This day in history: The infamous Shrigley Abduction happened on this day in 1827.
Edward Gibbon Wakefield was considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament) at the time. He also had significant interests in British North America, being involved in the drafting of Lord Durham's Report and being a member of the Parliament of the Province of Canada for a short time.
Early in his career, although wealthy by contemporary standards, Wakefield was still not satisfied with this. He wished to acquire an estate and enter Parliament, for which he lacked sufficient capital. To get this capital he needed to marry someone for money, and he set his sights on 15-year-old Ellen Turner. Ellen Turner was the daughter and only child of William Turner, a wealthy resident of Pott Shrigley, Cheshire. He almost managed to wed the wealthy heiress in 1826 when he abducted her, after luring her from school with a false message about her mother's health. The couple were married in Gretna Green, Scotland, and travelled to Calais, France, before Turner's father was able to notify the authorities and intervene. Wakefield was brought to trial for the case known as the Shrigley abduction in 1827 and, along with his brother William, sentenced to three years in Newgate prison; the marriage, which had not been consummated, was dissolved by a special act of parliament.
Despite this, Wakefield was incredibly still able to enjoy a fruitful political career colonizing New Zealand, while his innocent victim would die four years later.
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