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young girls were allowed to work in the factory was under the assumption that they would send their earnings back home to financially support their families. Instead, Caswell was enjoying her financial independence, much like many other young factory girls. Her earrings also suggested something about her morals because during this time, reputable women did not wear such things. In turn, these assumptions implied that she was responsible for her fate. She became a lesson for other girls on to not seek for such independence, and to avoid
307:" short stories were loosely based on the true events of the murder of Berengera Caswell, but were highly dramatized and moralized to capture public interest. In these works of fiction, Caswell's name was replaced with her alias Mary Bean, and William Long was framed as a dastardly villain called George Hamilton. The authors, "Miss J.A.B- resident of
326:, and then has Mary's pregnancy terminated, which, in the end, takes her life. It's a classic tale of a young woman being taken advantage of- a narrative extremely common in the nineteenth century. This tale was written by an author known only as "Miss J.A.B" who aimed to warn others of what could potentially happen to young factory girls.
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earrings. Everyone who testified seemed to remember her because of her drop earrings. All of the evidence combined was enough for the jury to determine that Smith murdered
Caswell. He was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Newspaper coverage on this case was huge, with coverage throughout
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from the faulty abortion. They stated that Smith's claim of death from typhoid was far from the cause of her death and it was his illegitimate medical practices instead. Women were used as witnesses to prove that
Caswell had gone to Smith for an abortion. What tied Caswell to Smith were her memorable
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On April 15, a constable searched Smith's house and found the remnants of him trying to cover up
Caswell's presence in his home. Smith became a suspect in the case because of the location where the body was found, and someone recognized the board to which her body was tied as being from his shed. On
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residents cleaning up the area. Nobody knew the identity of the woman, as she used the fake name Mary Bean when she sought out an abortion. During the examination of the body, the coroner concluded that because of the intensive trauma to her reproductive organs, the infection she had was a result of
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On
December 15, 1849, when Caswell was fifteen to eighteen weeks pregnant, Smith took more drastic and dangerous measures to terminate the pregnancy. To perform the abortion, Smith inserted an eight-inch long hooked wire instrument into Caswell's vagina and into her womb while she was producing very
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Neither
Caswell nor Long knew whom to ask for an abortion, so Long turned to his boss Mr. Blake, who found Dr. James Smith, who was known as a botanical physician. Smith gave Caswell the alias name Mary Bean, and Caswell moved into Smith's house while he attempted to terminate the pregnancy. Caswell
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but focuses more on George
Hamilton's fate after murdering Mary Bean. It was written by Reverend Mr. Miller, who was inspired to continue the story told by Miss J.A.B. In this tale, Hamilton frames his brother for the death of Bean, but ultimately has his plot foiled when Bean's doctor confesses to
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Berengera
Caswell's legacy lived on as the story of Mary Bean, the pseudonym Smith had given her. Eventually, her actual name was dropped altogether by the public as the case stopped being a hot topic, and her story became free range for any authors seeking to add a spin to her tale or use it to
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During this time, Caswell's actions were also scrutinized. Some of the key reasons they ridiculed her included her abundance of clothing and the earrings that were previously mentioned. These actions were not approved of because they meant that she was spending frivolously. The reason that these
150:, Maine. A week after he left Manchester, Caswell left for Salem, Massachusetts. In November 1849, Caswell suspected that she was pregnant and left Salem and headed for Biddeford to find Long. She told him privately of her suspected pregnancy and they decided that abortion was their best option.
311:" and "Reverend Mr. Miller", also combined the details of the Caswell case with other murders across New England, further villainizing the "evil seducer George Hamilton" in the public's eye. These stories transformed the Smith case into stereotypical works of sensational fiction.
205:. Smith approached Long again in January asking him for more money, as well as Caswell's trunk, which she had left at her boarding house before the procedure. Smith refused; in response, Smith angrily told Long that Caswell did not die from typhoid, but instead she had died in
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tells a tale loosely based on
Caswell's life. In this story, a beautiful but naive Mary Bean leaves her soon to be husband, William Churchill, for the seductive George Hamilton, who effectively ruins all aspects of her life. Hamilton takes her away from her home in
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Both of these stories were well received by Saco residents. They provided closure to the confusing and worrying death of
Caswell by using a familiar fictional template. They also helped to bring the attention of the public back to the case as the trial waged on.
263:. After reviewing the appeal for nearly a year, the Supreme Court decided that Smith had been improperly charged. The murder charge was overturned, and he had already spent enough time in prison to serve a manslaughter charge, so he was set free.
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winter. It was discovered that Smith burned
Caswell's belongings, including her leather chest, which he attempted to disguise as his own by carving his name into it. He also burned his medical instruments that he had used to perform her abortion.
243:, administration of savin, a mortal wound with a wire instrument, a mortal wound with an unknown instrument, or by some manner as yet unknown. A descriptive account of her autopsy was given, and it was proven that her death was caused by
198:. Smith had little or nothing to offer her for her pain. A week after the abortion, as Smith knew Caswell's life was coming to an end, he left the house and slept at a nearby parlor. She died in Smith's house on December 22, 1849.
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an abortion, This detail was barely mentioned in Smith's trial that soon followed, as it was improper to talk about abortion during this time period. However, the state of her body was discussed: rotted and decayed after a cold
288:. The newspaper and book publications of Caswell's actions leading to her death, as well as the details and outcome of her murder trial were used to scare women into conforming to what was seen as the correct way to behave.
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April 17, he was arrested and charged with the murder of Berengera Caswell. The jury and constable had decided that he was guilty, but they were not sure of the method he used. Some of these actions included:
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for women of mature age whose early death was used to warn women of the consequences of having premarital sex. Her story was posted in newspaper articles, published in books, and communicated via
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procedure. The subsequent murder trial, newspaper coverage and fictional accounts of her life and death generated debate on a range of issues related to women and women's lifestyles.
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intense contractions. Smith's plan was to puncture the amniotic sack and terminate her pregnancy. Smith was successful in aborting the fetus but during the procedure he pierced her
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and damaged the surrounding organs, leaving a wound a quarter-inch in diameter and four inches in length. The gash quickly became infected and at the time, there were no
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In May of the next year, Nathan Clifford, Smith's attorney, appealed Smith's case to the Maine Supreme Court, arguing that his charge should not be murder, but rather
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Following Caswell's death, Smith took a wooden board from his barn and tied her corpse to it, then disposed of her body in the nearby Woodbury Brook, off the
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in Manchester, Caswell met William Long, a factory machinist and the pair became lovers. In September 1849 Long lost his job and moved home to
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the crime. Ultimately, Hamilton and the rest of his evil posse end up deceased or in jail, providing further closure to the Mary Bean tale.
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when it got lodged in a culvert. Her corpse remained there until April 13, 1850, when her body was discovered by
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at the end of November and again early in December, but the abortion was unsuccessful.
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stories emerged. The two most famous pieces of fiction written about the case were
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Caswell and her two sisters, Ruth and Thais, left their hometown of
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110:(February 17, 1828 – December 22, 1849) was a Canadian mill and
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Emigrants from pre-Confederation Quebec to the United States
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479:""Mary Bean" - The Factory Girl"
456:from the original on 2019-10-31
444:Skelton, Kathryn (2011-08-06).
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20:Berengera Caswell (Mary Bean)
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332:continues the story told in
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416:"The Murder of Mary Bean"
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142:. While working at the
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213:Death and murder trial
114:who died following an
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450:Lewiston Sun Journal
420:Maine History Online
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515:Abortion in Canada
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180:antiseptics
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134:, and then
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499:Categories
484:2019-10-31
477:Gaslight.
460:2019-10-31
425:2019-10-28
368:2019-10-31
345:References
309:Manchester
305:true crime
219:Saco River
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303:. These "
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148:Biddeford
122:Biography
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454:Archived
160:extracts
116:abortion
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293:fiction
203:typhoid
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275:Legacy
192:chills
168:uterus
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