
The Derbyshire Courier for January 10th 1863 reported on the Crown Court docket trials of Wednesday Jan 7th:
“STAVELEY – OFFENCE In opposition to Mother nature.
Thomas Brown (65), and Wm. Pitchfork (19), the former mentioned to have been a Methodist neighborhood preacher, had been billed with sodomy, at Staveley, on the 11th November final. Mr. Stephen prosecuted. The evidence was most revolting. The prisoner Brown harangued the Court docket, and blasphemously quoted Scripture, and spoke in religious phrases.
Not the slightest doubt existed in the case, the prisoner Brown acquiring admitted the offence to Serjeant Brown, Staveley. Brown, in his last defence, with tears, stated that if Christ were to get in touch with him at the moment, he thought he ought to go to heaven, an announcement which was received with the utmost disgust in Court.

The Sheffield Unbiased also carried the story:

The circumstances listened to right before and just after were for attempted rape on women of 7 and 10. The accused in both of those ended up presented two decades imprisonment with really hard labour…
In 1851 Thomas was stated as a Wesleyan city missionary and a Wesleyan chapel keeper, and his wife Sarah as a missionary’s spouse. This is most likely a point out of Thomas in the Sheffield Independent’s report on the 1854 once-a-year social tea assembly of the Wesleyan Methodist Sunday Faculty.

By the time of the 1861 census Thomas was mentioned as a letter carrier. Now a widower – Sarah possessing died in 1853 – Thomas lived by yourself at Smiths Cottages on Speedwell Lane. In his jail data his following of kin is stated as John Brown, a nephew residing in Normanton.


Although in prison Brown worked as a bagmaker and a tailor, and occupied himself with creating letters. The governor of Woking prison asked for a track record examine from Chesterfield law enforcement into the character of a Mr Bacon in April 1866. The police responded that he was a guy of pretty respectable character.


Thomas was unveiled early on licence in November 1866.


William was born in 1843 to William and Charlotte Pitchfork in Warsop, Nottinghamshire. The 1851 census identified him dwelling with his mom who was stated as a pauper, and his older brother Samuel who had been an toddler on the 1841 census. On the 1861 census he was outlined as a coal miner, boarding with the Turton relatives at Speedwell Cottages in Staveley. His prisoner document reveals that he was fully commited for demo on 12th November 1862, the day immediately after the offence had taken area, together with the details that William was 5’6″ tall with brown hair, grey eyes, and a good complexion.


Once convicted, William was moved all over the jail system. His perform and character were being described as excellent, with reasonable progress currently being produced at faculty, nevertheless he did have just one entry in Dartmoor Prison misconduct ebook for placing a horse – which resulted in the horse breaking the shaft of a cart. It wasn’t really serious adequate to end him remaining introduced on licence with conditions in May perhaps 1865.


After his release I imagine William married Mary Clark on May possibly 20th 1866 again in Mansfield Woodhouse. By the time of the 1891 census they have been residing on the Significant Street with their 4 little ones. William, who was nevertheless mentioned as a coal miner in ’91, died at some position just before the 1901 census which lists Mary as a widow continue to dwelling at residence in Leeming Lane with 3 of her grown little ones William Jnr experienced set up household with his spouse Annie Maria and their young young children.