Possible murder victim. Born c.1842, baby Josephine Struck was the first of seven children born to Edward Struck, then a carriage blacksmith in New Brunswick, NJ, and his second wife, the former Lydia Danbury---eventually to become infamous as the Victorian era serial killer Lydia Sherman. The cause of the baby girl's death was listed as "inflammation of the bowels". There may not have been foul play involved, as her mother did not later confess to her murder, as she did in the cases of baby Josephine's father, the six siblings who came after her, and two subsequent husbands, among other victims.
At the time of her birth, baby Josephine's family was already a large one, as it included six children from her father's first marriage. Her parents had met at the Methodist church in New Brunswick, and had married when her mother was 17 and her father in his 40's. Her teenaged mother, a pretty young woman who had been orphaned at nine and subsequently raised by an uncle, may have seen the marriage as the quickest escape from an unpleasant situation at home. Her new household was no haven, however, and she found herself burdened with both financial difficulties and domestic responsibilities that would have challenged a woman of much greater maturity. It is known that some twenty years later she used arsenic as the most expedient way to free herself from her unemployed, despondent husband. Whether this was the first time she had resorted to murder when she felt overwhelmed is open to debate, as she subsequently did not hesitate to kill her other children, including her infant son William.
Edward Struck and six of their seven children are buried in Trinity Cemetery in upper Manhattan, where the family moved sometime after their firstborn's death. Baby Josephine's grave is in New Brunswick, NJ.
At the time of her birth, baby Josephine's family was already a large one, as it included six children from her father's first marriage. Her parents had met at the Methodist church in New Brunswick, and had married when her mother was 17 and her father in his 40's. Her teenaged mother, a pretty young woman who had been orphaned at nine and subsequently raised by an uncle, may have seen the marriage as the quickest escape from an unpleasant situation at home. Her new household was no haven, however, and she found herself burdened with both financial difficulties and domestic responsibilities that would have challenged a woman of much greater maturity. It is known that some twenty years later she used arsenic as the most expedient way to free herself from her unemployed, despondent husband. Whether this was the first time she had resorted to murder when she felt overwhelmed is open to debate, as she subsequently did not hesitate to kill her other children, including her infant son William.
Edward Struck and six of their seven children are buried in Trinity Cemetery in upper Manhattan, where the family moved sometime after their firstborn's death. Baby Josephine's grave is in New Brunswick, NJ.
Possible murder victim. Born c.1842, baby Josephine Struck was the first of seven children born to Edward Struck, then a carriage blacksmith in New Brunswick, NJ, and his second wife, the former Lydia Danbury---eventually to become infamous as the Victorian era serial killer Lydia Sherman. The cause of the baby girl's death was listed as "inflammation of the bowels". There may not have been foul play involved, as her mother did not later confess to her murder, as she did in the cases of baby Josephine's father, the six siblings who came after her, and two subsequent husbands, among other victims.
At the time of her birth, baby Josephine's family was already a large one, as it included six children from her father's first marriage. Her parents had met at the Methodist church in New Brunswick, and had married when her mother was 17 and her father in his 40's. Her teenaged mother, a pretty young woman who had been orphaned at nine and subsequently raised by an uncle, may have seen the marriage as the quickest escape from an unpleasant situation at home. Her new household was no haven, however, and she found herself burdened with both financial difficulties and domestic responsibilities that would have challenged a woman of much greater maturity. It is known that some twenty years later she used arsenic as the most expedient way to free herself from her unemployed, despondent husband. Whether this was the first time she had resorted to murder when she felt overwhelmed is open to debate, as she subsequently did not hesitate to kill her other children, including her infant son William.
Edward Struck and six of their seven children are buried in Trinity Cemetery in upper Manhattan, where the family moved sometime after their firstborn's death. Baby Josephine's grave is in New Brunswick, NJ.
At the time of her birth, baby Josephine's family was already a large one, as it included six children from her father's first marriage. Her parents had met at the Methodist church in New Brunswick, and had married when her mother was 17 and her father in his 40's. Her teenaged mother, a pretty young woman who had been orphaned at nine and subsequently raised by an uncle, may have seen the marriage as the quickest escape from an unpleasant situation at home. Her new household was no haven, however, and she found herself burdened with both financial difficulties and domestic responsibilities that would have challenged a woman of much greater maturity. It is known that some twenty years later she used arsenic as the most expedient way to free herself from her unemployed, despondent husband. Whether this was the first time she had resorted to murder when she felt overwhelmed is open to debate, as she subsequently did not hesitate to kill her other children, including her infant son William.
Edward Struck and six of their seven children are buried in Trinity Cemetery in upper Manhattan, where the family moved sometime after their firstborn's death. Baby Josephine's grave is in New Brunswick, NJ.
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