Average Age of Whitechapel Prostitutes?

[sdreid]

Perhaps the older prostitutes couldn't be as picky about who they went off with or where they went off to.

Regarding Kelly's age, there isn't any way to verify it so I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't understating it by about 10 years in order to up her value. If so, she wouldn't be that far away from the others.

[FrankO]

Hi Barnaby,

Although I don't have the answer, I did list as many prostitutes as I could find, including their approximate ages. Plus, I've added a number of possibles. Perhaps someone could fill in the blanks or add others. Or better yet, provide us with more complete demographic info on the subject.

Anyway, here are my lists:

name age
Mary Jane Kelly 25
Mary Ann Cox 31
Martha Tabram 39
Emma Smith 45
Mary Ann Nichols 43
Annie Chapman 46
Elizabeth Stride 44
Catherine Eddowes 46
Annie Farmer 40
Rose Mylett 29
Elizabeth Jackson 24
Alice McKenzie 39
Frances Coles 25
Mary Ann Connelly 50
Julia Venturney 47
Luisa Smith 35
Elizabeth Burns ?
average 38.0 years

possibles
Elizabeth Prater 45
Ada Wilson 20
Annie Millwood 38
Eliza Cooper 39
Emily Holland 50
Margaret Cheeks ?
Mary Ann Monk ?
Margaret Franklin ?

All the best,
Frank

[Barnaby]

Mary Kelly aside, the victims were all middle-aged. I'm wondering if this represents a preference on the part of the killer or if there is another explanation.

Were there plenty of younger prostitutes walking the streets? Were the victims representative of the average prostitute or were they older? Any info on this demographic might shed light on possible preferences. Maybe Jack was just taking what was available. But I find it hard to believe that there weren't younger, more attractive prostitutes plying their trade. Or, maybe older/occasional prostitutes were less likely to have pimps and thus would be more vulnerable.