Arsenic in a Hertford "Quack Doctor'" medicine kills Aldbury woman

Old News

Full Article

Ivan Judd has kindly drawn my attention to the following inquest where Mary Ann Parish, of Aldbury, died as the result of using a medicine containing arsenic provided by a herbalist Isaac Chamberlain, of Hertford.

See the 1866 article describing the inquest. 

So what happened to Isaac after the inquest? Don't let me spoil your fun in finding out for yourself. The article describing the subsequent trial appears in the Herts Guardian for 20th July, 1867 and the case was widely reported elsewhere. There is an unexpected follow up to the case reported in the national press in April and May 1869. 

Do you agree with the final outcomes?

You can follow up what happened to Isaac in the British Newspaper Archive (and FindMyPast) or using Google.

Old Hertfordshire News on British Newspaper Archives

Newspapers

Hertfordshire is currently not very well covered in the British Newspaper Archive (also on FindMyPast) and often you have to hope that Hertfordshire news might be covered just over the boundary in an adjacent county. I was delighted to find that they started on the Watford Observer. I have therefore updated my list of papers that are worth checking for local news, marking updates since my last update on the subject nine months ago with green.

Bedfordshire Times - 1935
Bucks Herald - 1833-51, X, 53-1900, X, 02-09
Cambridge Chronicle - 1813-31, X, 36, X, 48, X, 59, X, 61-2, X, 67, X, 71, X, 75, X, 77
Cambridge Independent - 1839-73, X, 75-92, X, 94-5, X, 98-9, X, 1910, X, 13-20
Chelmsford Chronicle - 1783-91, X, 98, X, 1819, X, 32-7, X, 39-66, X, 68-9, X, 71-83, X, 85-98, X, 1900-50
Essex Newsman - 1870-96, X, 99-1910, X, 12-50
Essex Standard - 1831-44, X, 46-72, X, 75-95, X, 99-1900
Hertford Mercury - 1834-7, X, 40-68
Herts Advertiser - [1925 withdrawn?]
Herts Guardian - 1852-6, X, 59-60, X, 62-65, X, 67
Luton News - 1917-8, X, 50, X, 53-4
Luton Times - 1856-62, X, 66-73, X, 75-80, X, 85, X, 94-1914
Watford Observer - 1863-7, X, 69-70

I have not included Middlesex and London Newspapers.

One easily overlooked factor is that there are missing years and I have therefore highlighted the gap years. I have not indicated places where a year is incomplete.