QSR1860/3/5/16

Depositions of Sarah Mousley, widow of Dean. Joseph Flintham, farmer of Dean and George Purser, police constable of Dean. In the case of Sarah Briggs accused of stealing a piece of gold and a sovereign.

19 June 1860

From: 1860 To: 1860

Sarah Mousley: a housekeeper with Mr Flintham of Dean. The prisoner had been living there as a servant since October. She kept some money in a small box which she placed in a clothes box in her bedroom. Some day in March she went to the box and found a sovereign missing. There were more sovereigns in the box. On the same day she told Mr Flintham of her loss. She sometime left the key in her clothes box. On 8 June, the police constable asked her what she had lost. She told him a sovereign. The girl was present and confessed she had taken it. In February the girl had given her half a sovereign to kept for her. Joseph Flintham: in March he heard of the loss of a sovereign. On 6 June he charged the prisoner with having drowned a pig belonging to him and promised her that if she confessed it to show she had done it accidently, then he would forgive her. She denied knowing anything of it. The following morning he questioned her again about the pig and she confessed that she did drown it. She confessed she had also drowned a duck in the pond. She also confessed that she thrown a girth into the pond. The girth was got out by one of his labourers. He asked her if she knew anything about the sovereign and she said that she had taken it and changed it at Miss Barkers[?] shop and had spent part of it. The half sovereign which she had given to her mistress to keep was part of the sovereign. He made no promised about the sovereign. PC George Purser: he was sent for by Mr Flintham with respect to a pig that had drowned. The next day the prisoner said she had told her master she had drowned the pig and that he had promised to forgive her. Afterwards she confessed about the duck and the girth. He asked her if there was anything else and she replied ‘no’. Afterwards she said “there is that money” and then she confessed that she had taken a sovereign from her mistress’s box some month previous. She said she had spent part of it and had given half a sovereign to her father. Statement of the accused: she saw the box open and some sovereigns were in it. She took one of them.

item

Briggs, Sarah,
Mousley, Sarah,
Purser, George,
Flintham, Joseph

DEAN, stealing, theft, money, crime, farmers, pigs, servants, women's history