Albert Cadosch
Witness at Annie Chapman's inquest.
(Also known as Cadoche, Cadosh or Cadosche).
Full name: Charles Albert Cadosch. Born 1860, Paris, France, the son of a glass cutter (later Glass Merchant) named Paul Alexandre Cadosch and his wife Marie. Albert Cadosch was a carpenter, resident at 27 Hanbury Street, Spitalfields. Married to Alice, they had five children, Isabella (b.1878), Hannah (b.1880), Ethel (b.1882), Frederick (b.1884) and Herbert (b.1886).
Cadosch testified that on the morning of 8th September 1888, he got up at 5.15am and went into the yard, presumably to relieve himself. On going back to the house, he heard a voice say "No!" from behind the fence which divided the backyards of Nos.27 and 29 Hanbury Street. A few minutes later, he needed to use the yard again, whereupon he heard something touch the fence from the other side. His suspicions were not aroused as he had occasionally heard people in the yard of No.29 at that time of the morning. He did not hear the rustling of clothes and he did not look to see what was causing the noises.
When he left the house, he noted that the clock of Christ Church read 5.32am. He did not see any man and woman together outside, nor did he see Mrs Elizabeth Long.
The Cadosch family later moved to 44 Stamwell Street, Colchester, Essex, after which three further children were born, two named Gladys, both of whom died in infancy, and a third by the name of Nellie who was born on 21st April 1892. It was previously thought that the move to Essex had taken place in 1890 or 1891, but the older Gladys was born in her mother's home village of Coggeshall on 14th August 1889, so it is likely to have taken place considerably earlier. By 1901, the family were recorded as living at 19 Stamwell Street, though Albert is missing. However, Alice is listed as 'married', as opposed to 'widow'. Until very recently nothing more was known of Albert Cadosch, but recent research has uncovered his later history.
On 26th April 1893, at St Andrew's Roman Catholic Church in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a man by the name of Albert Cadosch, a hawker, who claimed to be a 23-year-old bachelor, married Elizabeth Stobart. This man's stated age is a decade younger than the Albert Cadosch who gave evidence at the Chapman inquest would have been, but the name of the bridegroom's father is revealing: "Paul Cadosch - deceased". Occupation: "Glass & China Merchant". It would be difficult to argue, age discrepancy notwithstanding, that this was not the same man. Alice Cadosch still considered herself to be married and no record of any divorce has been located. Albert Cadosch seems to have left his home, wife, family and business, moved to the North of England and entered into a bigamous marriage. Albert & Elizabeth had one child together - also named Albert - her first and his ninth.Charles Albert Cadosch died in a Newcastle infirmary on 13th March 1896, the cause of death, recorded as "Mitral Regurgitation, Aorta Regurgitation, Dilated left Ventricle" was massive heart failure in layman's terms. He was three months short of his 36th birthday, but his age is shown as 28. His young son survived him by only a few months.
Updated & final paragraph added June 2012 by Colin Macdonald
