Ocupants of Miller's Court

[Debra A]

Really? I thought Leather Apron was supposed to be a shoe-maker, not a porter. I don't suppose you have a handy link to one of these old threads?

I think it was Chris Scott who first found a newspaper reference to the death of a man named Julius Lipman, said to have died in Mile End (in a specific year I can't remember offhand but in early 1900 I think) who claimed to have been badly affected for the rest of his life by being suspected of being 'Leather Apron' during the murders. The only death in that certain year in Mile End (or London) was for a Barney Lipman. There have been several discussions about Barney as there were a couple of men with the same name. One was a lodging house keeper in Dorset St but he was still alive later in the 1900s. I'm not sure which one the Miller's Court man is now, it was a while back.
I'll look for a link but you might be able to google it with a few keywords if I don't get chance.

[Debra A]

Here's a couple:

http://www.jtrforums.com/showthread.php?t=11354&page=3

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=3640

http://www.casebook.org/forum/messages/4922/5739.html

[Joshua Rogan]

Woo, thanks Debs!

[MysterySinger]

I too read that Henry and Lottie owen later occupied Mary Kelly's room.

Gauvan and Govan sounds like you may have a link.

Another thought - Elizabeth Norman at 7 Miller's Court - some relative of Kitty Norman (Ronan) maybe?

[Joshua Rogan]

I didn't know Kitty Ronan was known by the surname Norman?

I did find an account of Lottie living at no.13 in the account of Kit Watkins 1892 visit. I'm sure I've read it before, but it's not actually the one I was thinking of earlier;

"Elizabeth [Prater] then took Kit across the court to meet the current occupant of Mary Kelly's still blood stained room of number 13, a lady who went by the name of "Lottie".

"I was her friend" said Lottie, speaking with difficulty because of a broken and battered nose given to her by a kick from her husband's heavy boot. "I was living further up the court then. She (Mary Kelly) says `I'm afraid to go out alone at night because of a dream I had that a man was murdering me. Maybe I'll be next. They say Jack's been busy in this quarter'. She said it with such a laugh ma'am that it just made me creep. And been sure enough ma'am she was the next to go. I heard her through the night singin' - she had a nice voice - "The violets grow on your mothers grave" - but that's all we 'urd". Lottie seemed to have no repugnance in sleeping in the room with its now blood blackened walls."

Interesting that Lottie apparently says she lived "further up the court", instead of something like "directly opposite" as no.1 was....if Lottie was indeed Julia, that is.

[Joshua Rogan]

According to Paddy, Lottie and Julia are indeed one and the same, in post #11 of this thread;

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=2478

"Hi Jon, I found that Lottie Owen was Julia Venturney. I dont know if this was discovered before?
She took her mothers name Charlotte for some reason when she lived with Owen in Millers court..
She had two girls. One was backward and in an asylum all her life and the other died young. Sad ..."

Thanks Paddy!