The Hanging of Catherine Snow

Catherine Snow had the distinction of being the last woman hanged in Newfoundland, out of the 2nd story of the old courthouse in 1834.

Catherine was born in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, around 1793. She had lived common law and then married a planter, John Snow, in Port au Grave. They had seven children together despite their unhappy marriage.

On the night of August 31, 1833, John Snow disappeared, and neighbours wondered quietly and then loudly if he had been murdered. Magistrate Robert Pinsent launched an investigation, and the general suspicion was confirmed when dried blood was discovered on John Snow's fishing stage.

Catherine was implicated along with her cousin Tobias Mandeville, with whom she was having an affair, and an indentured servant from Ireland named Arthur Spring.

Harbour Grace court house

Catherine ran away to the woods but eventually turned herself in to the courthouse at Harbour Grace. According to her confession, John Snow was shot while going from his boat to the stage head, but his body was never found. All three were tried together, even though Arthur Spring had renounced his accusation of Catherine.

The trial took place at St. John's on January 10, 1834, and despite their confessions, all had pleaded not guilty. 

The Jury returned a verdict of "Guilty" against all the Prisoners, and after a most eloquent and affecting address from the Chief Judge, his Lordship passed a sentence of Death on them, to be carried into effect on the following Monday.

On January 13, 1834, both Arthur Spring and Tobias Mandeville were hanged.

Catherine's execution was delayed because she was pregnant with Mandeville's child.

Bishop Michael Fleming

The Catholic church, under Bishop Michael Fleming, supported Catherine's innocence throughout, but an appeal was unsuccessful. The climate of religious tension at the time may have been a contributing factor.

The Governor of the day, Thomas Cochrane, delayed her execution until after the birth of her child. She baptized him, Richard Snow, and nursed him for three months in her prison cell.

On July 21, 1834, at 8:45 am, crowds gathered on Duckworth Street. Snow walked out on the platform. Three priests attended her on the scaffold.

St. John's court house

According to the Public Ledger, "The unhappy woman, after a few brief struggles, passed into another world."

Snow declared herself innocent to the end.

Despite her execution, she was buried in the Catholic cemetery that night.

Many believed she was not proven guilty. Bishop Fleming, a native of Ireland, also the home of the Mandeville family, assumed guardianship of her children.