Grace Marks

Grace Marks was an Upper Canadian maid who was convicted in 1843 of murder in the death of her employer Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery. Her conviction was controversial, and sparked much debate about whether Marks was actually instrumental in the murder, or merely an unwitting accessory.

Marks was born and raised in Northern Ireland, had 8 siblings, with another 3 who were stillborn. Marks's father was a stone mason, an alcoholic and abusive person. The family immigrated to Canada in 1840 when she was 12. Her mother died on the ship en route to Canada, and was buried at sea.

In her murder trial, Marks was tried alongside James McDermott. Marks was put in an asylum and later a penitentiary, while McDermott was hanged. After almost thirty years of incarceration, Marks was exonerated and moved to Northern New York. After that, all trace of her was lost.

A number of theories were offered as to Marks' mental state: that she was simply pretending to have psychological problems to get into the asylum, that she had multiple personality disorder, or that she was possessed by the consciousness of her deceased friend Mary Whitney. Another theory, controversial but supported by some evidence, was that Marks had died, not Whitney, and Whitney had adopted Marks' name and identity.

In 1996, author Margaret Atwood published a novel about Marks, Alias Grace. In that novel's reviews, several critics pointed out eerie similarities between Marks and a more recently controversial Canadian murder convict, Karla Homolka.

External links

• Life in the clearings versus the bush, Susanna Moodie (1853)