Elizabeth Branch (1672 – 3 May 1740) was an English murderer. She and her daughter had a reputation for violence, especially towards their servants. In February 1740, the pair decided that their maid had been loitering on an errand and beat the servant to death. They buried the girl, claiming she died of natural causes, but the body was exhumed. The pair were tried for murder at the Somerset
assizes
The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...
, with the jury delivering a guilty verdict without even retiring. Elizabeth and her daughter were hanged at Ilchester on 3 May 1740.
Early life
Elizabeth Parry was born in 1672 in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, the youngest daughter of the family. Her father was a ship's surgeon, earning his fortune as shipmaster. She married Benjamin Branch, a landholding farmer and her father gave the couple a dowry of £2000 (), which supplemented Branch's income of £300 per year ()
Cruelty to servants
Elizabeth quickly gained a reputation for violence. She and her daughter, Betty Branch (listed as Mary Branch in the ''
Newgate Calendar
''The Newgate Calendar'', subtitled ''The Malefactors' Bloody Register'', was a popular work of improving literature in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Originally a monthly bulletin of executions, produced by the Keeper of Newgate Prison in Lo ...
''
), would torture small animals, apparently taking inspiration from stories of
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
. They would often beat and humiliate their servants, especially after the death of Benjamin in 1730, so that soon no local persons were willing to serve them.
Murder and trial
On 13 February 1740, as witnessed by Anne James (listed as Ann Somers in the ''Newgate Calendar''
), the dairymaid, Elizabeth sent her 13-year-old serving maid Jane Buttersworth on an errand to a nearby farm. On her return, Elizabeth and Betty, irate at how long she had taken, beat her for almost seven hours until she died. They buried her secretly, claiming that she had died of natural causes, but enough suspicion was aroused that locals exhumed her body. They brought it to the local surgeon who examined the body and found wounds which would have "kill'd the stoutest man". Elizabeth and Betty were tried for murder on 31 March at the Somerset assizes. The jury returned a guilty verdict without retiring to deliberate, and the two women were hanged at Ilchester on 3 May before six in the morning to reduce the possibility of an angry mob.
See also
*
Elizabeth Brownrigg
Elizabeth Brownrigg (1720 – 14 September 1767) was an 18th-century English murderer. Her victim, Mary Clifford, was one of her domestic servants, who died from cumulative injuries and associated infected wounds. As a result of witness testimon ...
*
Kateřina of Komárov
Kateřina of Komárov (died 15 March 1534) was a Czech noblewoman and convicted murderer. She was infamous for the rumours of her mistreatment of the serfs on the estates of her spouse, which she tended during his absences. She was brought to tria ...
*
Delphine LaLaurie
Marie Delphine Macarty or MacCarthy (March 19, 1787 – December 7, 1849), more commonly known as Madame Blanque or, after her third marriage, as Madame LaLaurie, was a New Orleans socialite and serial killer who tortured and murdered slave ...
*
La Quintrala
''La quintrala'' is a 1955 Argentine drama film directed by Hugo del Carril. It won the Silver Condor Award for Best Film.
Cast
*Antonio Vilar ... Fray Pedro de Figueroa, The Saint
*Ana María Lynch... Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer
...
*
Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova
Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova ( rus, Да́рья Никола́евна Салтыко́ва; , Ива́нова; March 11, 1730 – December 27, 1801), commonly known as Saltychikha ( rus, Салтычи́ха, p=səltɨˈt͡ɕixə), was a Rus ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Branch, Elizabeth
1672 births
1740 deaths
British female murderers
English people convicted of murder
Executed English women
People convicted of murder by England and Wales
People executed by England and Wales by hanging
English murderers of children
People executed by the Kingdom of Great Britain