In the year of 1869, a woman named Amelia Thomas (sometimes referred to as “Ann” or “Anne”) was widowed in London, England. Left unable to support herself, Amelia took to what is referred to in a modern tongue as “baby farming”.[1] Amelia was a serial killer and was found guilty in the late 1890s of multiple counts of infanticide. She was a figure I have encountered in both my History Ma, and my PhD work, however as she lived in a time after the era designated by my PhD I thought I would spend a few moments detailing her life here.
In Victorian London, not only was pregnancy out of wedlock a disgrace to those who found themselves in that situation, but it could completely ruin a young woman’s prospects of a normal life. Due to this, there were many boarding houses and private homes where a young woman could go to have her child privately to then put it up for adoption. Single mothers were not just harshly judged, but in other cases poverty stricken too and this condemned many of them to desperation due to an inability to adequately care for and feed more children.[2] An unmarried mother’s only alternative was either to abandon her child or foster it out into the care of another person. Many women, therefore, adopted this practice out of love and hope for a better future for their child. Sometimes these adoptions would be forever, and others were to last only until the mother was able to take the child back in a fashion similar to what is now called fostering.However, in every avenue of life where there is desperate need, there is room for corruption. Due to the sheer disgrace of such pregnancies, and the desperation of the “young woman in trouble”, there arose a group of people who began advertise for children to adopt, or in some cases, to answer the advertisements for adoption. They would agree to take on the babies under the guise of offering a loving home, as long as the mother was able to pay a sizable one-off fee, or continue a series of payments for the duration of the child’s life.[3] One of the most famous examples of this in literature were the Thenardier family in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserable, who took on the young heroine Cosette for the fee of ten francs a month.[4] Like poor Cosette, often children adopted in such a fashion were taken in for financial gain alone, and therefore were often neglected or mistreated. These people, often women, became known as baby farmers.[5]
Amelia Dyer was one such person. Amelia chose to advertise in local newspapers for children to adopt. She used a fake name, and assured the mothers that the child would go to a good safe home. In 1872 she remarried, taking the name would was to become so infamous, Amelia Dyer.From the early days of her career as a baby farmer, Amelia had no mind to keep the children alive. At first, she did not directly cause harm to the babies, but allowed them to die through neglect, acquiring death certificates from local doctors for seemingly legitimate causes. However a one of the doctors became suspicious and Amelia was arrested for neglect and served 6 months hard labour.It was around the time of her release that Amelia’s sanity crumbled. She spent time in and out of various asylums, including the Somerset County Asylum and attempted suicide twice. She did not, however, give up the baby farming and it was here that she began to take matters into her own hands, taping the necks of the babies who were intrusted into her care to end their lives, and then dumping the tiny bodies into the Thames.
It is not known how many children Amelia Dyer murdered. Eight bodies in total were found in the Thames, plus the multitudes which were killed by her neglectful care. The actual figures are supposed to be much higher. Dyer only pleaded guilty to one murder, that of a barmaid’s daughter Doris, daughter of Evelyn Marmon who gave evidence at her trial.[6]
Amelia Dyer was executed in 1896, after over twenty years of murder.[8] She is thought to be one of the most prolific serial killers who have ever lived in England, especially those of child murder.
During trial, the case became so well-known, that even folk songs about her appeared in popular literature. The following, for example:
The old baby farmer, the wretched Miss DyerAt the Old Bailey her wages is paid.In times long ago, we'd 'a' made a big fy-er
And roasted so nicely that wicked old jade[7]
Her case is also the subject of a song by steampunk/Victorian punk band, The Men Who Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing. The song is called Baby Farmer from their fourth album.
[1] Charlotte Beyer, “Baby Farming: Representing Amelia Dyer.” The Human, 5:1.[2] Allison Rattle and Alison Vale. The Woman Who Murdered Babies for Money: The Story of Amelia Dyer. (London: André Deutsch, 2011), p.13.[3] Annie Cossins, The Baby Farmers. (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2013)[4] “Sparknotes: Les Misérables: Cosette”, Sparknotes.Com, 2020 <https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/lesmis/character/cosette/> [Accessed 20 February 2020].[5]Cossins, Annie. The Baby Farmers.[6] Online: The Old Bailey Online, Amelia Elizabeth Dyer REF: t18960518-451 [https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/ accessed 20/02/20][7] Lionel Rose, The Massacre of the Innocents, (London, Routledge, 1986) p.160[8] “Amelia Dyer” The Scotsman, Thursday 11 June 1896 p.5