One of the most striking features about this Criminal Portrait is the sum of money (£86) that Mary Cameron was found guilty of stealing from Alexander Smith, a gardener, on 4th January 1871 when he was waiting for a cab, somewhat the worse for wear, at a public house called the 'Banks of Ythan Inn' which was situated on Queen Street in Aberdeen. Using an online inflation calculator, £86 in 1871 equates to over £10,000 today - an astonishing amount of cash to have about your person in the pub.
Mary stood trial alongside her husband James Davidson. While she was accused of the more serious crime of theft, he was charged with 'reset', defined as being privy to the retention of dishonestly obtained property. Both of them pleaded not guilty, and a lengthy account of the court's deliberations appears in the Aberdeen Press and Journal of the 26th April 1871, including Alexander Smith's account of how he came to be robbed:
Alex. Smith identified the pocket book in which he had had the money, and stated the circumstances under which his pocket was picked. He had been in various public houses during the day. He had it in his pocket after leaving a house in the Netherkirkgate about four o'clock. He went from that to the Banks of Ythan Inn. He was not aware of seeing anyone about the door. His intention was to get a cab to drive him home, as the night was stormy. When in a room waiting for the cab, the female prisoner came in and sat down. He had something to drink and although he was not very drunk he fell asleep. When he awoke there was no one in the room. He was almost insensible then and Mrs. Glennie [an employee at the inn] sent for a cab, put him in it and had him driven home. When he felt for his pocket book and found it in his pocket, he did not look into it then, but in doing so next morning, he found that all the money had gone...In cross-examination the witness said the woman did not propose to sleep with him all night. He should be very sorry to sleep with her or any other one. (Laughter). He gave her no money, he had no idea what she wanted, but he found out that she had told Mrs. Glennie that she knew him.
The report of the trial further reveals that Mary Cameron and her husband lived just off West North Street in Rettie's Court, where, "A great quantity of new goods were found in the house - bed clothes, wearing apparel, cooking utensils and sundry other articles". Several witnesses attest to seeing Mary Cameron purchase items with £5 notes which they considered unusual because although they, "had never heard anything bad about her, she always appeared destitute".
Although Mary Cameron maintained that she had received the money as a present, and testaments of good conduct were produced on behalf of James Davidson written by the captains of the ships on which he had served, they were both found guilty. Mary was sentenced to five years' penal servitude and James to one year in prison.
The trial had taken place on the 19th April 1871. With the census that year having been taken on the 2nd April, Mary would have been waiting on her court appearance and indeed is noted as being held at Aberdeen Prison on Lodge Walk, aged 30, with her place of birth given as Inverness. Following her release in August 1874 she lived for at least a couple of months on the Gallowgate.
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