The Early Life of Annie Chapman
Eliza Anne Smith was born in September 1841 to George Smith and Ruth Chapman. Where she acquired the nickname Annie is uncertain, but to some she was known as “Dark Annie” because of her dark hair and eyes.
On 1st May 1869, Annie married John Chapman, a relative of her mother, he worked as a coachman in the service of a gentleman in Clewer. The couple had three children, two daughters and a disabled son who was sent to a home.
By mutual consent, the couple separated in either 1884 or 85, it was claimed the cause was her “drunken and immoral ways”. Annie had been arrested several times for drunkenness and John Chapman was also said to have been a heavy drinker. However, after her death, Annie’s friend Amelia Palmer described her as “a sober, steady-going woman who seldom took any drink.”
After the separation, John Chapman paid Annie 10 Shillings on a semi-regular basis until he died on Christmas Day, 1886. Annie did not take to prostitution until after her ex-husband’s death.
From May/June of 1888, Annie was resident at a common lodging hose at 35 Dorset Street, Spitalfields, her bed was often paid for by Edward Stanley with whom she was in a relationship. Despite this, Stanley also often paid for the bed of a woman called Eliza Cooper as well.
Around 1st September 1888, witnesses claimed a fight occurred between Annie and Eliza Cooper, although the reason differs in the telling, it appeared to concern Edward Stanley. The fight apparently left Annie with a black eye and bruising which she later displayed to Amelia Palmer.
Time Line of the Night Annie Chapman Died
Friday, 7th September 1888:
5pm: Annie meets her friend Amelia Palmer, she is sober but unwell, saying she must “pull myself together and go out and get some money or I shall have no lodgings”.
11pm: Annie returns to the lodging house where she has been staying.
Saturday, 8th September 1888:
Approx 1am: Another lodger, William Stevens, reports seeing Annie wrapping some medication in a piece of envelope after the pill box broke.
1.35am: Annie returns to the lodging house, eating a baked potato, she tells the deputy that she cannot afford her bed, but asks for it to be saved for her as she will be back soon.
5.30am: A witness named Elizabeth Long reports seeing Annie with a man (she only sees the back of the man’s head). He asks Annie “will you?” and she replies “yes”. A few moment later, Albert Cadoch hears a woman saying “no” and then a thud against the fence in his yard at 27 Hanbury Street.
Annie’s body was discovered beside the fence in the yard of 29 Hanbury Street probably around 6am.
Dr. George Baxter Phillips saw the body at approx 6.30am, he described it as “horribly mutilated” with her throat deeply severed from the left side of the neck.
The abdomen was laid open, the intestines lifted out and laid on the shoulder. The pelvis, uterus and appendages with upper part of the vagina had been removed. Dr. Phillips claimed the removal was so professional it had to be the work of an expert. Among her belongings is found the piece of envelope containing two pills.
Annie Chapman was buried on Friday, 14th September 1888. Her murderer has never been identified.
Sources:
www.casebook.org - the best online resource for the study of Jack the Ripper and Victorian London
Jack the Ripper: The Facts By Paul Begg, published by Robson Books
The Complete History of Jack the Ripper By Philip Sugden, published by Carroll and Graf publishers.
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