Elizabeth Wilson or Baxter - Her Second Appearance in the Criminal Portraits Blog

Elizabeth Wilson or Baxter is your archetypal 'habitual offender', a term that gained currency in the mid nineteenth century and one which became an accepted part of legal and criminal terminology in the late 1860s. The urgent requirement for surveillance and monitoring of this criminal class in an increasingly urbanised society is one of the reasons why the use of mugshots increased in popularity at this time. Indeed, Elizabeth has the dubious distinction of being the only person whose image appears twice in the 'Register of Returned Convicts for Aberdeen', and is the subject of an earlier post in this blog, which features her mugshot of 1869, the oldest such photograph held by Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives.

The image of Elizabeth at the top of this page was taken some ten years later, around the time of her discharge in April 1879. In April 1870 she had been sentenced to ten years' penal servitude following her trial before the Circuit Court which was reported in the Aberdeen Press & Journal of the 4th May 1870:

"Elizabeth Wilson or Baxter was charged with stealing, on Sunday the 2nd day of January 1870, from a house in Berry Lane, Aberdeen, two petticoats, two jackets, and a dress. Baxter, who had been previously convicted and who is a habit and repute thief, pleaded guilty. Mr. Duncan stated on her behalf that, after her last term of imprisonment had expired, Baxter had returned to her friends, but being cast off by them, she fell back into her old courses.

Lord Jerviswoode, in passing sentence, remarked on the fact of the prisoner having already been five times previously convicted, and also stated that the last term of imprisonment for seven years had not yet expired. She had now been at liberty for some time, but instead of mending her ways, she had fallen back on her old courses. The sentence of the Court this time must be even more severe than last. A sentence of ten years' penal servitude was accordingly passed".

A ten year stretch for such petty thieving appears disproportionately harsh by 21st century standards. As the newspaper report conveys, the legal system at the time took a dim view of repeated offending resulting in Elizabeth receiving increasingly lengthy sentences.

Another newspaper report of the 5th January 1870 relating to Elizabeth's arrest reveals that she had spent her previous period of incarceration at H.M. General Prison, Perth. However, at least part of her subsequent ten year sentence was spent at the prison in Ayr, where she appears as an inmate on the 1871 census, aged 40, a widow, her birthplace given as Aberdeen and her occupation as that of a "hawker", i.e. a person who travelled around selling inexpensive goods. 

On her return to Aberdeen in April 1879, she lived at addresses at 9 Porthill Close, which was situated just off the Gallowgate, and 18 Hardweird. This latter address, sometimes written as "Hard Ward" was the site of one of the most notorious slums in Aberdeen, sandwiched between Skene Street to the south and the Upper Denburn on its north side. 

Reproduced by kind permission of the National Library of Scotland

https://maps.nls.uk/

Ordnance Survey

Aberdeenshire LXXV.11 (Old Machar, Greyfriars, St. Clements, East, West, North & South)

There is an image of the Hardweird on the Silver City Vault from which this description of the street also comes:

"Part of old Gilcomston, it resembled a small "ferm toon" standing between the foot of Jack's Brae and Upper Denburn and it consisted of 18th and early 19th century artisan and labourers' housing - a product of the period when Gilcomston had a flourishing weaving industry. One of Aberdeen's worst slums, it was cleared during the early 1930s and the playground of Gilcomstoun Primary School now occupies part of the site".

Elizabeth did not reside at the address for long, and in September of 1879 the register records that she had "Gone to Glasgow".