By Molly Murphy
Local nurse “Jolly” Jane Toppan was no angel of mercy. Born Honora A Kelly in Boston on March 31st, 1854, she was orphaned shortly after her birth. Honora was adopted and became “Jolly” Jane Toppan. Attending Lowell public schools in her early life, she was quite intelligent and charming, yet a known trickster.
Massachusetts General Hospital hired her as a nurse in the 1880s, marking the beginning of her decade-long spree. Though well-liked, her streak of mischief did not go unnoticed. She was known by her coworkers to prolong her favorite patients’ illnesses, then tell suspicious stories of their causes of death. She had an odd fascination in the ability to control someone’s fate and was eventually dismissed by the hospital due to patient misconduct.
It wasn’t until 1895 that residents of Bourne began to fall victim to her evil. As a private nurse Jane wasted no time finding patients, quickly creating a plan to fulfill her sick fantasies. The Davis family only lasted two weeks after engaging Jane; First Mrs. Davis, then their daughter Genevieve Davis Gordon, then Mr. Davis. Finally it was their youngest daughter, Mary Davis Gibbs. Jane was only caught because Mary’s husband reported the deaths as suspicious, seeing that Jane was the only one in the home to make it out alive. The family’s bodies were exhumed and the level of poison in their bodies led to the beginning of a police investigation.
Jane was finally arrested on October 29th, 1901 while visiting her friends in Amherst, New Hampshire. Her testimony was, “I have thought it all over, and I cannot detect the slightest bit of sorrow over what I have done. If I had been a married woman I probably would not have killed all of those people. I would have had my husband, my children and my home to take up my mind. She was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital for life.
Though the confirmed victim list stands at twelve, she confessed to killing 31 and is suspected of killing more than 100. Longtime residents of Cataumet claim you can still feel her presence in the old Mystery Lane house, and some even feel a chill as they sail into Squeteague harbor and watch the moored Jolly Jane boat spin on its own.
