A Review of the Principal Events of the Last Ten Years in the Life of Mrs. Hannah Kinney: Together with Some Comments Upon the Late Trial.

Kinney, Hannah Hanson

Published by J. N. Bradley & Co., Boston, MA, 1841

About this Item

Ex-library. Lacks outer wrappers. Original publisher's beige paper pamphlet. Text printed in black ink. 4 1/2" x 7." Eighty-seven pages, complete. Pages are very clean and intact except for library markings (stamp from the Library of New York City's Bar Association and handwritten accession date of June 20, 1904 in black ink), light age toning, occasional small spots of foxing or discoloration, and tiny holes limited to margins along spine where string was formerly bound. A Very Good copy. An autobiographical account by Hannah Kinney (nee Hanson; 1805-?), an American seamstress who was accused of murdering two of her husbands, Enoch W. Freeman and George Kinney, through arsenic poisoning. Hanson wrote this book to defend her reputation. Hanson was originally from Lisbon, Maine but later moved to Boston to make a living for herself as a seamstress following a divorce from her first husband, Ward Witham. Hanson became married to Enoch W. Freeman. On their first anniversary, Freeman suddenly became ill and passed away. Freeman was 37 years old at the time of his death. Hanson then remarried; her third husband was George Kinney. On August 9, 1840, Kinney drank a cup a tea and died soon after. Hanson was formally accused of murdering Kinney and put on trial. While awaiting trial, Hanson spent about four months in prison. As part of the investigation into Kinney's death, the body of Freeman was exhumed and an autopsy revealed his body also showed traces of arsenic. During the trial, thirty-two witnesses between the prosecution and defense were questioned, but ultimately, Hanson was acquitted of the murder charge on December 25, 1840, just four days after the trial began on December 21. However, despite her acquittal, public opinion in Boston and Lowell held that Hanson was guilty of murdering Freeman and Kinney. Some of the population even began to believe that Hanson had also fatally poisoned Freeman's father after she and Freeman visited him after their wedding. In 1841, Hanson published an autobiographical account, this book, in defense of her reputation. In 1842, Witham published a direct response to Hanson's publication in which he accused her of adultery and slander.

Seller Inventory # 026094

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Review of the Principal Events of the Last Ten Years in the Life of Mrs. Hannah Kinney: Together with Some Comments Upon the Late Trial.
• Publisher: J. N. Bradley & Co., Boston, MA
• Publication Date: 1841
• Language: English
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Women
  • Law
  • U.S. History