The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Historical crimes by women in spotlight
Exhibition: Focus on north-east cases from witches to killers
Merely giving someone a look before they fell ill was enough to convince some Aberdonians that a woman might be a witch when hysteria swept the city in the late 19th Century.
And while witch trials are often associated with Salem in 17th Century America, dozens of women in Aberdeen were also accused of being in cahoots with the Devil in the 1590s.
Such tales are among fascinating insights into the north-east’s past that were found in historic records for an upcoming exhibition.
The council’s senior archivist, Katy Kavanagh, is using original records to focus on female criminals through the centuries.
For the Granite Noir crime writing festival, she has curated a free exhibition called Outcasts: Women, Crime and Society.
She will look at the public fascination with women who commit murder or violent acts, and challenge the notion of society’s “nurturing sex”.
Ms Kavanagh said: “Both the exhibition and the talk explore the wealth of material in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives collections relating to crime.”
And she added that detailed records of trials for witchcraft were unusual.
“This year we are focusing on women’s experiences of crime and punishment, and what this can tell us about women’s status in society at the time.
“Visitors will be able to see a range of different material, from early 20th
Century police wanted posters to court documents from witchcraft trials in the late 16th Century.
“A common trope about women is that they are the nurturing sex and with cases like these it’s interesting because you almost don’t expect it.
“The type of crime goes against that stereotype with crimes like child murder.”
The senior archivist highlights a case from the Enactment Book to the
Kirk Sessions records, in which cases were logged of prostitution, infanticide, petty theft and sex before marriage – known then as “ante-marital fornication”.
One such case concerns Catherine Anderson, an outworker from Pitfodels near Aberdeen accused of concealing her pregnancy and smothering her newborn child.
Ms Kavanagh said: “Some cases are harrowing. It makes you appreciate the progress that has been made towards equality. Especially when you hear about the evidence during the witchcraft trials in Aberdeen. There were about 40 cases and things that could be considered a coincidence today, like looking in the direction of someone when they fall ill or drop dead, were used as evidence.
“My talk on Thursday will expand on all the sources used in the exhibition, as well as exploring cases in the Aberdeen House of Correction, which was operated by the burgh authorities and kirk session in the 1630s and 1640s.”
A police station in Dufftown, Moray, unearthed a series of wanted posters, which will be displayed at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen, and feature what may be the original female Peaky Blinders.
Images of Ellen Jane Pugh and Lily Hart, who both used the alias Williams, were part of a Birmingham gang in 1911 suspected of making counterfeit coins.
Council culture spokeswoman, Marie Boulton, said: “We’re delighted to see our archives being used to tell the tragic stories of women on the fringes of society, perhaps because of poverty or persecution, and in some cases because they sought a life of crime. These fascinating women have much to teach us about our city’s past and perhaps even our present.
“I’d urge everyone to come along to Granite Noir to explore this exhibition.”
Outcasts: Women, Crime and Society runs from Thursday to Sunday at the Lemon Tree. The talk will be on Thursday at 5.30pm in the Music Hall.
For more information visit www.granitenoir.com
“Tragic stories of women who were on the fringesofsociety”