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.

See here: https://kpoulin1.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/mary-jane-davies-widow/

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 9^th, 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!