Elizabeth Margaret McNally (abt. 1859 - 1918)

Born about 1859 in County Antrim, Ireland

Wife of Artemus Brewer — married 9 Jan 1885 in New York, United States

Died 28 Jun 1918 at about age 59 in Matteawan State Hospital, Dutchess, New York, United States

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Legacy

Lizzie Halliday born Elizabeth Margaret McNally was an Irish-American serial killer responsible for the deaths of four people in upstate New York during the 1890s. In 1894, she became the first woman to be sentenced to death by the electric chair. However, Halliday's sentence was commuted and she spent the rest of her life in a mental institution. She killed a nurse while institutionalized and is speculated to have killed at least two more people, her husbands from previous marriages.

Biography

Eliza Margaret McNalley is born about 1859 in Antrim, Ireland.

In 1867, she came from Ireland to Newburg, New York.^[1]

Marriage

Married six times:

First in 1883, to "Ketspool" Brown also known as Charles Hopkins whom died a natural death in Vermont soon after she married him. Together they had one child, John Hopkins.^[1]

Second, Artemus Brewer of Greenwich, Washington County on January 9, 1885.^[2] He died within a year of marriage. She attempted to poison him before she ran off with another man.^[1]

Third, Hiram Parkinson. ^[3]

Fourth, George Smith, whom she tried to poison.

Fifth, Charlie Playstel in Bellows Fall, Vermont.^[1]

Sixth, Paul Halliday.

Timeline

In winter of 1888, she was in Philadelphia, where she went to John McQuillan's saloon and home and wanted to stay as an old family friend. She had her son John Hopkins with her.^[1]

Paul Halliday met Lizzie at an intelligence office in Newburg. She lived with him as his housekeeper until she later married him in 1890 in St. Paul Episcopal Church in Middletown.^[4]

May 6, 1891, burnt the house killing stepson, John Halliday. May 26, 1891, she burnt down the barn

September 1893, murdered Sarah J. and Margaret McQuillan. A few days later the body of Paul Halliday was found under the floorboards of the house.

She was placed in the county jail. In November, she tried to strangle the Sheriff's wife. A few days later she set fire to her bedclothes. In December, she tried to hang herself. On December 15, she gashed her throat and arms with broken glass from her cell window. For three months it was necessary to keep her chained to the floor.^[5]

By 1900, she is an inmate in the Matteawan State Hospital in Fishkill, Dutchess, New York, United States.^[6][7]

In 1906, she stabs and kills nurse, Nellie Wicks.^[8]

Lizzie died June 28, 1918 from Bright's Disease at the Matteawan State Hospital in Dutchess, New York, United States.^[9]

Notes

Has 8 siblings: John, Mary McNally Long, Jane McNally Demey d. abt 1893 in Washington, NY.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Lizzie Halliday and her Many Crimes. The Press (Kansas City, Kansas). 22 Jun 1894, Fri. Pg. 2.
2. ↑ Marriage to Artemus Brewer The Post-Star (Glens Falls, New York) 10 Jan 1885, Sat. Pg. 3.
3. ↑ Mrs. Halliday, the Triple Murderess Confesses. St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri). 05 Nov 1893, Sun. Pg. 6.
4. ↑ Lizzie Halliday's Past. Light on Alleged Crimes. New-York Tribune (New York, New York) 09 Sep 1893, Sat. Pg. 1.
5. ↑ Weird Life of Crime. Mansfield Advertiser (Mansfield, Pennsylvania) 20 Jun 1894, Wed. Pg. 4.
6. ↑ United States Census, 1900, Elizabeth Halladay, Fishkill Township Matteawan, Dutchess, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 155, sheet 4B, family.
7. ↑ United States Census, 1910 Elizabeth Halliday, Fishkill, Dutchess, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 50, sheet 5A, family.
8. ↑ Mad Murderess Kills Nurse Girl The Chatham Record (Pittsboro, North Carolina) 04 Oct 1906, Thursday. Pg. 1
9. ↑ Mrs. Lizzie Halliday, Arch Murderess, Dies in Asylum Middletown Times-Press (Middletown, New York) 28 Jun 1918, Fri. Pg. 1.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lizzie_Halliday

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