapers and I am sure that the poisonings at Guestling would have been reported in the local papers. However, it is always worth bearing in mind that the stories may have been picked up by a major national paper, such as "The Times". In this particular case, "The Times" ran its first article on 30 Apr 1849 on the circumstances of the case, as previously reported in the "Hastings & St. Leonard's News". Then there was a Magistrates Hearing that was reported on 07 May 1849 which mentions the remand of Mary Ann GEERING; followed by four articles on the Hearing in the Coroner's Court in issues 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th May 1849. Finally, there were two reports in issues of 1st & 2nd Aug 1849 of the proceedings at the Summer Assizes in Lewes which resulted in the conviction for murder and the death sentence being handed down. "The Times Digital Archive 1785 to 1985" is provided online by Thomson Gale as part of a package of databases that are available via a *very* expensive subscription package. Its the type of thing that your local library service may have on offer. Alternatively, if you can wait until National Library Week (13th to 19th April), Thomson Gale may repeat their offer of free access to all for those seven days. Best wishes Marion Woolgar Bognor Regis, West Sussex