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A Family Story of Slander & Suicide From The 19th Century
The shaming of others has a long history
When the body of 27-year-old Ann Howls was pulled from a river in the British town of Hereford, the exact circumstances of her death were far from clear.
It was the winter of 1844. The body was discovered by a local man and later brought to an inn near the river, as the coroner’s inquest made clear:
Jonathan Preece, fisherman, of Green Lane, described that about 12 o’clock on Friday he discovered a body in the river, nearly opposite to Mr Pritchards, Bullingham. He immediately obtained the assistance of Stephen Hall, and the corpse was drawn to the sham side and moored by the arm to a sally tree where it was then left. Mr Charles Turner, baker, stated that at 4 o’clock he assisted in taking the body out of the water and conveying it to The Ship (Inn).
Ann Howls was a servant at the household of a wealthy clergyman’s widow. She was also the fiancé of one of my ancestors, a man named William Perrow, which is why I’ve come to know this story well — a story that continues to fill me with sorrow and regret.
Murder was ruled out, but at the coroner’s inquest a sad tale of slander emerged. It was, above all, a story of a young woman’s distress at accusations made about her by an…
