Ripper Mag Articles

[admin tim]

Got any ideas for articles that you would like to see appear in one of the ripper mags? Post them here and maybe one of the budding authors will take it from there. Please note that, a Mad Englishwoman's litigous opinion to the contrary, you cannot copyright a mere idea. For more information along this line, refer to http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-protect.html#idea.

To get the ball rolling:

1. Could an abandoned Victorian privy be holding the key to JTR's identity?
2. Why has there never been any mention of JTR's footprints?
3. Could 'Juwes' have merely been referring to members of a family named Juwe?

For further inspiration, please refer to the Ripper Polls forum.

Please contribute your own suggestions; the magazine editors will thank you for it!

[Adam Went]

Hi!

Well, this is probably going to sound pretty lame compared to the suggestions you gave, but I actually wouldn't mind seeing more articles done about the lives of people involved in the Ripper case, especially more about victims and witnesses. Many of those are often overlooked, and while we're all aware that information is very scarce on most of those people, it might only take uncovering 1 little fact about someone that could lead to a whole treasure chest of information.

Thanks to the work of people like Chris Scott and Daniel Olsson, amongst many others, in recent times, we've already learnt some valuable new information. A good example of what I'm talking about is Adam Wood's article in the last issue of "Ripperologist", the life story of Coroner Wynne Baxter. It's been deservedly praised since it was published, but before that, how many of us can honestly say we seriously wondered "Hmm, I wonder what Wynne Baxter was doing 10 years before the Ripper murders?" I know I didn't, but articles like that certainly make you think about it. If more of those could be produced with equally high standards, I think it'd become very interesting - and who knows what it could lead us to??

Anyway, that's just my thoughts...

Cheers,
Adam.

[Howard Brown]

No,Adam,your suggestion isn't lame at all. I'm sure any article on practically any aspect of the WM is worthreading about.

I've contacted a relative of Frank Cater, the man whose name was found on a handbill in the possession of Mrs. Eddowes and reported in the Times,but not at the Inquest. He's very interested in how his ancestor fits into all of this and had written a post to Casebook a while back before I located him asking why his ancestor's name was being "searched" out by Ripperologists.

So you see,even if a subject may not immediately appeal to the majority of people,it just may open up a door to other research down the line. So far, we've drawn a blank on Cater,but who knows?

Thats why what you mentioned about the lives of these people,even peripheral characters, is enlightening and a good idea.. Chris Scott's book, "A Cast Of Thousands" has a lot of material on such people.

[Adam Went]

Howster,

Thanks for your support of my suggestion, much appreciated!
I was interested to read about your experience with the relative of Frank Cater, as I once had a similar experience myself, though you were obviously more successful than I was....

I have close relatives who are very interested in tracking our family history/ancestry, and so I became very excited when I found out that we have distant relatives that live in England with the surname: Fiddymont. I instantly remembered the story of the suspicious character, the pub and Mrs. Fiddymont, and so I asked the people if they knew if they were any relation to THE Mrs. Fiddymont. Apparently I had become a little over-excited, though, because while Fiddymont is not a common name at all down here, it is reasonably common in England, as they explained to me, and they were no relation to her. Unfortunate, but worth checking out, just the same, eh?

Here's hoping we can track down more info about all involved in the Ripper case in the not too distant future...

Cheers,
Adam.

[Howard Brown]

Adam...

Thats a good story buddy. Imagine if you had found a link to Mrs. Fiddymont ! Pretty neat personal link to the Case.

My family has a guy who runs a website devoted to my Grandmom's [ Dad's side ] geneaology.

One of the distant relations [ on the Wirz website ] was the infamous commandant of the Andersonville prison camp during the American Civil War, Henry Wirz. He was hung in New York for war crimes after the War Between the States. Probably by a relative of Maria Giordano's....

[Adam Went]

Howie,

Very interesting stuff!
I can't say that I've ever heard of Henry Wirz, but that's still a very interesting story. Not the best person to have your ancestry linked to by a long way, but we can't pick and choose, eh?
After all, I only exist in Australia because my Great, Great, Great (!!) Grandfather was sent out here as a convict more than 150 years ago. I actually don't mind that at all though. Infact, it's a good thing, as the convict days are a very important part of earlier Australian history - and his only misdemeanour was stealing a desk/table, anyway!! 7 years for stealing a table...how's that!?
Cheers,
Adam.

[Howard Brown]

Adam:

Thats an interesting bit of history. 7 years for a table !!!

[Adam Went]

Howster,

7 years for a table is actually pretty mild compared to some of the stuff I've heard. I know about a female convict who was sent over here for LIFE for stealing 2 SHAWLS.
All I can say is thank god the times have changed, huh?

Cheers,
Adam.