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A woman of rather respectable appearance, named Sarah Westwood, has within the last few days been endeavouring to work upon the sympathy of several of the clergy of the neighbourhood, by representing herself as the niece of a Rev. Mr. Smith (a former tutor of Mr. Watson Taylor), and as having been placed in a most unpleasant position during her journey from Shrewsbury hither, in consequence of having lost her purse containing all the ready money she had about her. The former part of her story is, it would seem, true; for, during his early tuition under Mr. Smith, Mr. Watson Taylor remembers the woman (who was then a little child) as the niece of Mr. Smith; but he had not seen or heard anything about her until, many years afterwards, he received a letter from her, stating she was in deep distress, and asking for assistance. Mr. Watson Taylor very kindly answered her application by sending her £5; and he heard nothing of her again for several years. Some time ago, however, when he was in London, the woman called at his house; but Mr. Watson Taylor refused to see her, and sent her to his solicitors (Messrs. Parke and Co.). To them she related the various misfortunes to which she had been subjected, stating, among others, that she had been induced by a person at Shrewsbury (where she had been living) to invest all she had in some speculative transaction, which had turned up blank, and ruined her. Upon hearing this story, Mr. Watson Taylor again helped her with a gift of £10: but it was not long before Messrs. Parke and Co. received another visit from the woman; and they then sent one of their clerks down to Shrewsbury, with the view of ascertaining her real position in that place. The woman’s character was then discovered. It appeared that she had been convicted of obtaining money under false pretences from different parties, and had been several times in gaol: and of course Messrs. Parke at once cut off any further communication with her. On Saturday night last the same woman arrived in Devizes by train, and having made some enquiries about the people of the neighbourhood, she sallied forth on Monday morning for Erle Stoke; but being told that the Rev. Mr. Wilton (of West Lavington) was the officiating clergyman in Mr. Watson Taylor’s parish, she first gave him a call, and informed him of the nature of her visit to this part of the country. Under the will of the late Mr. John Taylor (a younger brother of Mr. Watson Taylor) she was, she said, entitled to £10,000, and the object of her journey was to have the matter settled. Mr. Wilton, however, knew more about Mr. Watson Taylor’s family than she had perhaps supposed; he at once told her she must be mistaken about Mr. John Taylor’s will: that Mr. John Taylor had died a minor, and could therefore have no property to leave. The woman, however, persisted in her story with the utmost effrontery: but finding that Mr. Wilton was beyond persuasion, she left, and proceeded at once to Erle Stoke Park, where she boldly asked an audience of Mr. Watson Taylor: and upon this being denied her, she pressed hard for an interview with Lady Charlotte, pretending now that she had come from Shrewsbury for the express purpose of contradicting a report which she was told was current, of her being entitled to £10,000 under Mr. John Taylor’s will, and which reports he feared might militate against her in Mr. Watson Taylor’s mind. Finding however that nothing could be done at Erle Stoke, she departed, leaving her story in the hands of the butler and servants of the establishment, and came back to Devizes, where she sought out the clergy of the town, and to them repeated her tale about the report which had got abroad of her being entitled to £10,000 under Mr. John Taylor’s will; adding that she had unfortunately, either at Didcot, or somewhere on the line, in her journey to Devizes, lost every farthing of money she had brought with her from Shrewsbury, together with her luggage; and asking for the loan of £2 to pay for her journey back. A long consultation ensued at the Rectory, between the Rector, the Rev. Mr. Copner, and the Rev. Mr. Walke, as to what should be done: the Rector kindly offered to get her lodgings for the night and provide her a supper; but this she indignantly refused; she had not been accustomed to receive charity; all she wanted was a loan, which would be returned immediately she reached Shrewsbury; so at last it was resolved that Mr. Walke should go to Erle Stoke and enquire of Mr. Watson Taylor whether he knew anything of the woman. He did so; and Mr. Watson Taylor at once communicated to Mr. Walke all that had taken place; and in the meantime sent to Devizes to request Mr. Wolfe (the Superintendent of Police) to see whether some steps could not be taken to punish her. The woman, however, was a little too quick even for Mr. Wolfe. Getting scent of what was up, she made a speedy exit from Devizes by train; and has not since been heard of.
— Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette, Thursday 03 March 1859 source
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ANOTHER FEMALE IMPOSTOR.—On Saturday last a woman named Sarah Westwood, of Shrewsbury, arrived here by rail, and went on to West Lavington, where she called on the Rev. Mr Wilton and asked for assistance, alleging that she was related to Mr Watson Taylor, and that she had come on purpose to establish her claim to a fortune of £10,000 left her by a deceased member of the family. Mr Wilton declined to give credence to so improbable a story, especially as he happened to know that the Mr Taylor referred to by the woman died a minor. On his telling the woman this, she altered her tale, and said she had come to renounce her claim to the property, and she solicited assistance on account of having lost all her money and luggage at Didcot station. Failing, however, in obtaining what she sought at West Lavington, she went on to Erlestoke House; but Mr Watson Taylor, for good reasons which will hereinafter appear, refused to see her. Under these disheartening circumstances Mrs Westwood returned to Devizes, and on Monday made her way to another clergyman—the Rev. W. D. Walke, one of the Curates of St. James’s, to whom she told her tale, and who became so interested in her behalf that he posted over to Erlestoke Park, that evening, to see Mr Taylor on the subject. That gentleman, however, declined the interview. On Mr Walke’s return, lodgings for the night were taken for the woman and on the following day Mr Hayward, Mr Taylor’s agent, went to Erlestoke, and ascertained the facts of the case. Sarah Westwood, it appears, is a niece of a person formerly in the employ of Mr Watson Taylor’s family, and he had known her when a child, but had subsequently lost sight of her. Some years ago he received a letter from her, begging for assistance, and alleging that she had lost all her money through having lent it to a speculative man. Mr Taylor kindly sent her £10; but, on her calling at his town residence on a begging errand, some time afterwards, he referred her to his solicitors, and the inquiries thereupon made led to the discovery that she was a notorious impostor, and had suffered several imprisonments for obtaining money under false pretences.
—These facts were communicated to Mr Supt. Wolfe on Tuesday, and he was requested to take the measures necessary to prosecute her for this fresh exercise of her powers of imposition; but Mrs Westwood, finding her visit to these parts likely to be less successful than she could wish, took her departure by train yesterday morning.
— Wiltshire Independent, Thursday 03 March 1859 source
I’ve looked for follow-up reports because Mr Supt. Wolfe “was requested to take the measures necessary to prosecute her” but I think she got away with this one.