George Bromfield brutally beat his wife Ann so badly that she died from the ordeal.
George, my 3rd Great Grandfather, was charged with manslaughter and received a sentence of 15 years of transportation to Tasmania.
The inquest published in The Salisbury and Winchester Journal on May 20, 1839, reported the following;
“An inquest was taken by Mr. Todd, on Tuesday last, at the new Union Poor-house, in the parish of Eiling, on the body of Ann Bromfield, whose death was occasioned by an abscess in the lungs, produced by blows received from her husband, George Bromfield, on the 28th January last, when he beat her with his fists, upon some trivial provocation, till she sank in a state of exhaustion and insensibility beneath the blows. She was previously well and cheerful, although not robust, having scarcely recovered from a premature accouchement: but from that time, she gradually sank, and languished, till death put a period to her sufferings on the 12th inst.
Verdict “Manslaughter.
The husband, who is now in the County Bridewell, under sentence of imprisonment for a felony, will be detained by the coroner’s warrant for trial at the next assizes.”
In addition to this, George himself added that “I was going to strike one of the children, she tried to prevent me, and I struck her.”
Sources:
• The Salisbury and Winchester Journal (Salisbury, England), Monday, May 20, 1839; pg. 4; Issue 6105. British Library Newspapers, Part III: 1741-1950.
• Tasmanian Archives: CON31/1/3, Film No. Z2546
• Stors: https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON31-1-3$init=CON31-1-3p311