My Grandmother

[Writerboy]

Just curious about something if anyone can answer this.

My Nan was from the East End, and her mother was walking home from work when one of the Ripper victims was found and saw the police and crowds gathered.

My Nan said to me several times "there were rumours in the East End that he escaped to America". Now this was presumably before Tumblety's name was mentioned, we're talking 100 years ago nearly here, so anyone know if there was any press speculation back then about such things? Just wondered where this gossip might have come from!

[Adam Went]

There was speculation that the Ripper had escaped to any number of different cities or countries, America included. And Tumblety was indeed in the newspapers of the day, along with his activities and his being followed to the US.....IIRC his name was incorrectly published as Dr. Twomblety.

Of course local gossip was almost certainly more widespread and outrageous than even what made the newspapers of the day!

Cheers,
Adam.

[Bob Hinton]

Impossible task

Just curious about something if anyone can answer this.

My Nan was from the East End, and her mother was walking home from work when one of the Ripper victims was found and saw the police and crowds gathered.

My Nan said to me several times "there were rumours in the East End that he escaped to America". Now this was presumably before Tumblety's name was mentioned, we're talking 100 years ago nearly here, so anyone know if there was any press speculation back then about such things? Just wondered where this gossip might have come from!

There have been several similar posts in the past nominating, doctors, Royalty, Mad Jews and so on, each one with someone's great grandmother or father picking another suspect.

You must understand that in any event like this there is always gossip to point the finger at someone. Just look at the Kennedy assassination.

[John Bennett]

I occasionally hear stories like this on my tours.

A few months ago, one lady told me that her great-grandmother lived in Buck's Row at the time of the murders and the story handed down was that a horse and carriage had been seen, bearing an 'offical looking' crest.

This all sounds rather familiar, does it not?

It does remind me somewhat of Mary Ann Cox's neice, who wrote to Dan Farson that Mrs. Cox had told her that the man she saw with Mary Kelly was a 'toff' and wore a cape, tall hat and carried a gladstone bag.

Maybe good examples of so-called contemporary remeniscences being polluted by later mythologies.