The Story of Annie Chapman as Told by Her Sister
London, May 22.
The history of one of the Whitechapel victims of Jack the Ripper is a sad illustration of
the fearful power of inherited alcoholism. It appears that there were four of five
children in the family. The parents were intemperate. It is the sister of the poor
creature who tells the rest. The unhappy woman had unfortunately inherited the craving,
and before she was 14 had taken to drink. The others became converted, and did all in
their power to cure their sister, but it was of no use. The sister at length married
comfortably and children were born. But the craving for drink grew greater and greater and
at length she was sent to a home for enebriates (sic), where she stayed for a year. She
left apparently, said the sister, a changed woman.
Soon after, however, her husband caught her a severe cold and before going out one morning drank a glass of hot whisky, taking care, however, not to do so in the presence of his wife. Then, as was his custom, before leaving he kissed his wife. At once the fumes of alcohol passed into her, and in an hour she was a drunk and roaring woman. She went from bad to worse, and at last left her husband and children, one of them a cripple through her drunkenness. The husband died two years ago a white-haired and broken-hearted man, though only 45 years of age. "Need I add," said the sister in a letter, "what became of her? Her story is that of Annie Chapman, one of the recent Whitechapel victims. That was my sister."
