Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue
  • Reference
    QSR1841/4/5/23/c
  • Title
    Depositions - Catherine Elizabeth Boston of St Mary Bedford, charged with stealing a watch and 4 promissory Bedford Bank notes for £5 each from William Stapleton
  • Date free text
    28 August 1841
  • Production date
    From: 1841 To: 1841
  • Scope and Content
    Mary Clark wife of James clark, constable of Bedford - her husband brough the prisoner in custody to their house on Thursday August 26th and gave her into her care for about 2 hours. During that time she went to the privy where she remained some minutes. She was with her. While she was seated Boston placed her hand behind so as to excite her suspicion. She later examined the soil of the privy and found a pair of ear drops lying separately on top of the soil. She took them out and delivered them to her husband. Maria Irons went with her and the prisoner to the privy and used the seat before the prisoner. She is sure nobody used it afterwards before she found the ear drops. Maria Irons - she went with Boston and Mrs Clark or her daughter to the privy. She used the seat. She did not put any ear drops or earrings down the privy, nor did she see any. Elizabeth Coles, daughter of John Coles and Hannah Coles of Hop Pole Yard, St Mary's Bedford, aged 10 years - her father is dead and she lives with her mother in Hop Pole Yard. She knows Catherine Boston and Mr Levy. About 3 weeks or a month ago she saw Mr Levy and Boston together in her house, where Boston was lodging. Mr Levy asked if she wanted to buy a pair of earrings. Boston said she did not know that she did. He asked Boston if she had anything to exchange, she said she thought she had. Boston then gave her a farthing to go and buy some apples and she left. She never saw Boston with a watch and did not know she had one. She does not know whether Boston exchanged anything with Mr Levy or not. When she came back Mr Levy was gone and she saw earrings in Boston's ears. Boston did not tell her how she got them, and she did not ask her. Maria Irons [further information] - on the day Boston was apprehended, as they were going back with Mr Clark to Bedford Boston was walking close to her on her left and held out a rolled up glove to her with her right hand. She took it and carried it in her hand with a glove of her own until they got to Clarke's house. She thought the glove Boston gave her was heavy but she did not feel anything in it. When they got to Clark's house she asked him if he had any suspicion against her. She did not tell him about the glove. Boston said it was her glove. She kept the glove and what was in it until she went to Mr Pearse's office for the examination, and then delivered it to Boston's sister Eliza. She did not know what was in it. Eliza Boston gave her the glove again when she got home after the examination. She opened it and found 6 sovereigns in it, which she now produces. She went with Boston to Sharnbrook on the previous Sunday. Boston hired and paid for the horse and cart in which they went. Eliza Boston of Parish Court, St Mary's Bedford, spinster - one day the previous week she went with her sister to the haberdasher's shop called Bartram's shop in the High Street opposite the market place. Her sister said she was going to change a £5 note for a person and asked her to go with her. They went to Bartram's shop. Her sister bought some calico and she gave a £5 bank note to pay for it. Ebenezer Parkins changed it. She never saw any other note in her sister's possession. Afterwards she went home to her father's house and her sister went to Mrs Coles's where she was lodging. Maria Irons gave her a pair of gloves while she was waiting outside the room in which the previous examination took place. There was nothing in them - no sovereigns. She kept the gloves until she went home. She is sure Maria Irons never gave her any sovereigns either before or after the examination, and she never gave her any. The previous Monday her sister and Maria Irons were with her and her sister told her she had given their married sister Sarah Doughty 3 sovereigns to take care of. [Reply to the prisoner] She lent the prisoner a sovereign to buy a silk dress. She knows no one of the name of Sarah Harter. After the 8 sovereigns came to her sister in a letter she went with her to Mr Rose's and to Mr Hurst's to buy things. She forgets whether the sovereigns came before or after the £5 was changed. She and her sister were not very friendly because of her leaving home. Ebenezer Parkins of the High Street, St Paul's Bedford, hozier and haberdasher - the prisoner and her sister came to his shop and the prisoner purchesed a number of yards of calico. One of them gave him a £5 County Bank note - it was a note of one of the Bedford Banks, but he does not know which. He gave £4 in gold and some silver in change.
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