No. 583
Crime, Eccentricity, and the Sporting Life in 19th Century America.
November 29, 2022
alias: DILLON, MARY ANN DOWD, SANDERS
Fifteen-year-old Jody Randall of Long Beach, California, was in most ways a typical suburban teenager. The one thing that set her apart was a passion for antiques which was unusual for someone of her youth. As a result of spending all her available free time (and her parents’ money) on her hobby, she eventually amassed some impressive pieces, including a doll collection noteworthy enough to
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Strange Company - 11/28/2022
Shell and Pea Game on the Trail"Sketched from life by M. W. Newberry"San Francisco ChronicleApril 10, 1898(Click image to enlarge)
UNKO MEN AND THEIR TRICKS A wonderfully detailed description of the modus operandi of Soapy Smith's three shell and pea manipulators along the Chilkoot and White Pass trails. Witnessed and reported by Joseph D. Barry, and published in the San Francisco
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Soapy Smith's Soap Box - 11/21/2022
Working as a domestic servant in 19th century New York City had plenty of challenges. Sure, servants received room and board in addition to their wages, and they usually had at least Sunday afternoon off. But living in another family’s home was isolating and lonely—particularly if you didn’t speak English or weren’t accustomed to urban […]
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Ephemeral New York - 11/28/2022
On this date in 2002, Pakistani Mir Aimal Kansi, Kasi, or Qazi was executed by lethal injection in Virginia, U.S.A. “Real angry with the policy of the U.S. government in the Middle East, particularly toward the Palestinian people,”* Qazi on January 25, 1993 revenged himself on Central Intelligence Agency commuters queued for a left turn […]
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Executed Today - 11/14/2022
Museum of the City of New YorkWilliam Howe and Abraham Hummel were the most successful
criminal lawyers in Gilded Age New York. With a combination of skill,
showmanship, and unethical practices, they defended most of the city’s significant
criminals and many of its murderers. Whether they won or lost, Howe and Hummel
made every trial sensational.
Here are a few of the many accused murderers
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Murder By Gaslight - 11/26/2022
Wishing you a happy and bountiful Thanksgiving Day! Lizzie is thankful for turkey and all the trimmings – and no mutton broth in sight!
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Lizzie Borden: Warps and Wefts - 11/22/2022
An article I recently wrote for the British online magazine, New Politic, is now available online. The article, “The Criminal Origins of the United States of America,†is about British convict transportation to America, which took place between the years 1718 and 1775, and is the subject of my book, Bound with an Iron Chain: […]
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Pay-day at the mines in the vicinity of Robinson, Col., is always followed by a night of boisterous merriment. Last Saturday was no Exception to the rule, and a gang of the "boys," headed by Ed. Dolin, Jimmy Higgins, John Tye, Jerry Ryan and others got hold of a Jack mule or burro. Ed Dolan mounted the beast, and with his feet touching the ground, headed the procession. The others urged the animal along by pounding its buttocks with boards and cudgels. The gang made for a dance hall kept by two women named Jennie Stone and Nellie Williams alias "Buffalo Nell." Dolan rode astride the ass, made a charge on the bar, and presenting two cocked poppers, persuaded Buffalo Nell to set up San Juan cock tails for the crowd. About the time the gang were soaked, policeman Andy Purvin appeared on the scene, and a general stampede was made for the door. Boss Dolan and the ass went over a high side walk into a bank of snow, and it was only after a good deal of tumbling and much hard talk praying that they were placed on a solid footing again.
