The 22nd December 1895 wasn’t a day local woman Jane Murphy (or Power) would want to remember. 128 years to the day, and many generations ago, this story saw a Blantyre woman falling on the wrong side of the law.
That day, Jane who lived at Craighead Rows had seen an opportunity arise at Blantyre Station. A large chest belonging to farm servant Sarah Connor was being stored there awaiting an arriving train. Now, the lock of the chest had actually been tampered with at Holytown station, but the thief disturbed there, the chest made its way to Blantyre, ready for the next part of its journey. Sarah Connor hadn’t arrived yet and the chest fell under the care of railway staff. It lay untouched from 3pm until 8pm.
However, a little later in the evening to their horror, the chest was found open, the thief in Blantyre taking advantage of the busted lock. Amongst the stolen items were £4 in money, a gold ring and numerous articles of clothing. Police were fetched and soon caught up with Jane who was still wearing some of the stolen clothes. It was also found she had made arrangements to pawn the ring.
Before Sheriff Patrick at Hamilton Court the next day, Jane stood in court and pleaded not guilty, saying she had simply found the clothes scattered on the railway including the ring and money. The Court however found the charge proven and Jane was taken off to prison for 30 days, missing not only Christmas and New year, but being without friends or family throughout much of January too!
Of course, all these years later, we don’t know what possessed Jane to do this. Did she find them? She’s not in papers before or after, so it may have been a one off, perhaps driven by poverty or hardship on the run up to holidays. There are countless other stories of theft around this difficult economic time as Blantyre’s pawnbrokers thrived.
