Francis Humblety Biography

There is not much clarity or evidence available on the background of Francis Tumblety. Much of the details of his early life are unknown. It is said that he was born in either Canada or Ireland in 1833. He was the youngest of eleven children and moved to Rochester, NY along with his family in 1849. At age 15, his neighbours described him as “a dirty, awkward, ignorant, uncared-for, good-for-nothing boy...utterly devoid of education” (Jack the Ripper, n.d.). At a young age, he was known to peddle pornographic literature on canal boats thereafter, he began working in a drug store. He left for Detroit in 1850, where he began working as an Indian herb doctor. His practice was and he he collected a large amount of wealth. His first encounter with

He was arrested in St. Louis for wearing military garb and medals that did not rightful belong to him. However, Francis believed that his arrest was caused by persecution from his medical competitors. This revealed his paranoid personality. His paranoia was also seen when he wrote a book called The Kidnapping of Dr. Tumblety. He wrote the book in order to clear his name and improve his reputation in society however, the book consisted of paranoid ramblings and fraudulent testimonials. At this point, it was well known that Francis had homosexual relations with Sir Henry Hall Caine (Jack the Ripper, n.d.). It was also believed that Tumblety was a part of a plan to assassinate Balfour and played a role in the murders of two members of the Irish Office (Casebook: Jack the Ripper-A Theory on Francis Tumblety, n.d.). Francis returned to England in June 1888, where he was arrested yet again on charges of gross indecency and assault with force. According to Francis, these events occurred because of hatred towards homosexuals. Then on November 12th, Tumblety was arrested on suspicion for the Whitechapel murders, he was bailed on the 16th, and fled to France and then to New York on the 23rd of November. After his death, two cheap imitation rings were found in his inventory. These rings seemed to be identical to the ones missing from Annie Chapman, adding to the evidence against