George Campbell - A Melancholy Incident in Court, Habitual Theft and the Assault of a Constable on Guestrow

 

George Campbell was no stranger to a courtroom. One of his appearances before the Circuit Court of Justiciary for the Counties of Aberdeen, Banff and Kincardine took place on Tuesday April 22nd 1873. The day was also notable for a death that occurred in the courtroom, as reported by the Aberdeen Press & Journal of April 23rd, which also gives a sense of the ceremony and occasion that accompanied the proceedings:

"The court opened yesterday morning at ten o'clock. The usual procession of the county and municipal authorities, the military and police, took place from the Douglas Hotel to the Court House. When the court was seated, a very melancholy incident occurred, which caused at the time a profound sensation amongst all present, as it will be heard of with regret by a large number of the citizens. The Rev. Thomas Dewar, of the South Parish Church, whose turn it was as one of the city clergy, to open the Court with prayer, had just arrived and taken his seat, preparatory to engaging in the solemn service, when he was seized with a sudden illness, and almost immediately expired. The rev. gentleman, we understand, had found it necessary to walk at an unusually rapid pace, in order to be in time for the Court, and had thereby excited the cause to which his death is attributed, viz., apoplexy". 

These days, apoplexy would usually be referred to as a stroke. Far from bringing the business of the court to a premature conclusion, the prison chaplain, a Mr. Baxter, is called upon to stand in for the newly deceased Rev. Dewar to say the opening prayer - thereafter the court carries on as usual.

That day, George Campbell was charged with having stolen a coat on the 18th March belonging to a gardener, James Henderson, from premises near Kettock's Mills, Oldmachar. The charge was further aggravated by the fact that George had a previous conviction for which he had been sentenced to seven years in prison. The jury was unanimous in its verdict, finding George guilty as charged. In his summing-up, Lord Deas rails against the practice of liberating prisoners before their full term had been served as he felt they invariably reverted to their old ways. As evidence for this pattern, Lord Deas cited the case that the court had dealt with immediately prior to George Campbell, that of the habitual thief, Ann McGovern, who has featured in a previous edition of this blog.

The offence for which George received his seven year sentence was also reported in the Aberdeen Press & Journal, appearing in the newspaper under the headline "Theft By Shipbreaking" on 26th September 1866:

"George Campbell (36) was charged with (1) on the 21st day of July last, stolen from a shed on Waterloo Quay, fifty-two lbs. weight or thereby of iron or other metal rivets, the property of Messrs. Leckie, Wood & Munro, engineers and iron shipbuilders, Torry; and (2) with having, on or about the 31st day of July, broken into the cabin of the schooner 'Cheviot', of Aberdeen, then lying at Regent Quay, and stolen a copper, or other metal, funnel, belonging to the owners of the vessel, as also a flannel shirt and cloth cap, the property of John Laing, mate of the vessel. Three previous convictions for theft stood against Campbell in the Sheriff Court of Aberdeen, and one before the Circuit Court of Justiciary at Aberdeen". 

In passing sentence, the presiding judge, Lord Cowan, mentioned that George's sentence would have been more severe, but that his previous convictions occurred a number of years ago and that he had been in the army in the intervening period. 

Whether he was forced into crime by circumstances, or whether he couldn't help himself, George appeared before a court once more in January 1882, shortly after he was released from his ten-year stretch on 17th August 1881. The image  below of the full page from the Register of Returned Convicts for Aberdeen shows that George initially stayed at the Victoria Lodging House at number 45 Guestrow, now Provost Skene's House. He was supposed to report to the police on a monthly basis, but the note accompanying his photograph records that he failed to do so. He next comes to the attention of the authorities in January 1882 when he assaulted a police constable on Guestrow, as reported by the Aberdeen Press & Journal on the 25th January 1882:

"At the Aberdeen Police Court yesterday - Baillie Macdonald on the bench - George Campbell, labourer, was charged with having on Monday, in Guestrow, assaulted William Connon, police constable, by striking him with a stone a severe blow on the head. He pleaded guilty and was fined 30s., with the alternative of ten days' imprisonment".

Because he had failed to report himself to the police following his discharge on licence, George was sent back to prison to serve the remaining fourteen months of his ten-year sentence.   

James McLean - Theft of a Horse on Deeside and a Pursuit to Tomintoul

This picture of James McLean pasted into the Register of Returned Convicts for Aberdeen is the first photograph in the volume to feature a prisoner with their hands placed on their chest so as to be seen by the camera. This archetypal pose was to become common practice for criminal mugshots from the last quarter of the nineteenth century and was another way by which distinguishing features could be recorded. At a time when industrial accidents were commonplace, missing fingers or marks on the hands could provide important additional information about an individual. The banner above his head also shows the exact date on which the photograph was taken: the 7th October 1880.

At that date, James was about to be released on licence having served just over six years of an eight year sentence for horse-stealing and related theft. We know from the 1881 census, when he was living on Seamount Place just off the Gallowgate in Aberdeen, that James originally came from Grantown-on-Spey. Indeed, when he was apprehended in May 1874, it followed a pursuit from Ballater across the hills to Kirkmichael near Tomintoul, close to his 'home-turf'.

The Aberdeen Press & Journal of 23rd September 1874 contains a detailed report of James's trial which begins, 

"James McLean, alias William McDonald (22), from Aberdeen jail, alleged to be a habit and repute and previously convicted thief was charged with eight separate acts of theft, some of them by means of housebreaking, committed at various premises on Deeside, between Blairs, in the parish of Maryculter, and Aboyne Castle, at Aboyne, on dates extending from 3rd February to the 11th May 1874. From the libel it appeared that McLean had visited various farm premises and outhouses - Altries House, occupied by Colonel Charles Inge, and Aboyne Castle, occupied by the Marquis of Huntly, having also attracted his attention. The articles stolen, aside from a considerable quantity of wearing apparel, included joiners' tools, a cartridge-loading machine, and a loading rod; a mare, a gig, a saddle, and a set of harness; and a corn bag and half a bushel of oats. The libel set forth that the prisoner had been convicted of theft under the name James McLean before the Burgh Court of Elgin on the 16th June 1863; before the Sheriff and a jury at Elgin in January 1869, and November 1870; and before the Circuit Court of Justiciary at Aberdeen on 26th April 1872". 

The route of James's crime-spree through Deeside becomes clear as the witnesses for the prosecution appear before the court: starting at Blairs, Maryculter, he also aroused suspicion at Crathes Station, Banchory, Kincardine O'Neil, Aboyne, Tullich, the Pass of Ballater, and Balgairn, just to the west of Ballater. The most serious of these thefts was the taking of the horse from an address near Crathes Station. James evidently rode bare-back as he is quoted in the trial report as saying that he subsequently stole a gig from Aboyne because "he couldn't get a saddle to ride upon".

Ultimately, it was the tracks left by the wheels of this gig, coupled with some expert sleuthing by a Constable Chivas and an Inspector McHardy, that enabled the police to track down the abandoned mare and gig to a location four miles to the west of Ballater. In the first instance they proceeded to Balmoral by train, but then had to take a route over the hills to Tomintoul where they caught up with the fugitive. 

When James McLean was apprehended he claimed that he had not been in the Aboyne area at all, but had come to Tomintoul "direct from Braemar". However, the fact that he was wearing all the clothes that he had stolen was something of a giveaway and something which caused much amusement in court.

The jury did not even retire to consider its verdict. In his summing up, Lord Neaves reflected that,

"....[McLean] had been convicted of several serious charges, and one a very heavy one - that of horse stealing. Horse-stealing used to be a capital crime, and although the law now treated it more leniently, yet it was still viewed as a serious offence. His lordship passed sentence of eight years' penal servitude".

For at least one of his previous crimes, James had already spent time in HM General Prison, Perth, where he appears as an inmate on the 1871 census. After serving around six years of his eight year sentence for horse-stealing, James is released on licence where he lives at various addresses in Aberdeen including Causeway Place, 105 Gallowgate and 76 Upper Denburn. At the time of the 1881 census (which was conducted on the 3rd April) James, whose occupation was that of a "general labourer", was living at 61 Seamount Place with his 27 year old wife, Margaret, who was born in Huntly, and their lodger, 44 year old James Reid.

 

James Pirie - "Extraordinary" Sheep-Stealing at Durris and Old Deer

Sheep-stealing is a crime that has not featured in this blog up until now, but I'm pleased to say that this can now be included with the audacious and sometimes farcical exploits of the agricultural labourer James Pirie. James didn't appear in court until October of 1876, although two reports of his rural misdemeanours appear in the Aberdeen Press and Journal of the 24th and 31st May that year, the first under the headline, "Sheep-Stealing in Kincardineshire":

"A somewhat extraordinary case of sheep-stealing, involving several features of a rather romantic nature is being investigated by the Kincardineshire police authorities. It seems that very early on Wednesday morning a farmer in the Durris district and one or two of his servants had been out in a field for the purpose of watching for the appearance of some dogs, which had on several previous nights done considerable damage to a flock of sheep belonging to the farmer, several lambs having been worried. It is stated that about three o'clock a man, whom they believed to be a poacher, was seen to enter the field in which the sheep were, and, as he was accompanied by a dog, the watching party immediately made in his direction. Thinking probably that he was being pursued by a party of gamekeepers, the intruder instantly turned and fled, closely followed by the farmer and his assistants. In his rapid career, the hunted sportsman bolted right over the dyke onto the public road, and, to his utter astonishment, found himself landed in the midst of a number of sheep. Before he recovered himself his pursuers came up and captured him. It was then discovered that two men were in charge of the sheep, which were six in number; and, on being questioned by the farmer, they could give no satisfactory explanation as to how they had come into possession of the animals, or where they were going with them".

Following investigations by the police, it became apparent that the sheep in question had been taken from Wardend Farm (about two miles south of Crathes, just off the Slug Road) and had subsequently fetched a good price at the King Street Auction Mart in Aberdeen. The flesher (or butcher) who purchased the animals had slaughtered them soon after, although the police were able to recover the heads and skins. James Pirie and his accomplice Alexander Philips were arrested "near the Queen's statue", which at that time stood on the corner of Union Street and St. Nicholas Street. They were then committed to the prison in Stonehaven "pending further investigation".

During these further investigations, it came to light that about a week prior to their rustling exploits at Durris, Pirie and Philips had stolen and sold a further eight sheep from the farm of Millhill near Old Deer. Judging from the report in the Aberdeen Press and Journal of 31st May 1876, this was evidently a well planned and brazen operation. The pair had caught a train from Aberdeen alighting at Auchnagatt where they coolly booked space for a number of animals in a livestock wagon for the return leg of the journey due to depart the following morning. They then made their way to Millhill Farm, stole the sheep and drove them back to Auchnagatt station where they were then loaded and taken to Aberdeen and sold at the King Street Auction Mart.

There was a delay in reporting this second crime as the farmer at Millhill took a number of days to realise that his animals were missing. Nonetheless, justice caught up with Pirie and Philips who were tried at the High Court in Inverness on 2nd October 1876. On the trial papers (held at the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh under the reference JC26/1876/53) Pirie is described as an "odd job man, formerly a shepherd", while Philips is noted as a "former shepherd to Mr. Biedie, Banks of Strichen". Although Pirie pleaded not guilty and Philips guilty, the evidence against them was overwhelming and after a short trial they were both sentenced to five years' imprisonment. Interestingly, one of the newspaper reports alludes to a motive for the crime, suggesting that Pirie and Phillips were intending to use the money raised from their crime to emigrate. 

Following his discharge from prison on the 5th October 1880, James Pirie's mugshot was pasted into the 'Register of Returned Convicts for Aberdeen' (see below) and his various details such as age, height, and colour of hair are noted alongside. These details also record that he was blind in his left eye, a feature which can just about be made out in the photograph. The entry reveals that after his release, Pirie lived at 28 Virginia Street, Aberdeen. This address was known as Prospect Court and was situated just off the south side of Virginia Street. In the 1881 census, which took place on the 3rd April, there are five separate households listed as living at Prospect Court a number of the residents being either mill workers or coopers. James, however, is listed as living alone, his occupation being that of an agricultural labourer. He remains at that address until June of 1881 when he moves to the address of Forbes Court situated just off Back Wynd. He lives there until at least October of 1881, at which point he no longer has to report to the police and no further entries are given.

 

Grace McIntosh or Masters - The Habitual Thief With A Husband in Australia

Grace McIntosh or Masters was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude on the 5th April 1875. The original trial papers (JC26/1875/7) are kept at the National Records of Scotland in Edinburgh in a series of records known as the "High Court of Justiciary Processes". Among the details provided about Grace McIntosh are that she was unable to write and that she was the wife of an Aaron McIntosh, described as a "copper-miner in Melbourne Australia". In the absence of a marriage record it has not been possible to pin-down where or when Grace and Aaron got married. However, Grace does appear on the 1861 census as a prisoner at H.M. General Prison, Perth, where she was serving a six year sentence for a crime committed in 1855. She is listed as married on that census while her occupation is given as a "hawker". 

Like many of the other individuals who have featured in this blog, Grace was a habit and repute thief. The report of her conviction in the Aberdeen Press & Journal of 7th April 1875 mentions her previous brushes with the law:

"Grace McIntosh or Masters and Mary Buchan or Murray were charged with theft in so far as on the 16th December last, in a house on Rettie's Court, West North Street, Aberdeen, occupied by Murray, they stole from the person of James Grant, flesher, residing in Union Lane, Aberdeen, three £5 notes, nine £1 notes thirteen half-sovereigns, and a piece of silk cloth. Both prisoners were alleged to be habit and repute thieves, and against Masters, three previous convictions for theft were libelled - obtained before the Aberdeen Circuit Court on 23rd April 1844, 19th April 1855 and 22nd April 1864 respectively. Both panels pleaded guilty, and were sentenced, Masters to seven years' penal servitude and Murray to eight months' imprisonment". 

Grace evidently had a somewhat chaotic lifestyle: could this have been a result of her husband going to Australia to find work, thereby leaving her unsupported and struggling to make ends meet, or perhaps he emigrated during one of her stretches in prison?

Either way, the evidence suggests that overtime they became estranged: when she was discharged from prison on the 6th December 1879, Grace initially stayed at the Victoria Lodging House at 45 Guestrow, Aberdeen (now known as Provost Skene's House). Sadly, she must have been in ill heath as her entry in the "Register of Returned Convicts for Aberdeen" (below) records that during January and early February 1880 she was a patient at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. The entry for the 6th February states that she was "Reported Dead".

Grace's death certificate reveals that she in fact passed away on the 4th February and had been suffering from "bronchitis emphysema for several years". The death certificate notes that she was the "widow of..." but the space for her husband's name is left blank.

James Hunter - The Trouser Thief With a Sweet Tooth and a Weakness for Religious Literature

 

James Hunter's eyes in the image pasted into the 'Register of Returned Convicts for Aberdeen' fix the viewer with a very direct, almost confrontational, gaze. The details that accompany the photograph convey that he had been sentenced to seven years penal servitude for housebreaking on 28th April 1874. The Aberdeen Press & Journal of the following day carried a report of the trial:

James Hunter, George Mortimer and John Ford were charged with breaking into the premises of Peter Henderson, furnishing tailor, Woolmanhill, on the 5th or 6th of February, by breaking or removing one or more panes of glass, and stealing therefrom four pairs of trousers, and some pieces of cloth etc. The panels are all habit and repute, and Hunter was convicted before a Sheriff and jury in April 1873. Hunter pleaded not guilty and Mortimer and Ford pleaded guilty as libelled. A jury was then empanelled. The jury, after hearing the evidence, found that Hunter was "art and part". He was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude, and Mortimer and Ford were sentenced each to twelve months' imprisonment.

James's conviction the previous year meant that he received a significantly harsher sentence than his accomplices. His crime of April 1873 in which he was found guilty of stealing confectionary and a large number of other items from a railway wagon was also reported in the Press & Journal:

Before Sheriff Dove Wilson and a jury on Saturday, James Hunter was charged with having stolen or assisted in stealing from the goods station of the Deeside section of the Great North of Scotland Railway at Aberdeen, on 18th February last, various articles among which were boxes containing about 60lbs. of lozenges and confections, 56lbs of marmalade in tins, two dozen champagne, 14 volumes of religious literature, 35 manuscript sermons, and a variety of other articles. 

When he was discharged from his seven year sentence, on 10th November 1879, James lived for at least three months at 98 Commerce Street, Aberdeen. The Post Office Directory for that year (below left) lists a horse dealer by the name of George Paterson at that address, so it is more than likely that James found lodgings and possibly employment there too.

 

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". 

James Walls - The Trouser Thief From Strichen

James Walls stood trial for theft on the 26th April 1872 at the Aberdeen Circuit Court. The case was reported the following day in the Dundee Courier:

"James Walls or Wallas, who had five previous convictions recorded against him, was placed in the dock charged with theft, in so far as (1) he did on the 11th December last, steal from a green at Newseat of Drumbreck, Udny, a pair of trousers and a pair of drawers belonging to Robert Forbes, farm servant, and (2) on the same day or the day after, he stole from a field near Orchardtown, Udny, a pair of trousers and a jacket, belonging to Alexander Paterson, farm servant. Prisoner pleaded guilty. Lord Neaves, in passing sentence, remarked that short periods of imprisonment had done panel no good and he would now try the effect of seven years' penal servitude".

Given the remark in the report regarding James's five previous convictions, it was a fair-bet that James would appear as a prisoner in the 1871 census. Sure enough, on checking this he is listed as an inmate at H.M. General Prison, Perth,  aged 43 his occupation given as a 'labourer', he was unmarried, and his birthplace was Strichen. 

After serving his sentence for the thefts near Udny, James was discharged on licence in October of 1877, aged 50. His entry in the Register of Returned Convicts for Aberdeen (see image below) records that he lived for at least a while at 19 Loch Street in the city. Accompanying the usual details of height, complexion and colour of hair, the entry records that he had "several moles on breast, sores on right side of neck, varicose veins on both legs, covering the calf". Although we can't be certain, it is quite possible that the sores on the right side of his neck were caused by scrofula, a form of tuberculosis from which Peter Reilly, who features elsewhere in this blog, also suffered.