Friday, April 29, 2016

Following on from Mary Kelly's death...

Following on from the last Ripper murder of Mary Jane Kelly, I notice almost immediately there appeared to be 'Copy Cats' in operation. These were either people who were taunting the police by promising to act soon, even pretending they were Jack the Ripper or they were just basically having a laugh.

I found this short piece in an old edition of the South Wales Echo online. It was published just ten days after Mary's death. Now I don't know if it means Albert Bachert was leading the police a merry dance by pretending to know who the murderer was or where he lived or even if he wrote those words.
November 19th, 1888 South Wales Echo

What I've noticed though is that almost immediately after the first murder there were people claiming they were him or they knew him, this went on for years and years, with newspapers sporting headlines like, "The French Ripper", "The German Ripper", etc. There was even claim the Ripper was in Argentina.

Other newspaper articles had headlines like 'Tracking Jack the Ripper'. Stories about the fact the Ripper was on the run, or that there was a copy cat in operation, sold newspapers. Maybe even journalists fabricated stories to get good copy. There is even a theory that there is no Jack the Ripper, the story was invented by a journalist.

December 4th, 1988 South Wales Echo

Left is a letter taunting Mr. Saunders the chief magistrate.

"Dear Pal, I am still at liberty. The last job in Whitechapel was not bad; but I mean to surprise them on the next. Shall joint it. Ha, ha, ha! After that shall try on the lazy louchers who live on the unfortunates. We have just enrolled several for the job. I am in the country now for the benefit of my health. I met the super here (Wellingboro') the other day, and like him immense. He looks like a yard of pump-water starched. Shall try a job here next. So look out for news from Jack the Ripper."

Interestingly, the word 'Unfortunates' used in the letter was often employed during Victorian times to describe a prostitute. So the letter is claiming there is more than one man involved in the murders, 'We have just enrolled several for the job...' Or does the author of the letter mean that the several enrolled are the people he intends murdering? As in those who live on the unfortunates?

I looked up the word 'loucher' which I have never heard before and this came up:

louche

luːʃ/
adjective
comparative adjective: loucher
  1. disreputable or sordid in a rakish or appealing way.
    "the louche world of the theatre"



So was the author of the letter speaking about pimps? Theatre Goers? [After all the theatre and dance hall world was said to be frequented by whores and wealthy men.] Or was he speaking about men who used the Unfortunates for their own lustful desires? It could even have been a woman who wrote that letter.

All of this made me wonder when people finally stopped looking over their shoulder or taking anonymous letters seriously? It would surely have stopped after a particular point when the Ripper himself had no possibility of still being alive.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Who's the real Mary Kelly?


Mary Jane Kelly, who was believed to have been the Ripper's final victim, was known under a variety of names. Sometimes she's referred to as Marie Jeanette Kelly, this is thought to be because she turned up in London and became friendly with a French lady who introduced her into the world of high class prostitution in the West End, where she became a courtesan, granting favours for wealthy men. There are passages of writing that refer to her as 'riding around in her own carriage' and 'being escorted to Paris', where no doubt, she did business. Although she was said to dislike it out there and returned to London.

Although Mary was thought to be Irish, she was apparently Welsh by birth and was fluent in the Welsh language. Some Ripperologists believe Mary once lived in Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, which would tie in with her being married young to a collier with the surname, Davies. There were plenty of coal pits in Merthyr at that time, so that could fit. He was said to have been killed in a pit accident, so, Mary was widowed at the tender age of sixteen. Her father was said to work in an ironworks and there were three of those in Merthyr: Cyfarthfa, Dowlais and Plymouth.

Bob Hinton who wrote the book 'From Hell', found evidence of a sixteen-year-old Mary Jane Davies living at the Brunswick Hotel, Merthyr Tydfil. She's listed on the 1881 Census as 'Widowed', which would seem to fit too.



The Brunswick as it is today
There was talk of Mary going into the 'infirmary' after her husband's death and moving to Cardiff to be with a cousin. It seems to be that people assume it's the infirmary at Cardiff that she was interned into for some time, but I wonder if she was living in Merthyr as Bob Hinton suggests, was it the St. Tydfil's Infirmary Merthyr Tydfil she was interned at? Particularly as that infirmary was just up the road from the Brunswick Inn and there's evidence of a Doctor J. Gabe working there during that time period as a Medical Officer. That was information I discovered myself whilst studying online Welsh newspapers.
13 Miller's Court

Doctor Gabe was one of the first doctors on the scene at 13 Miller's Court [where Mary was later found brutally murdered after a particularly savage attack on November the 9th, 1888.] Could Gabe and Kelly have known one another whilst both lived in Merthyr Tydfil? After all, they seemed to have arrived in London around the same time. Is it too much of a coincidence that Gabe was present at the murder scene when he was a registered gynaecologist who also worked for the N.S.P.C.C.? Why was an obstetrician present too? Was Mary pregnant and it was hushed up for some reason? In fact there were 6 doctors present at the scene, which is more than all the other cases had present.

Other names Mary was known as were 'Fair Emma', 'Ginger' and 'Black Mary'. She was around twenty-five-years-old and said to be living in poverty at the time of her death. This ties in with her leaving her job at the West End and moving to the East End of London to work the streets. Reports from the time estimated that she was around 5 ft 7 inches tall [1.70 m] which would seem quite tall for a lady back then. Her hair colour seems uncertain as sometimes she's said to have had blonde hair or red hair, though 'Black Mary' seems to suggest she was a brunette. Her eye colour was said to be blue. The Daily Telegraph of 10 November 1888 described her as 'tall, slim, fair, of fresh complexion, and of attractive appearance'.

I've also read reports that John Langan, a suspect in the Ripper murders, was mentioned in the Home Office files of 12 October 1888. A letter had been received from E. W. Bon-ham, the British consul in Boulogne, expressing the belief that the Ripper might be Langan. There is no record of why Bonham thought so, and Langan was interviewed and cleared of suspicion. Langan was reported as staying with a 'Mary Davies' and there's mention of him staying at The Brunswick Hotel in Merthyr. Could Mary and Langan have known one another in Merthyr? Coincidentally, both had spent time in France.

Is it more than coincidence that Langan and Gabe might have crossed paths with Mary in Merthyr?

Part 2 Coming soon!

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

The Mystery of Doctor Gabe from Merthyr




Doctor Gabe, who is reputed to be one of the first doctors on the scene of the final Jack the Ripper murder of Mary Jane Kelly, is one of the persons mentioned, apart from Mary herself, who I find most intriguing of all in the case. Not just because he was born and bred in my home town of Merthyr Tydfil, but because of his movements during that period of time.

Gabe, was reported as living in Merthyr Tydfil, where his father was reputed to be the landlord, Rees Gabe. Now this is where the confusion and mystery begins...there appears to be a Doctor John Bernard Gabe listed as being Rees Gabe's son of Merthyr. John Bernard Gabe did exist as I've found a newspaper clipping of his death, complete with a photograph, [see above].

In the article in the newspaper called 'The Cambrian -10th July 1908',  it says that John Bernard's father was Rees Gabe, but it appears to say John Bernard previously resided in Cefn [there is a Lord Raglan pub which is still operational in Cefn Coed, Merthyr Tydfil.. I have found mention of 3 such pubs, one in Glebeland Street, Cefn Coed and Dowlais] But which one was it really? I've also found an article in a Welsh newspaper where Rees Gabe from the Lord Raglan Glebeland Street, had bales of hay stolen and had taken someone on in court for the offence.

Not only is the pub an enigma, so is Doctor Gabe as there is a Doctor John Bernard Gabe mentioned and more often Doctor John Rees Gabe in connection with the case of Jack the Ripper. Now, John Rees makes complete sense as being the son of Rees Gabe as names were often handed down to sons. Yet, on the Census there is only a boy called John and a boy called Joseph that could be brothers who were doctors. There are three other brothers, William age 13, Benjamin 7,  and 1-year-old Henry.

Joseph's age fits best the year John Rees Gabe was born which was said to be around 1852 [he might have been almost 9 when the census was taken so could have been born in 1852.] So was that name changed at some point from Joseph to John?

Also curious is the fact that John Bernard isn't on that census, though the newspaper report says Rees Gabe was his father. If he was 55 years of age in 1908 when he died, then he was born circa 1853. So was he Joseph? Was there only one year between John Bernard and John Rees? It doesn't make sense. Of course the one called John on the census there was 6 at the time, which would have made his birth year around 1855, that doesn't tie in with any dates either.

 1861 Census return for the "Lord Raglan", Merthyr Tydfil
Rees Gabe (Head), 38, born Llangathen, Carmarthenshire. Innkeeper
Anne (Wife), 35, born Llangathen, Carmarthenshire. Innkeeper
Mary Anne (Daur), 11, born Merthyr. Scholar
William (Son), 13, born Merthyr. Scholar
Joseph (Son), 8, born Merthyr. Scholar
Benjamin (Son), 7, born Merthyr. Scholar
John (Son), 6, born Merthyr. Scholar
Elizabeth (Daur), 6, born Merthyr. Scholar
Henry (Son), 1, born Merthyr
Anne Williams (Servant), born Carmarthen Town. House Servant
Mary A Williams (Servant), 15, born Pontypool, Monmouthshire. House Servant
I've also discovered a Doctor J. Gabe who worked as a medical officer at St, Tydfil's infirmary/workhouse in Merthyr Tydfil. A newspaper article mentions him one night working with 'his brother'. So did Rees Gabe the publican have two sons who were doctors? One called John Bernard and one called Joseph Rees [who later changed his name to John Rees when he arrived in London?]

The Doctor J. Gabe who worked as a Medical Officer at the workhouse/infirmary seemed to be a colourful character who got involved in certain inquiries held by the hospital board where he came under suspicion of various misdeeds. One was about giving a ward sister a lot of grief, who seemed to dislike him intensely! He was often spoken of as having an extremely bad temper by staff at the infirmary.

To add to his mystery, several Ripperologists have mentioned that Mary Jane Kelly, was at one time living in Merthyr Tydfil herself. Mary was said to have married young to a man with the surname 'Davies', but sadly her husband got killed in a pit disaster. [This information is derived from an account by Joseph Barnett, her London lover, who told police this information after her death]. There is a 16-year-old 'Mary Jane Davies' listed as residing at the Brunswick Hotel in Thomas Street, not that far away from St. Tydfil's Infirmary.

Mary, although described as 'Irish' is known to have spoken the Welsh language. Her father was said to have worked at the ironworks [again this information came from Joseph Barnett].

Merthyr had three large ironworks at the time: Cyfarthfa, Dowlais and Plymouth, and there were many coal pits in the area which would tie in with the fact her husband had been a collier.

These are the facts I could find out about John Bernard Gabe from a 1908 Welsh newspaper:
 
  • He'd had a serious illness which had overtaken him eighteen months beforehand, but he had still attended his duties and died the eve before his birthday
  • He'd never fully recovered from that illness
  • He'd been ill for two to three days before his death
  • He'd been out motoring with friends the week before his death in North Wales
  • He died from congestion to the bowels
  • He was living in Morriston Swansea at the time
  • He was a native of Cefn, Merthyr, being the ONLY surviving son of the late Mr. John Gabe.
  • He died aged 55 years of age
  • He received his education at London and Cork Universities and become fully qualified at Glasgow University.
  • He came to Morriston while a young man, as assistant to the late Dr. Henry Davies, whom he afterwards, succeeded.
  • At the point of his death he was in partnership with Dr. Morgan.
  • He was patron of the Loyal J. B. Lodge [Order of Shepherds]
  • He left behind a widow [unnamed] and five chidren sons: Howel, Leslie and Vincent and two daughters Beryl and Thaisa?
  • His son Howel was completing his studies to follow his father into the medical profession.
  • The deceased was a brother-in-law of the Rev. T. Sinclair Evans, Swansea

I think this information proves that John Bernard Gabe is not the same person as John Rees Gabe as some people seem to think. John Rees Gabe ended up in Mecklmeurst Square in London. It says in the article that John Bernard was the only surviving son of Rees Gabe which would imply the other Doctor [John Rees] Gabe was dead, but that isn't so, as the article was printed in 1908 yet, John Rees didn't die until 1920. So perhaps they weren't even brothers but related.

Though, I strongly believe that both were brothers, but the one who attended the Miller's Court murder of Mary Jane Kelly was 'Joseph' Gabe, who for some reason changed his name when he turned up in London. Don't forget he'd been involved in several high profile inquiries that had hit the newspapers, maybe he didn't want people to know when he moved away. He settled in London with his family at 16 Mecklenburgh Square St. Pancras.

Now the other curious thing about this is that if say, this John Rees Gabe, was nothing to do with John Bernard Gabe [though one heck of a coincidence both are listed as doctors!] then why is there evidence of a John Rees Gabe from Merthyr being with a Rachel M. Gabe. Rachel M. Gabe can be found on the census showing Rees Gabe as her father.

The 1881 Census shows a 27-year-old John B. Gabe as being a General Practioner, LSA, etc born in Merthyr Tydfil but by then married to a woman called 'Annie' and living in Llangefelach Road, Clase. Going by the other names mentioned [including his mother-in-law] then his 22-year-old wife Annie, was originally a Rosser by birth. The couple are childless so far in this census. See source here:


1891 Census return for 16 Mecklenburgh Sq, St Pancras

John R Gabe (Head), 39, born Merthyr Tydfil. Registered Medical Practitioner
Marion LS (Wife), 35, born St Helens, Lancashire
Caroline M (Daur), 10, born London, Spitalfields. Scholar
Winifred A (Daur), 7, born London, Spitalfields. Scholar
Ivor S (Son), 5, born London, St Pancras
Rachel M (Visitor), 23, born Merthyr Tydfil [John's sister]
Frederick G Foniham (Visitor), 37, born St Helens, Lancashire. Woollen Agent
Ellen F Cobb (Servant), 28, born Plymouth. Domestic Servant

The only thing I can think of that makes any sense is that Joseph [John Rees] and John Bernard were brothers from Merthyr, who trained to become doctors. John Bernard moved to the Swansea area where he married and lived the rest of his life as a successful well-respected doctor. Joseph went to London where he also worked as a Medical Officer as he did at St Tydfil's Workhouse, but he changed his name! Now why do that? Was it because he came under suspicion for any wrong doings at the Workhouse? Was he either Joseph Gabe or John Rees Gabe or even John Jones Gabe [see later explanation for this.]

I've also found mention of the Doctor Gabe at Merthyr returning from Cardiff several times where there was also an Infirmary. Mary Kelly was said to have entered an Infirmary and moved to London afterwards.

Did both Doctor John [Joseph?] Gabe and Mary Jane Kelly know one another before they both set off for London? Did he change his name? If so, why do that? And why was Doctor John Rees Gabe one of the first doctors on the scene when he was known to be a gynaecologist? Why was there an obstetrician there too? In fact, I've read reports that state in all, six doctors were present at the scene.
There are more questions than answers, that's for sure....

And now this afternoon, I just found evidence that the Doctor J. Gabe working at St Tydfil's was still there on the Board of Guardians in 1881/1882 when John Bernard was registered on the census living in the Swansea, it seems this must surely be John Rees Gabe, except in certain articles the name is referred to as J. J. Gabe and I even found him referred to as John Jones Gabe. It seems unlikely to me there would have been 3 doctors with the name John Gabe working in Merthyr. At that time there were only about 15 Gabes registered in the area.

Curious!

Monday, April 25, 2016

About this Blog






Hi,

Thanks for stopping by. My name is Lynette Rees and I'm an author. I've been interested in the White Chapel Murders of Jack the Ripper for many years. I've read countless books and scoured hundreds of articles about the person in question and his victims too.

I've recently uncovered an angle that's related to my home town of Merthyr Tydfil, which during the murders of 1888 was a large industrial town which brought people in their droves to the town as the population exploded. There were many Irish immigrants here working in the iron works and pits.

There was also a notable man, Doctor John Rees Gabe, whose father owned the Lord Raglan Pub in Cefn Coed, Merthyr Tydfil. A place where the doctor once lived himself. The mysterious Doctor Gabe was one of the first doctors on the scene at the final Ripper murder, the slaying of Mary Jane Kelly, who I believe also had links to this town.

I hope you will enjoy visiting this blog and reading and commenting on the posts here.

Lynette Rees

Author of:

Black Diamonds, White Roses and Blue Skies.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lynette-Rees/e/B00JBQSQFU/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1461581407&sr=8-1