Diary of a Resurrectionist, Saturday 22nd February

Saturday 22nd.
Met at Bartho’w Sent 7 into the Country, distributed the rest about town. At home all night.

As is often the case on a Saturday, subjects were sent to the country; seven is quite a number. Naples does not say where these particular subjects were going to. Perhaps those sent out were from the 15 which were acquired on the 20th, which had been taken to the store at Barts.

Diary of a Resurrectionist, Friday 21st February 1812

Friday 21st.
Met at Bartho’w Sold part, came home. Met at 2 a.m. went to St. Thomas’s Crib. Got 3 large, met the Patrols, took 1 to St. Thomas’s and 2 to Bartho’w.

3 bodies raised from St Thomas’s Hospital (or Church)’s burial ground; one taken to the hospital and 2 carried over to Barts. Naples doesn’t mention the names of the gang members he worked with on this night.

Selling pieces of bodies was part of the business and Naples had been doing this for a long time. Back in 1802, when he was first tried for body snatching, a witness at the trail (his sister-in-law Harriet Collins) said she had encounted heads in the house, removed for seperate sale (or perhaps to disguise the identity of the body) and it was recalled anecdotally of the resurrectionists Israel Chapman that he would sell parts.

The encounter with the patrols doesn’t seem to have caused Naples any inconvenience on this occaison.

Diary of a Resurrectionist, Thursday 20th February 1812

Thursday 20th.
Met and went to Pancress got 15 large & 1 small took them to Barthol w .

A considerable haul of 15 adults and 1 child; 18 subjects in total.

St Pancras was a strange burial ground, seperated from the burial ground of it’s very close neighbour St Giles by a mere wall; today, they are one open space, reduced in overall size by the reclamation of some of the land for the use of the railway/Eurostar.

Diary of a Resurrectionist, Wednesday19th February 1812

Wednesday 19th
At Home all day sick. John Harnet and Butler got drunk, at home all night.

A rare instance of Jack Harnett being referred to by the formal ‘John’.

Diary of a Resurrectionist, Tuesday 18th February

Tuesday 18th.
Met at St. Thomas’s. Took 2 over to Guy’s. Came home & settled each man’s share. £23 6s. 6d. On hand 2 open’d Large, 3 small & 3 foetus not paid, at home all night.

According to the National Archive’s online Currency Converter, this sum would have have had an equivalent spending power to roughly £797.00 (in 2005′s money). In 1812, a fair sum indeed.

The gang had quite a few bodies in store at this point; 2 opened adults, 3 children and 3 babies, which had not yet been paid for by anyone.

Diary of a Resurrectionist Monday 17th February 1812

Monday 17th
Met & went to Wiegate. Got 8 large & 1 small. Took them to St. Thomas’s.

Indeed, following a day/night of looking out, a haul of nine subjects; 8 adults and 1 child from Wiegate. They were taken to St Thomas’s.

Diary of a Resurrectionist, Sunday 16th February 1812

Sunday 16th.
Went to Look out, at home all night.

Looking out is often followed by activity.