Tales from the grave.

Sad case of the abandoned child

Appearing in the Cleckheaton Guardian on Friday 12th January 1877 was the following report:
On Saturday night, about nine o'clock, as Mr Joseph Bentley, who resides in one of the two houses which stand near the railway bridge which crosses the line in The Whitcliffe, was sitting reading his paper, heard the cries of a child which he thought was in charge of someone on the bridge, as he heard footsteps in that direction. The cries continued, however, for so long a time, that he thought that the child must have tumbled down the embankment, which is very deep just there. He went outside and soon discovered that the cries came from the direction of the end of his house, where there is a gateway leading from his back door to a coal place, and there, just behind the wall which separates his garden from the road in Mount Street, he discovered an infant laid on its stomach, with a suckling bottle under it.

The discovery took him much by surprise, but he at once conveyed the poor little stranger to his neighbours, where he thought his wife would be, and having safely deposited it in motherly arms, ran to the police office close at hand, to secure the attendance of an officer. Sergeant Bowker at once accompanied him to the coal place, where a carpet bag was found open; and it is more than probable that the child had been laid in the bag and had rolled out. Saturday night being very cold and inclement, it may well be supposed that the child suffered much from its exposure, though it was comfortably wrapped up; its eyes were frightful, being so prominent that they had the appearance of starting from its head. Two suckling bottles were found, one of which the child had most probably been taking subsistence from when left by its mother - or other depositor; and on the top being taken from the bottle, the matrons who had gathered round the poor little foundling were startled to find that the milk was mixed with either gin or whisky; and as the eyes have since assumed a natural appearance, it is but reasonable to conjecture that the spirituous liquor had the effect of distorting them. In all probability the mother was actuated by a desire to sustain the child by adding so dangerous a thing to the simple food which nature had designed for its use.

As previously stated, the child was nicely and comfortably clothed in a white wool hood trimmed with narrow satin ribbon; a claret coloured coat lined with figured stuff; a neat print frock trimmed with white braid; a waterproof barra; underclothing; white wool socks; white wool leggings and white wool mitts. The carpet bag contained two pink frocks, two nightgowns, four diaper pinafores, nineteen napkins, a bib, three skirts, four flannel binders, two flannel shirts and an infants' puff box and puff. The bag contained a slip of paper making a request, fairly written, that the finder would convey the child to John Roberts, card maker, Cleckheaton. As there are said to be three persons of that name, all card makers, in this town, it is not easy to ascertain which of the is entitled to the prize; but if any of them are so entitled, one of them must know for whom it is intended and we would venture to recommend that one to come forward and perform the duty of a parent manfully.

The poor innocent cause of all the excitement remains in charge of the wife of Mr Wm. Stables, moulder, where Mr Bentley first took it. Mrs Stables having no family of her own, has been able to devote most of her time to the welfare of the babe, who seems now to have recovered the effects of its exposure; it is supposed now to be quite five months old. During Saturday night and Sunday, Mr Stables' house was literally besieged by persons who had heard of the affair and were anxious to see the unoffending object of pity.

During the week there has been a thousand and one rumours as to the parentage of the child, and where it had come from. Sergeant Bowker has spent a good deal of time in trying to unravel the mystery, but at present there is no clue whatever; and whilst some persons look with with an eye of leniency on the mother's conduct, calling to mind the care which seems to have been taken to shield the child from the cold, and the close proximity to a dwelling house of its place of deposit, others condemn her heartless conduct in harsh and unmeasured terms.

Saturday night was very dark and if anyone were loitering about they were not seen by Mr Bentley, but it is more than probable that the mother would not quit the scene until she knew that her child had been discovered and cared for; though she must have had a stout heart to listen to the piteous cries of her offspring for fully ten minutes, coming as they did from such cold, comfortless quarters, and although no detection has yet been made, it is fairly presumable that there exists a mother somewhere with a heart, aching heart.

On Wednesday the 17th January 1877 a meeting of the Board of Guardians was held and it was reported that the parents of the foundling had not been traced and instructions had been received to have the child brought to the workhouse. This resolve was taken in consequence of William Stables, who had charge of the child since its desertion, applying to the Guardians for some payment towards its maintenance.

On Friday the 19th January 1877 a further article appears in the Cleckheaton Guardian:
The little foundling referred to in our last, which had been deserted by its mother, has made considerable improvement during the past week, having entirely recovered from the consequences of its exposure. Although the child was not heard to cry for more than ten or fifteen minutes, we learn that from appearances which presented themselves when discovered it is believed to have been in the coal place for a considerably longer period, and it is thought that the spirituous liquor which was blended with the milk in the feeding bottle had stupified it for some time.

The child had evidently been greatly neglected before its desertion. It had seemingly been allowed to sit in its cradle almost constantly with its legs crossed and doubled up under it, and Mrs Stables had much difficulty in getting them straight, and for some time it comfortable in no other position. After much perseverance, however, on her part, the little fellow is now able to launch them out bravely.

Nothing definite has yet transpired as to the parentage of the child, but we learn that a degree of suspicion attaches itself to a certain female, and Sergeant Bowker is endeavouring to unravel the mystery. The child is still under the care of Mrs Stables, who, as well as her husband, has become considerably attached to it, but as the relieving officer will only allow the paltry sum of two shillings a week for its maintenance and care, they have determined to give it up, and it will in the course of a day or two be taken to the Clayton poorhouse.

A few days after the discovery of the child, a Wakefield lady, attracted by the notices which appeared in the newspapers, came to see the child, and would at once have adopted it, but at that time it naturally enough looked weakly and poorly. The lady in question said that having lost her only child she had adopted another, but it being old enough to know that she was not its mother, she wished to obtain one sufficiently young to bring up as her own. Since the little stranger has improved so much under Mrs Stables' tender care as to now have all the appearances of a fine, healthy, winning child, the lady in question has been written to, asking her to make another visit of inspection.

The little fellow has already had a name given to him characteristic of its history; viz., Joseph Coal Whitcliffe. In another part of this day's issue will be found a letter from Mr John Roberts, of Moorside, who denies that he has anything to do with the parentage of the child, and offers to place £20 in the hands of two respectable gentlemen, to be devoted to a charitable object, in the event of it being proved that he is the John Roberts referred to. If each of the persons in the town, of that name, who are cardmakers by trade, would carry into effect a similar offer, our local charities would stand a fair chance of an augmentation, though it must be annoying to an innocent man to have suspicion cast upon his name through the evil deeds of another.

Under any circumstances there can be no apology for a mother who resorts to so shameful a desertion of her offspring as has been practiced in this case. The law is strong, and enforces the payment of a fair sum towards the maintenance of an illegitimate child, so that no one need outrage a mother's nature as has been done in this case.

This is the copy of the letter from John Roberts, referred to in the article above:
To the Editor of the Cleckheaton Guardian.
Sir, as my name has appeared in the papers so much with respect to the desertion of a child on Saturday the 6th, inst., I think it my duty to reply declaring my innocence before God and man of the serious charge that has been laid against me. I hope and trust that the will be found out, and thus let the public see who is the guilty party.
I will place in the hands of two respectable gentlemen in the town the sum of twenty pounds for the benefit of the poor, if it can be proved that I am the person it has been directed to.
Trusting you will favour me with the insertion of this, I remain yours,
John Roberts, Cardmaker, Moorside, Cleckheaton. January 17th 1877.

On Friday 2nd February 1877 a further article appears in the Cleckheaton surrounding the child and reads:
Nothing has occurred since our last issue calculated to throw any light upon this mystery; and all we have to report is the somewhat remarkable fact that Mrs Stables had become so much attached to the child during its short stay with her, that she could not do without it, and consequently after a week's separation she sought and secured its return. Mrs Stables is certainly not constituted of that stern, cruel sort of stuff of which the child's mother can boast. We trust that the youngster will grow up to be a comfort to its kindhearted adopters.

On Friday 29th June 1877, the Cleckheaton Guardian reported that the child had recently been christened by the Rev. John Myers, the name given to it being Joseph Whitcliffe Stables. We think that its foster parents have done well in leaving out the word coal and substituting their own, though the name hitherto applied to the child in these columns were of their own selecting.

The following is a record of that christening at Marsh Chapel (details of which are recorded on this website)
14 Jun 1877 - Joseph Whitcliffe STABLES, found in a heap of coals near the railway bridge, Whitcliffe, Cleckheaton 6 Jan 1877, (supposed to be born in Sep 1876)

A note dated 16 Jan 1929 is attached to the above baptism and reads: Joseph Whitcliffe Stables - In the Cleckheaton Guardian 24 Jan 1879, a notice appears of the death of this child who was taken in and cared for (when found by Mr Jos Bentley), by Mr & Mrs Stables of Whitcliffe. The child died on Jan 20 & was buried at The Old Cemetery on Jan 23 1879.

On Friday 24th January 1879 a further article appears in the Cleckheaton Guardian, reporting the sad death of the foundling, and reads:
It will be remembered by many of our readers that two years ago on the 6th of the present month, a young child was found on a heap of coals on the premises of Mr Joseph Bentley, Whitcliffe, this town. The desertion of the child under such cruel circumstances created considerable sensation at the time; and although the police were active in their endeavours to discover the mother, or other person responsible for such an act, yet the well-laid schemes of the wretches - for there must have been one or more accomplices - have eluded detection up to the present.

The little foundling, which was tolerably well dressed when it was discovered by reason of its piteous cries, was as soon as found taken to the house of Mr and Mrs Stables, close by, who, having no children of their own, took the little stranger in, and by careful nursing it recovered from the cruel exposure of that intensely cold winter's night which imperiled its existence.

The child's short life, however, has been one of almost continuous suffering; during last summer its life was despaired of, and its little delicate frame was reduced almost to a mere shadow, yet it recovered at that time, and recently hopes have been entertained that it was growing out of its ailments and becoming stronger.

About a fortnight ago, however, these hopes were imperiled by an attack of bronchitis, which terminated fatally on Saturday last. Too much praise cannot be bestowed upon Mr and Mrs Stables, whose devotedness to their charge could not have been excelled had the child been their own. We know not whether these lines will ever be read by the unnatural mother, but if they are, we hope that she will make an effort to do something towards discharging the debt of gratitude she ought to feel to the foster-parents of her child for having, at much inconvenience and cost, performed those filial duties which she so brutally divested herself of.

The remains of Joseph Whitcliffe Stables were yesterday laid in the Cemetery, and though "nobody's child" it is mourned for in deep sympathy.

In the same issue of the Cleckheaton Guardian the following death notice is recorded:
Stables - On the 18th inst., aged 2 years, Joseph Whitcliffe, adopted son of Mr William Stables, iron moulder, Whitcliffe.