Newman, Julia St. Clair (1818–?)
Newman, Julia St. Clair (1818–?)
Creole swindler . Born in 1818; educated in France.
Earning her livelihood through a series of scams and thefts, Julia St. Clair Newman landed in prison in London at the age of 19 and earned a name for herself as one of the most incorrigible prisoners in British history. Of Creole descent, she was born in 1818 and spent her childhood in the West Indies before attending school in France, where she may have acquired the social graces and talent as a singer and musician she was said to display when she so chose. She later moved to London and began her criminal career; her favorite scam involved renting rooms and then selling off her landlady's possessions.
In 1837, Newman was convicted of swindling and incarcerated in Millbank Prison. An unruly prisoner, she attacked the wardens, provoked other prisoners to rebel, and threw food at the jailers. After several failed attempts at suicide, she tried to starve herself to death. Jailers force-fed her, labeled her insane, and placed her in solitary confinement in a straitjacket. Newman chewed her way out of the jacket. At a loss as to how to control her, authorities sentenced her to banishment. She was sent on the convict ship Nautilus to the penal colony in Australia, where she vanished from history.
sources:
Nash, Robert Jay. Look for the Woman. NY: M. Evans, 1981.
Lisa Frick , freelance writer, Columbia, Missouri