Did he have anatomical knowledge?

[Rosemary]

Maybe a drunken Rabbi thinking he was doing a circumcision

C'est Frác, sha 'ti Bébé.

[GUT]

Maybe a drunken Rabbi thinking he was doing a circumcision

[DJA]

Perhaps a pathologist who worked in Whitechapel and walked home late at night along Hanbury Street.

[Rosemary]

My Comsiderations, humbly

But are we looking for a mortuary attendant who worked in Whitechapel? Or one who lived in Whitechapel and worked elsewhere, an adjacent neighborhood perhaps? Remember commuting was generally an upwards affair. Commuting to better neighborhoods with better jobs. Now it's more of a radial thing, from the edges to the center.

A diener who lived in Whitechapel and worked elsewhere??

[Rosemary]

Fast & loose

[QUOTE=Wickerman;344640]I understand the City had a permanent mortuary, but whether it had a permanent staff, I don't know.
I used to favour a mortuary attendant myself, many many years ago.[/

That was my husband's fast opinion: if not a surgeon, then a diener or pathologist's assistant.

[Wickerman]

But are we looking for a mortuary attendant who worked in Whitechapel? Or one who lived in Whitechapel and worked elsewhere, an adjacent neighborhood perhaps? Remember commuting was generally an upwards affair. Commuting to better neighborhoods with better jobs. Now it's more of a radial thing, from the edges to the center.

I understand the City had a permanent mortuary, but whether it had a permanent staff, I don't know.
I used to favour a mortuary attendant myself, many many years ago. In fact I wrote a speculatory piece entitled, The Doctor, the Deal and the Devil. I shamefully admit it was inspired by the Burke and Hare tragedy.

[Rosemary]

No doubt

Bet you can't.

I won't. I haven't the years of experience, reading, knowledge of spatial geography, Victorian history, medical history, census records, written media, maps, boots on the ground. I'm just adrift in a cacophony of information, some of which is possibly true, quite probably true or just, qui sait.

I'm just an American ethno-historian of little to no repute wading through an historian's favorite pastime: un mystère. But I'll keep banging my head on doors, real or imagined. I'm stubborn like that.

[Rosemary]

Multi-disciplinary approach

But are we looking for a mortuary attendant who worked in Whitechapel? Or one who lived in Whitechapel and worked elsewhere, an adjacent neighborhood perhaps? Remember commuting was generally an upwards affair. Commuting to better neighborhoods with better jobs. Now it's more of a radial thing, from the edges to the center.

Forgive the ignorance, but has there ever been a multi-disciplinary look at the murders: cultural geographer whose field is spatial geography, the usual profilers, surgeons, historians, etc.?

[Errata]

In Whitechapel, there were no Mortuary Attendants (Diener). The only mortuary was attached to a Workhouse.
Workhouse residents were expected, or requested, to attend to the corpse, but I think a nurse (attached to the workhouse?) actually washed the corpse down.

But are we looking for a mortuary attendant who worked in Whitechapel? Or one who lived in Whitechapel and worked elsewhere, an adjacent neighborhood perhaps? Remember commuting was generally an upwards affair. Commuting to better neighborhoods with better jobs. Now it's more of a radial thing, from the edges to the center.

[GUT]

So are we my dear, after all this time, so are we.
Trust me, there is no end to this madness.

And I suspect some here truly are mad.

[GUT]

I'm just trying to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Bet you can't.

[Wickerman]

Many thanks for your help. I know so little, having read only a few books. I've gone through the suspects section, victims section, Whitehall mysteries, maps & photographs in an effort to come to a few considerations, which is why I asked my husband for his opinion. It makes my field clearer, since my brain can stall going from message board to message board. Most of you have been doing this for so long and have amassed a great deal of information. I'm just trying to sort the wheat from the chaff.

So are we my dear, after all this time, so are we.
Trust me, there is no end to this madness.

[Rosemary]

If you are only talking about the Whitechapel murder victims, I fear nothing so grand. Take one example, Dr. Phillips had an assistant, Percy Clark.
If Dr. Phillips required any assistance at the mortuary Mr. Clark would be the natural choice.

Many thanks for your help. I know so little, having read only a few books. I've gone through the suspects section, victims section, Whitehall mysteries, maps & photographs in an effort to come to a few considerations, which is why I asked my husband for his opinion. It makes my field clearer, since my brain can stall going from message board to message board. Most of you have been doing this for so long and have amassed a great deal of information. I'm just trying to sort the wheat from the chaff.

[Wickerman]

If you are only talking about the Whitechapel murder victims, I fear nothing so grand. Take one example, Dr. Phillips had an assistant, Percy Clark.
If Dr. Phillips required any assistance at the mortuary Mr. Clark would be the natural choice.

[Rosemary]

In Whitechapel, there were no Mortuary Attendants (Diener). The only mortuary was attached to a Workhouse.
Workhouse residents were expected, or requested, to attend to the corpse, but I think a nurse (attached to the workhouse?) actually washed the corpse down.

Then it would be medical students assisting a pathologist? Sorry to be so ignorant.