Bridget Kelly~MJK~Pros & Cons

[Anna Morris]

Since the nice, neat "Tales From the Ratcliff Highway" thread is fast becoming a Bridget Kelly thread~sorry, kind of my fault~maybe Bridget ought to have her own. Pros & cons are all there are to the tale, concerning if she reinvented herself as MJK.

Debra A. has done a lot of past research and the credit goes to her.

I just looked up Bridget on the LDS site. Born in Chatham, Kent, 1862. In 1871 was living at St. Luke, Middlesex Holborn, Whitecross St. Father: Patrick. Mother: Mary. Siblings: Edward D., David, Ellen, Mary, Ann. (SISTER named Mary Kelly...interesting.)

In 1881 she lived at St. Mary & St. John the Evangelist Westminster, London.

Using a tip from Debra I tried to determine if she emigrated after prison, using the years 1886-1911. Suspected countries: Canada, USA, Australia, South Africa. Nothing. Don't know other countries to check. New Zealand perhaps? Surely not India?

Does it mean anything that in two different census years in her young life she lived in places heavily named for saints? Does any of this indicate Roman Catholicism or are they just place names?

[Debra Arif]

There's some bio info on this old thread,Anna. There's a few things here that I had forgotten I'd written about, like having to have her mothers letters read to her and also that she claimed to be married with one child, although her maiden name of Kelly is always given as her surname.
She was RC according to her licence IIRC.

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=6582

[Debra Arif]

Anna, you spurred me on to look a bit more at Bridget and it looks like she did have had a child but wasn't married.
On Dec 8th 1879 Bridget Kelly, 19, gave birth to an illegitimate son named Edward in the Whiechapel Union Infirmary. What confirms it's the right woman is the address she gave of 10 Keates St.



This boy would have been 8 years old when MJK was murdered for those interested in the story about her having a son.

[Anna Morris]

Thanks so much, Debra!

I have made a big point about her hairline before. Reconstructionists want to give MJK a beautiful, oval face. I have looked at the terrible picture over and over looking for anything identifiable and I think Jack never touched the hairline. She had what's otherwise called a "low forehead" (as do I), and so does Bridget. Hair slicked back as in the Bridget picture is not a flattering style for this shape of face. Bridget has decent bone structure. I wish I could photo shop. I would work with Bridget's picture. I can enhance pictures and I'm pretty good at it, but that's about it.

In the Old Bailey case Bridget was quick to fight with her fists or otherwise. Looks like a lot of women in the East End were capable of that, but on the pro side of Bridget/MJK, both women could be physically violent. At least something was aimed at Barnett that broke windows. Not every woman will do that.

[Debra Arif]

Here's Edward in the Infirmary in May 1880 where it says his mother is in prison

[Howard Brown]

Nice, Debs....thanks !
XXXXXXXX

[Debra Arif]

Thanks so much, Debra!

I have made a big point about her hairline before. Reconstructionists want to give MJK a beautiful, oval face. I have looked at the terrible picture over and over looking for anything identifiable and I think Jack never touched the hairline. She had what's otherwise called a "low forehead" (as do I), and so does Bridget. Hair slicked back as in the Bridget picture is not a flattering style for this shape of face. Bridget has decent bone structure. I wish I could photo shop. I would work with Bridget's picture. I can enhance pictures and I'm pretty good at it, but that's about it.

In the Old Bailey case Bridget was quick to fight with her fists or otherwise. Looks like a lot of women in the East End were capable of that, but on the pro side of Bridget/MJK, both women could be physically violent. At least something was aimed at Barnett that broke windows. Not every woman will do that.

Anna, this is my list of why she interests me, rather than a pro list per se-

She's the right age
She is of Irish parentage
She is in an area MJK was known to have been in -Ratcliffe
She hasn't been found after 1885 (although it's quite difficult if she did go abroad)
She had unsound lungs, stout with a fair complexion and was Roman Catholic
Her prison record says her mother's letters had to be read out to her.
She knew Ben Goodson boyfriend of Catherine Mylett
She had been in Millbank when Rev Merrick claimed all the Whitechapel victims had been in there.
Her father was a serving soldier while she was growing up.

[Gary Barnett]

Here's Edward in the Infirmary in May 1880 where it says his mother is in prison

Does it say in prison 2 months?

Bridget was sentenced to 2 months on 3/4/1880.

[Debra Arif]

Does it say in prison 2 months?

Bridget was sentenced to 2 months on 3/4/1880.

I didn't notice the last bit but it looks like 2 months, yes. On second thoughts it could be the complaint he's in with as it's the Infirmary?

Here's another interesting one- a date of Nov 1886 in Holborn workhouse for both:

[Anna Morris]

Debra: At least we know Bridget had a mother who wrote letters! That's a start. Because of the military aspect of the family it's not a far stretch to think she knew a friend, brother-in-law, cousin, etc. named Henry or Johnto in the Scots Guards. Barnett knew the movement of the Scots Guards in the summer of 1888. That could be simple for Bridget to know those things.

Barnett also said he read the papers to her, concerning her literacy. I never took that to mean a lot but it could.

It's possible too that Bridget's sister Mary Kelly had the middle name Jane which could come close to Marie(a) Jeanette (Ioanna) in a RC christening.

Bridget had what we would call a "cow-lick" at her hairline. Note the slight swirl just to the left of the centre part. Looks like MJK COULD have the same. Both women have slightly curly hair (genetic) and the color on both looks like it tends to a medium brown or it COULD be a gingery brown. (I list my own hair as brown but it's actually red outdoors in the sun.) Part of what makes Bridget look less than beautiful is that she seems to have light colored eye brows and eye lashes. Of course we can't tell on MJK unless her brows are visible. I have never been sure about that.

Among the reconstructions of MJK's face, I will try here to attach one I think is very valid. It was done by David Shields, 8/09/05 and it is on Casebook. (Don't know if I'm supposed to cadge stuff from there but the picture is readily available & clippable on google images.) This is how I would reconstruct her face though I would give her slightly heavier cheeks and a slightly more irregular hairline. This reconstruction resembles Bridget. I wish we had a picture of Bridget's hands. MJK had pretty hands and nicely shaped feet.

Mrs. Felix said MJK said she had a child, but Mrs. Felix never saw it. Barnett said she didn't have any children at first but another time he said, or agreed that she had a boy. Maybe the MJK case seems like a coverup partly because authorities were protecting an innocent child who didn't need to know his mother ended up that way.

[Jerry Dunlop]

Not that the Police Illustrated News pictures were precise, but Bridget Kelly does resemble their version of Mary Kelly. They had her with a cleft chin, though.

[Anna Morris]

Jerry, I once theorised that IPN picture was a cleaned up version after she had been sewed back together. But it was said that it was drawn with input from her friends. Women's chins tend to be more pointed, and to have a cleft there. (Men's tend to be more square.) A less than attractive feature on Bridget is her chin is somewhat heavy and long for a woman.

Whoever drew that IPN picture was not much of an artist IMO.

[Debra Arif]

Here's Bridget in Holborn Nov 86 too where she has another child, a daughter Rose or Rosa born 1886.

[Debra Arif]

Not that the Police Illustrated News pictures were precise, but Bridget Kelly does resemble their version of Mary Kelly. They had her with a cleft chin, though.

Yes she does, Jerry.

[Debra Arif]

Debra: At least we know Bridget had a mother who wrote letters! That's a start. Because of the military aspect of the family it's not a far stretch to think she knew a friend, brother-in-law, cousin, etc. named Henry or Johnto in the Scots Guards. Barnett knew the movement of the Scots Guards in the summer of 1888. That could be simple for Bridget to know those things.

Barnett also said he read the papers to her, concerning her literacy. I never took that to mean a lot but it could.

It's possible too that Bridget's sister Mary Kelly had the middle name Jane which could come close to Marie(a) Jeanette (Ioanna) in a RC christening.

Bridget had what we would call a "cow-lick" at her hairline. Note the slight swirl just to the left of the centre part. Looks like MJK COULD have the same. Both women have slightly curly hair (genetic) and the color on both looks like it tends to a medium brown or it COULD be a gingery brown. (I list my own hair as brown but it's actually red outdoors in the sun.) Part of what makes Bridget look less than beautiful is that she seems to have light colored eye brows and eye lashes. Of course we can't tell on MJK unless her brows are visible. I have never been sure about that.

Among the reconstructions of MJK's face, I will try here to attach one I think is very valid. It was done by David Shields, 8/09/05 and it is on Casebook. (Don't know if I'm supposed to cadge stuff from there but the picture is readily available & clippable on google images.) This is how I would reconstruct her face though I would give her slightly heavier cheeks and a slightly more irregular hairline. This reconstruction resembles Bridget. I wish we had a picture of Bridget's hands. MJK had pretty hands and nicely shaped feet.

Mrs. Felix said MJK said she had a child, but Mrs. Felix never saw it. Barnett said she didn't have any children at first but another time he said, or agreed that she had a boy. Maybe the MJK case seems like a coverup partly because authorities were protecting an innocent child who didn't need to know his mother ended up that way.

On another thread I've been discussing whether the child mentioned at Miller's Court was John Harvey, son of Maria Harvey.

It looks like Bridget was still around in 1886 and didn't emigrate in 1885 so in theory she should be on the 1891 census or her kids should be.