Mary Ann Payton (1867-1907?)

Mary Ann Payton was a mill worker and rag sorter who frequently found herself in front of the magistrates in Huddersfield, often on drink related charges.

Biography

She was born in 1867 in Brighouse, the daughter of Irish-born Michael Payton. The family surname was sometimes recorded as "Peyton" or even "Paiton".

Mary Ann's mother died before 1871.

The 1871 Census records widower Michael and his daughter living with his brother, Irish labourer Thomas and his wife Bridget, residing on Mill Lane, Hipperholme. Thomas and Bridget had nine children of their own.

By 1881, Michael had remarried and was living at 11 Park Street, Hipperholme, and 13-year-old Mary Ann was working as a cotton carder.

From 1888 onwards, she was regularly in front of Huddersfield magistrates on charges of drunkenness or petty theft. Wakefield prison records describe as being around 4' 11" tall with dark brown hair. She also had scars on the middle finger of her right hand and later on her upper lip.

The 1891 Census lists her as lodging with the Bates family on Outcote Bank and working as a woollen feeder.

In December 1895, The Huddersfield Chronicle called her a "well-known character" after she was charged with using obscene language.

It seems likely that Mary Ann Payton died in 1907, with her death recorded in Dewsbury.[1]

Offences

The following all took place in Huddersfield unless noted otherwise:

date offence sentence details
30/Jan/1887 Breaking a window. Fined 15s. 6d. Reported in the Huddersfield Chronicle. Defendant went to the Wheat Sheaf Inn, Upperhead Row, on 22 January. Became drunk and abusive, and was thrown out of the inn by the landlord. She then threw a rock through the front window.
13/Feb/1888 Brawling in a street. 10 days. Mill hand, aged 19. The Huddersfield Chronicle reported that she resided on Swallow Street and had brawled in Manchester Street.
09/Jul/1888 Using obscene language. 17 days or pay 17 shillings. Aged 20.
23/Jul/1888 Obstructing a constable. 1 month or pay 33 shillings. Aged 20.
23/Aug/1888 Disorderly behaviour. 1 month or pay 29s. 2d. Servant, aged 20. Discharged 23 September.
23/Sep/1888 Disorderly and refusing to quit a public house. 1 month or pay 33s. 6d. Servant, aged 20. Discharged 23 October.
03/Apr/1889 Using obscene language. 14 days or pay 24 shillings. Aged 21. Discharged 16 April.
25/Jul/1890 Brawling in the street. Fined 5 shillings plus costs. The Huddersfield Chronicle reported that she was living on Upperhead Row.
16/Mar/1891 Drunk & disorderly. 7 days or pay 18s.10d. Mill hand, aged 23. Discharged 21 March.
15/Apr/1891 Drunk & disorderly. 1 month or pay 36 shillings. Mill hand, aged 23. Discharged 14 May.
21/Mar/1892 Assaulting Mary Brear of Boulder's Yard on 16 March. 14 days hard labour. Rag piecer, aged 23. Discharged 2 April.
27/Apr/1892 Using obscene language. 10 days or pay 18s. 10d. Rag sorter, aged 24. Discharged 2 April.
27/Jun/1892 Drunk & disorderly. 14 days or pay 20 shillings. Rag sorter, aged 24. Discharged 10 July. The Huddersfield Chronicle reported that she had been drunk on Cross Church Street and had smashed a window at the Neptune Inn on John Street on 25 June.
30/Jul/1892 Drunk and disorderly. 14 days or pay 26 shillings. Rag picker, aged 24. Discharged 12 August.
22/Aug/1892 Brawling in a street. 14 days or pay 24 shillings. Rag picker, aged 24. Discharged 3 April. The Huddersfield Chronicle reported her of "no fixed abode."
12/Sep/1892 Drunk and disorderly. 14 days. Aged 24. Discharged 25 September. The Huddersfield Chronicle reported her of "no fixed abode" and that she had smashed a window at the Musicians' Arms on Northgate.
17/Oct/1892 Drunk and incapable. 7 days or pay 25 shillings. Aged 24. Detained sick until 24 October.
16/Jan/1893 Drunk & disorderly. 14 days or pay 27 shillings. Rag picker, aged 24. Discharged 28 January.
15/Mar/1893 Brawling in a street. 10 days or pay 20 shillings. Rag picker, aged 24. Discharged 24 March. The Huddersfield Chronicle reported her of "no fixed abode" and had been drunk and brawling in the Beast Market.
01/May/1893 Stealing 3 shawls, the property of Mary E. Johnson of Sutcliffe's Yard. 1 month hard labour. Rag picker, aged 25. Discharged 2 June. The Huddersfield Chronicle reported her of "no fixed abode".
09/Jun/1893 Robbery with violence. 6 months hard labour. Rag sorter, aged 25. Sentenced at Leeds Assizes, along with Harriet Smith. Discharged 25 January 1894. The Huddersfield Chronicle reported both of "no fixed abode". The pair had robbed and assault Mr. Thomas Topham, an elderly gentleman residing at Newhouse, before pushing him to the ground.
30/Mar/1894 Stealing cotton warp and 4 lbs of weft, property of Joseph Wood, Northgate, Shepley. 6 months hard labour. Rag sorter, aged 25. Sentenced at Bradford on 2 July. The Huddersfield Chronicle reported her residing on Manchester Street.
13/Oct/1895 Disorderly behaviour. 14 days or pay 26 shillings. Aged 26. Discharged 26 October.
02/Jan/1895 (Wakefield) Drunk and disorderly. Wilful damage. not specified The Sheffield Independent reported that after being arrested, she smashed the glass of the window in the police cell. She had apparently been drunk with her brother, Patrick Payton, and caused a disturbance at the railway station in Huddersfield.
13/Nov/1895 Drunk and disorderly. 14 days or pay 24s. 2d. Rag sorter, aged 26. Discharged 26 November.
17/Dec/1895 Obscene language. 14 days or pay 26 shillings. Aged 27. Discharged 30 December.
19/Feb/1896 Stealing a pair of boots on 18 January belonging to Mary Hannah Rawlinson, who was laying drunk and incapable in Boulder's Yard. not guilty Aged 27. Acquitted at Leeds Assizes on 9 March.
23/Mar/1896 Obscene language. 14 days or pay 29s. 2d. Aged 27. Discharged 4 April.
27/Apr/1896 Drunk and disorderly. 14 days or pay 23s. 10d. Rag picker, aged 28. Discharged 9 May.
20/Jul/1896 Assault. 1 month hard labour or pay 40 shillings. Rag sorter, aged 28. Discharged 19 August.
09/Nov/1896 Drunk and disorderly. 1 month or pay 33s. 10d. Aged 27. Discharged 8 December.
29/Dec/1896 Using obscene language. 7 days or pay 21 shillings. Rag picker, aged 28. Discharged 4 January 1897.
17/May/1897 Using obscene language. Drunk and disorderly. 7 days and 14 days. Aged 29. Discharged 5 June.
23/May/1900 Fighting in the street. 14 days or pay 21s. 6d. Mill hand, aged 30. Discharged 5 June.
30/Jul/1900 Drunk and disorderly. 14 days or pay 26 shillings. Mill hand, aged 30. Discharged 12 August.

Notes and References

  1. Sadly it seems she had to resort to prostitution during the final years of her life.