Nicholas Oates

  General Notes:

of Halsetown 1849

The Morning Chronicle (London, England), Friday, February 15, 1861 of the charge of attempted poisoning of Sedwell Jane OATES d/o Nicholas OATES.

The accused is Mary Oates, wife of Nicholas and step mother of Sedwell Jane. One witness is named, Elizabeth Noall CURNOW. Mary was committed to appear at the Assizes.

I also have a copy of the report of trial at the Assizes from The Morning Chronicle (London, England), Thursday, March 21, 1861
Heather C on Azazella

A brief outline of the case -

Sedwell Jane and Mary argued a lot and a few days before the alleged attempted poisoning they had rowed and come to blows. Sedwell's father and brother stepped in and parted them and Mary said "You old devil, I cant abide thee; I will poison three before the week is out".

Nicholas was in the habit of returning home for his lunch from the mine and taking back with him the pasty that Mary would make for Sedwell Jane, but usually the pasty was already made, and was on the shelf in the morning so the pasty was always cold. On the day all this happened, the pasty was not there, and Nicholas brought Sedwell Jane a warm pasty from home for lunch...... so this was not usual, and the only witness that Mary handed that pasty to her husband to give to Sedwell Jane was Nicholas himself.

The complications arose because under law then (and until not too long ago) husband and wife could not give evidence against each other......... the judge after some while had to stop the case because the only person that could say that Mary had handed the poisoned pasty to Nicholas to give to Sedwell Jane was Nicholas....

As the judge said,

"Gentlemen of the jury, there is an insuperable difficulty in this case. Don't think I am prejudging it; but suppose the prisoner is guilty, the party who alone can prove the receiving of the pasty is the husband of the prisoner, who by law has his mouth closed. This is a difficulty which is incurable, and as there is no chance of proving the case, you must find her not guilty."

Nicholas married Margaret Rapson, son of William Rapson and Margaret Thomas, on 24 Dec 1825 in Ludgvan, Cornwall, England. (Margaret Rapson was born about 1807 in Ludgvan, Cornwall, England, christened on 7 Feb 1808 in Ludgvan, Cornwall, England, died in 1846 in St Ives, Cornwall, England and was buried on 13 Dec 1846 in Ludgvan, Cornwall, England.)

Nicholas next married Mary Bottrell in Dec 1849 in register office, Penzance, Cornwall, England. (Mary Bottrell was born about 1805 in St Just, Cornwall, England and died after 1861.)