TATAM one name study
"I'm related to the Walnut Whip Poisoner!" - Spalding Today: "A MAN'S desire to trace his family tree led to him discovering that he is related to the infamous 'Walnut Whip Poisoner'.
Spalding resident Michael Shepherd was inspired to trace his ancestors after watching the BBC programme 'Who do you think you are?' and was shocked to uncover a murky episode in his family's past via genealogy website Ancestry.co.uk.
For Michael (42) is the second cousin, thrice removed, of Walter Frank Tatam, famous for attempting to kill the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police by sending him Walnut Whips laced with arsenic in 1922.
The commissioner, Sir William Horwood, collapsed in agony after eating the sweet, which he believed to have been from his daughter, only to be saved by a glass of brandy and some quick work by police surgeons.
Tatam, of Balham, London, was charged with intent to commit murder, but while in court he claimed to have heard voices coming from his garden hedges and was found to be insane.
Mr Seymour, who was born in Harlow, Essex, said: 'When I started my research three years ago I had no idea that I would discover an infamous ancestor like Walter!
'I had a basic family tree for the Tatams within three months of starting my research. I knew there had to be a connection due to the relatively small number of Tatams living in England."
Spalding resident Michael Shepherd was inspired to trace his ancestors after watching the BBC programme 'Who do you think you are?' and was shocked to uncover a murky episode in his family's past via genealogy website Ancestry.co.uk.
For Michael (42) is the second cousin, thrice removed, of Walter Frank Tatam, famous for attempting to kill the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police by sending him Walnut Whips laced with arsenic in 1922.
The commissioner, Sir William Horwood, collapsed in agony after eating the sweet, which he believed to have been from his daughter, only to be saved by a glass of brandy and some quick work by police surgeons.
Tatam, of Balham, London, was charged with intent to commit murder, but while in court he claimed to have heard voices coming from his garden hedges and was found to be insane.
Mr Seymour, who was born in Harlow, Essex, said: 'When I started my research three years ago I had no idea that I would discover an infamous ancestor like Walter!
'I had a basic family tree for the Tatams within three months of starting my research. I knew there had to be a connection due to the relatively small number of Tatams living in England."
posted by Hugh W at 2:55 pm
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