Who Was Susan Hancock?
- Full Name: Susan Clementine Scaggs Hancock (1840-1885)
- Buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Austin TX, Section 2 Lot 459
- One of the two white woman victims of the Servant Girl Annihilator
- Was in Austin for about 7 months before her murder
She was born on December 27, 1840 in Alabama, and died on December 24, 1885 in Austin, TX. She was married to Moses H. Hancock and had two children, Lena Hancock German and Ida Hancock.
According to the Austin Weekly Statesman article published on December 31, 1885, Susan was attacked on Christmas Eve, struck with an axe at the hands of a mysterious assassin. An intruder entered the family home with Susan and Moses being the only ones at home at the time. Lena and Ida happened to be out that night for a Christmas party. Allegedly, Susan was asleep in one of the girls’ beds when the intruder came inside and struck her on the head, ultimately dragging her to the backyard. Moses heard the struggle and scared the intruder away. Susan succumbed to her injuries on December 28.
Unfortunately, most of the suspicion fell onto Moses since he was the only other person in the family home that night. He was finally exonerated from Susan’s murder case in 1887.
Moses Hancock testified during the trial of his wife’s murder. He claimed his wife went to a local shoe store with her neighbor, Mrs. Persinger, hours before the murder took place. A little after 8 PM, his two daughters and Mr. Hagy, a man who was living with them as well during this time, left to a party. Susan and Moses were in the large room with the fireplace, reading, before they retired for the night, Christmas Eve. They both went to the bedrooms, however, Moses heard Susan walking into his room and getting a slice of cake. After they sat and talked in his bedroom, they went back to bed for the night. Later he is awoken and checks on Susan. Downstairs, he hears the sound of loud grunting and something dropping. Moses sees the figure of Susan on the floor and sees the perpetrator running towards the back fence. He picked up a brick and throws it towards the intruder to scare them away. He then notices the damage done to Susan and cries out for his neighbor, Mr. Persinger, for help.
Who/What was the Texas Servant Girl Murders?
According to a TexasMonthly article, over the course of the year 1885, seven women were attacked by various knives, axes, and bricks by a mysterious intruder. The first victims were black women and two victims being white women.
Here are some great webpages about the murder:
http://www.servantgirlmurders.com/the-hancock-inquest-graphic-details-suspicions-nightmares/
https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/murders-in-the-night/
https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86088296/1885-12-31/ed-1/?sp=4&st=text&r=-0.483,0,1.967,1.421,0
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/706785#_i3
https://texlibris.lib.utexas.edu/2014/07/galloway-talks-about-the-servant-girl-murders/