Sarah Wilson

Level 26

Louise Hebbe on 6th July 2021

Status: Single Religion: Protestant Occupation: All work Crime: Pledging Application to Marry: 1838, James Scrutton per "Captain Cook (2)". Died: 5 Feb 1865, Enghien near Branxton, NSW. Buried: Branxton General Cemetery. 'EPITOME OF NEWS.', The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser, 21 January, 1865, p. 3. The body of Mrs. Sarah Ann Scrutton was found a few days ago, in a waterhole near Branxton. It was believed she was brutally murdered by her husband, who was already in custody on a charge of beating her; but the coroner's jury returned a verdict of found drowned. 'SUSPECTED WIFE MURDER AT ENGHIEN, NEAR BRANXTON.', Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser (Grafton, NSW : 1859 - 1889), 31 January, 1865, p. 4. "I, James Scrutton, hereby make the following confession without any coercion whatever- On Wednesday morning, llth of January, I thought I had a couple of glasses of grog in the house; I asked my wife to bring me the rum ; she said there was none ; I said ‘You must have drank it’ ; she replied that she did not ; I looked at her, and said, 'I can see it in your face’ ; I was standing in front of her ; she lifted up the propstick and tried to strike me with it twice in the front room ; I went away into the bedroom ; she followed me the third time with the prop, and made another blow at me, but missed me ; I had a little peg in my hand about six or seven inches long, and I made a blow at her on the head and cut her to save myself ; she said 'I am bleeding, Jim' ; I tried to do my best to stop the bleeding with cold water and rags; the first person I saw was Mrs. Smith and her little girl ; I said 'I am glad you are come, for my wife is bleeding very fast'; Mrs. Smith took the rags off and then applied some cold water and fresh rags ; the last thing I saw was Mrs. Smith wiping the blood from my wife's cheek; the blood was nearly stopped then ; I looked out of the door and saw James Goat coming through the sliprails ; he come in and sat down on the stretcher ; Mrs. Smith then left for home ; then I went to my wife in the bedroom ; I asked her how she felt ; I said 'Do you think there is any danger?' she said ‘No I don't think there is’; I could see no blood then ; I stopped in the house about a quarter of an hour ; James Goat came to the bedroom door and said, ‘I am sorry to hear what has happened’ ; I said to my wife 'Can I go to the Creek, do you think you will be right until I come back’ : she said ‘Yes’, I said ' Good-bye’ ; I came back during the day ; I found the house closed, and my wife was not there ; I went to Mrs. Smith's ; I did not see Mrs. Smith; I saw Miss Harper ; I asked her if she saw Mrs. Scrutton ; she said 'No, perhaps she might be in some of the waterholes’, I said ‘She is too good a judge, for that’ ; I returned back again to my house and from there to Branxton, I made enquiries at different places about her, but could get no intelligence of her ; I stayed at Branxton that night, I was going home the following day and saw Mr. Rudd, who asked me if I had found my wife ; I said 'No’; he replied that he had heard that she had gone to Mitchell's Flat ; I went as far as Mr Rudd's house, and turned back to Branxton, and stayed there until I was apprehended ; I did not see my wife from Wednesday the 11th instant, until I saw the body at the coroner's.-JAMES SCRUTTON. 'MAITLAND CIRCUIT COURT.', Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 2 May, 1865, p. 3. James Scrutton was arraigned on a first count for that he did, at Enghien, near, Branxton, murder Sarah Ann Scrutton; on a second count for wounding with intent to murder, and on a third, for wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Sir William Manning stated that he declined to prosecute on the first two counts, but would on the third. The prisoner was found guilty of unlawfully wounding, and sentenced to two years' imprisonment, with hard labour, in Parramatta gaol, his Honor stating that he sentenced him to Parramatta gaol to make the punishment more severe, as the labour of prisoners there was harder than they were put to in Maitland gaol.