Elizabeth Scott

1786 - Bef 1851  (< 64 years)

• Name	Elizabeth Scott
  Born	1786
  Gender	Female
  Died	Bef 1851
  Person ID	I456	The Goswell Family Tree
  Last Modified	28 Sep 2017

  
  

  Father	William Scott,   b. 1749
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Jane Tinmouth,   b. 1755
  Relationship	natural
  Married	15 May 1780	Felton, Northumberland
  Family ID	F216	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Martin Hogg,   b. 1 Jan 1782, Felton ,   d. 2 Dec 1857  (Age 75 years)
  Married	14 May 1809	Felton, Northumberland
  Children	1. Elizabeth Hogg,   b. 27 Feb 1825, Cowslip Hill, Felton, Northumberland, England ,   d. 8 Sep 1897, Linden Farm, Quat Quatta, Corowa District  (Age 72 years)  [natural]   2. Robert Hogg,   b. 1810, Felton, Northumberland, England ,   d. 11 Jan 1896, Cowslip Hill  (Age 86 years)  [natural]   3. Jane Hogg,   b. 1814, Cowslip Hill, Felton, Northumberland, England ,   d. 24 Feb 1888  (Age 74 years)  [natural]   4. Barbara Hogg,   b. 1819, Cowslip Hill, Felton, Northumberland, England ,   d. 20 Aug 1899  (Age 80 years)  [natural]   5. Ann Hogg,   b. 1821, Cowslip Hill, Felton, Northumberland, England ,   d. 1915, Netherby, Victoria, Australia  (Age 94 years)  [natural]
  Last Modified	28 Sep 2017
  Family ID	F196	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Elizabeth Scott (my great-great grandmother) was born at Felton, Northumberland in 1786 She married Martin Hogg in 1809 and had five children - Robert, Jane, Barbara, Ann and Elizabeth (my great-grandmother). They lived at Cowslip Hill, Felton. Elizabeth Scott was a victim of the Resurrectionists, or Body Snatchers, as they are more commonly called - men who stole bodies from graves for profit. In the 19th century this was a common practice. Bodies were needed by hospitals for medical students. Demand was high, and there were no longer enough bodies from "legal sources" i.e. people dying as paupers or in jails or workhouses. At the beginning of the 19th century, the notorious Burke and Hare progressed from simply robbing graves to murdering their victims. They were caught and hung. Edinburgh Infirmary was a leading teaching hospital and needed large numbers of bodies for its students. In Scotland security measures such as padlocking the cemeteries were introduced to counter body snatching. The Body Snatchers therefore turned their attention across the border to Northumberland. The Newcastle Chronicle was eagerly scanned for death notices. The preferred victims were women (as they were usually smaller and lighter) and the preferred churchyards were near a road for ease of travel, and with low security. The nearest large town to Felton was Morpeth which had installed a watch-tower which was manned all night. However Felton was ideal. Felton Parish Church had already suffered one casualty. In 1831 the corpse of Margaret Elliot, aged 93, was stolen. Two men, found with the body on their cart, were caught and convicted. Elizabeth Hogg, aged 60, from Cowslip Hill, the home of the Gamekeeper to Felton Park, died on December, 1846 and was buried just after Christmas in the churchyard of St Michael and All Angels, Felton. A young boy noticed the soil of a disturbed grave only partially filled in and raised the alert. The culprits had taken off over a field with a stile to reach the road. Human hair was found attached to the stile - the field and stile are still referred to as Betty Hogg's field and stile. Two Irishmen, carrying a large parcel who had boarded the coach were arrested at Berwick on Tweed. The body was re-interred in the grave from which it was taken. The Kennedy brothers were found guilty at Northumberland Michaelmas Sessions at Alnwick and "fined a shilling each to the King and imprisoned and kept to hard labour in the House of Correction at Morpeth for twelve months and to be further imprisoned until the fines were paid". The cost of the trial to the Parish of Felton was 30 pounds. Cilla Chapman, adapted from an account by Pauline Lumley