William Booth (forger)
Encyclopedia
William Booth one of eight children of a farmer and church warden, John Booth, and his wife Mary, was a farmer and forger
, who lived at Great Barr
, Birmingham. He is the subject of the song "Twice Tried, Twice Hung, Twice Buried" by John Raven.
On 28 February 1799, Booth signed a 25-year lease for what became known (by 1821 if not earlier) as ‘Booth’s Farm’, including a farmhouse and 200 acres of land, part of the Perry Hall estate. and then in Staffordshire
.
He was accused of murdering his brother John while revisiting Hall End on 19 February 1808, but was acquitted or lack of evidence.
He converted the top floor of the farmhouse into a workshop where he produced forgeries of coins and banknotes. He was caught, tried at Stafford Assizes
and sentenced to hang. His accomplices were sentenced to transportation
to Australia.
Booth's execution was bungled, and he fell through the scaffold's trap door, to the floor. Within two hours, he was hung again and died. He was one of, if not the, last people to be sentenced to death in England for forgery.
He is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's, Handsworth. The inscription on his gravestone reads:
Following a change of county boundary, his body was disinterred and reburied.
Booth also minted genuine tokens
, as a cover for his forging activities. Several of his tokens, forgeries and printing plates are in the collection of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
.
The farmhouse was demolished in 1974, and the farm became a sand and gravel quarry, having given its name to the still-extant Booths Lane and Booths Farm Road. Until the late 1920s, it was occupied by the Foden Family, commemorated in Foden Road.
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
, who lived at Great Barr
Great Barr
Great Barr is a large and loosely-defined area which straddles the boundaries of Birmingham, West Bromwich and Walsall , West Midlands, England...
, Birmingham. He is the subject of the song "Twice Tried, Twice Hung, Twice Buried" by John Raven.
On 28 February 1799, Booth signed a 25-year lease for what became known (by 1821 if not earlier) as ‘Booth’s Farm’, including a farmhouse and 200 acres of land, part of the Perry Hall estate. and then in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
.
He was accused of murdering his brother John while revisiting Hall End on 19 February 1808, but was acquitted or lack of evidence.
He converted the top floor of the farmhouse into a workshop where he produced forgeries of coins and banknotes. He was caught, tried at Stafford Assizes
Assizes
Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to::;in common law countries :::*assizes , an obsolete judicial inquest...
and sentenced to hang. His accomplices were sentenced to transportation
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
to Australia.
Booth's execution was bungled, and he fell through the scaffold's trap door, to the floor. Within two hours, he was hung again and died. He was one of, if not the, last people to be sentenced to death in England for forgery.
He is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's, Handsworth. The inscription on his gravestone reads:
Sacred to the memory of William Booth who departed this life August 12th 1812 aged 33 years. Also Charlotte daughter of William and Mary Booth who died August 13th 5 months.
Following a change of county boundary, his body was disinterred and reburied.
Booth also minted genuine tokens
Token coin
In the study of numismatics, tokens are coin-like objects used instead of coins. The field of tokens is part of exonumia. Tokens are used in place of coins and either have a denomination shown or implied by size, color or shape...
, as a cover for his forging activities. Several of his tokens, forgeries and printing plates are in the collection of Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England.Entrance to the Museum and Art Gallery is free, but some major exhibitions in the Gas Hall incur an entrance fee...
.
The farmhouse was demolished in 1974, and the farm became a sand and gravel quarry, having given its name to the still-extant Booths Lane and Booths Farm Road. Until the late 1920s, it was occupied by the Foden Family, commemorated in Foden Road.