Report of the Kelly murder in The Scotsman

[richardnunweek]

Hi Tom,
Must respond to that.
The reference to a a 'Coal porter' was made by McCarthy to the press refering to the man calling himself Kelly, that the deceased moved in with, not in any way a reference to a mine worker allegedly named Davies.
You are clutching at straws in suggesting that surely?
Are you suggesting that her landlord knew all of her sordid past?
If Barnett for reasons known to him and Mary, called himself Kelly, and Kelly was Mjs surname, then as McCarthy knew her, as posing as his wife, it would naturally follow that letters from Mother/brother would be addressed to their daughter/sister, would it not?
Sorry Tom, I am on a roll with this one, especially if a coal merchants, number 39 , was actually resident in that street[ Dorset] in 1888.
Regards Richard.

[Tom_Wescott]

The reference to a a 'Coal porter' was made by McCarthy to the press refering to the man calling himself Kelly, that the deceased moved in with, not in any way a reference to a mine worker allegedly named Davies.
You are clutching at straws in suggesting that surely?

I'm clutching at nothing because it means nothing. Barnett was not a coal porter and he was not named Kelly, but he was the man Kelly was living with, not a coal porter named Kelly. So either McCarthy or the reporter made a mistake. My money is on the reporter.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Sam Flynn]

Joseph Barnett... Coal porter
Could he have been employed at that Coal merchants, just yards from Millers court.?
And dare I suggest Number 39.

Hi Richard,

39 Dorset Street wasn't a coal merchant's premises in 1888. It was a tenement building, probably another one of McCarthy's "rents", as he seems to have been the owner or lease-holder at that time.

[richardnunweek]

Hello Sam.
Thanks for that confirmation, the idea was purely tonque in cheek, as Chris did suggest that it was possibly a coal merchants in a later census, but was not certain if it was during the relevant period.
I still stand by my assesment that McCarthy refered to Barnett[ alias Kelly] as a coal porter, for the obvious reason , he believed him to be.
Regards Richard.

[Sam Flynn]

Thanks for that confirmation, the idea was purely tonque in cheek, as Chris did suggest that it was possibly a coal merchants in a later census, but was not certain if it was during the relevant period.

Well, coal-yard or not, Nunners, one thing's for certain - if McCarthy was renting it out, it was probably a complete tip