Some British people are unfamiliar with the ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’ phrase. For years, the term has become common jargon for just ‘nothing’ or something worthless.
The Fanny Adams tragic case was known as a gruesome crime in the late 19th century. Fanny Adams, the victim, was 8 years old when she was brutally murdered in Alton, Hampshire, in 1867.
Her case gained national attention and became one of the significant events in English criminal history. Why did it become famous? It’s mainly because of the violence level involved.
Sad, isn’t it?
The Murder of Fanny Adams
The Fanny Adams tragic case is the most horrific tragedy resolved and a disturbing event that captured the interests of the public as a cautionary tale about violence and its effects on society.
Let’s find out more about this case.
Life of Fanny Adams
Born on April 30, 1859, Fanny Adams was the 4th child of George Adams and his wife, Harriet. Fanny also had 2 younger sisters, Lizzie and Lilly. When Fanny was 8, her parents would describe her as a tall, intelligent, and comely girl. Fanny Adams appears to be several years in advance of her age and always in a cheerful and lively disposition.
Her family was not that rich, and as a daughter of an agriculture worker, Fanny Adams’ life was simple. But she was fed, loved, and clothed. They live in the small town of Alton, a picturesque market town in southern England.
Unfortunately, she was abducted by Frederick Baker, who was taken into the hop garden near her home. It’s where Fanny was murdered brutally and even dismembered! Some parts of her body were never found. There were also further investigations that there were 2 knives found and used for the murder.
Related Posts
- Teddington Towpath Murders – You Should Not Know These Facts
- The Defeat of Ottoman Empire – How True Was the End?
- The Truth Behind – Dunbar Armored Robbery
Fanny Adams’ Day of Abduction
The last day on Earth of Fanny Adams was a happy one. Just like any other kid out there, she played with other kids before being abducted.
It was on the 24th of August in 1867 when Fanny played with her friend, Minnie, and younger sister, Lizzie. But then, little did they know, as they play in the Amery hop gardens, this is the start of the murder of Fanny Adams.
The Amery hop gardens when Fanny and her companions were approached by a man called Frederick Baker. He was a young man, aged just 29, and was a solicitor’s clerk in Alton to Mr. Clements.
Frederick BAKER wore a black coat, trousers, and a light waistcoat on that fateful afternoon. Baker offered a halfpenny to Fanny so they could go for a walk together. The two girls also wanted to come, yet Baker gave them 3 halfpennies so they could go away and buy food.
Only to find out it was the last time the girls saw Fanny – when Baker told her not to cry and just go with him.
The Murder of Fanny Adams: Frederick Baker as the Suspect
When the girls set off on a short trip to the field area where they used to play, Frederick Baker approached them. A 29 years old clerk who just moved recently to the small town. Yes, they recognized him, as he was also from the church.
Even if Fanny Adams and her companions suspected him of being drunk, they believed Frederick Baker was respectable. Even when he approached them, they were wary but not afraid. The girls didn’t know that Baker was a pedophile with bad intentions in mind.
Who wouldn’t admire Fanny, for she was a very pretty child who was tall for her age. Further investigations believe that she caught the eye of Baker, that it came to the point that he offered her pennies to go with him into the nearby hop garden. They took Baker’s money, but Fanny wanted to stay close to her sister and her friend.
For the time, the children played happily in the meadows when Baker hovered picking blackberries and offered them to the girls. He did not move towards Fanny yet. However, after about an hour, Minnie and Lizzie wanted to go home as they got tired and hungry.
When they moved to leave, Frederick Baker intercepted so quickly and asked Fanny to accompany him going to the next village of Shalden. Unfortunately, Fanny refused, and that’s when Baker grabbed her, screaming, and dragged her to the hop garden nearby.
The Murder of Fanny Adams – The Search and Arrest
When the girls got home without Fanny, their mother was alarmed and started searching for her. In the meantime, a labourer, Thomas Gates, passed the hop garden from work when he was horrified to see a child’s head resting on the hop-poles.
The search started, and the father of Fanny rushed home and threatened to shoot the culprit who brutally killed his daughter with a shotgun. Later, the full horror started to reveal itself, as Fanny’s body had been sliced, strewn and ripped all over the place.
With Lizzie and Minnie as the star witnesses, Frederick Baker was identified and apprehended as the main suspect last seen with Fanny Adams.
There were even spots of blood seen on his socks, shirt cuffs, and trousers. Even the entry in his diary says: “Saturday, 24th August – Killed a young girl”.
Related Posts
- The Fall of The Romanov Family: Who Betrayed the Ill-Fated Family?
- Top 7 Places You Should Never Go, Visit or Travel
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of what people usually ask about the tragic case of Fanny Adams.
-
What happened to the trial and sentence of Frederick Baker?
It was in December 1867 when the case came up, and the residents of Alton gave evidence, but Fanny Adams’ father was the main defence witness. The case went bad for Frederick Baker even if the Defence proved Baker was mad.
The jury and judge were still unconvinced, and the verdict was guilty. He was on death row and was hanged on Christmas Eve of 1967. With that, it was one of Winchester County Jail’s last public hangings.
-
Where does the expression ‘fannying’ come from?
The expression of ‘fanny about’ or ‘sweet Fanny Adams’ has nothing to do with the female genitals. Instead, it’s a naval slang expression that was started in 1869 by the sailors of the Royal Navy.
Their humor likened the contents of tinned meat to the remains of Fanny. From there, it became the euphemism for ‘sweet nothing.’
-
Why was Fanny Adams murdered?
Poor Fanny Adams was just in the wrong place and time. She was a very pretty child and a head-turner. People who are out of their minds would show interest and motives and do things that could harm her, just like Frederick Baker did.
Conclusion
Do you know what elders would usually say that we should never talk to strangers? Yes, it’s true. But in the case of Fanny Adams, Frederick Baker was no stranger – but someone they used to know.
The murder of Fanny Adams is a lesson to everybody that we should never put our trust in people we know little about. As for parents, you should educate your children to remain vigilant for motives that could harm them, and they should not go with people they barely know.
Discussion about this post