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Author Archives: Anthony Vaver

Anthony Vaver has broad expertise in the social and cultural history of crime and punishment. He holds a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and an M.L.S. from Rutgers University.

Early American Criminals: Daniel Wilson: Horse Thief, Burglar, and Rapist

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Daniel Wilson was confident he could escape from prison one more time. He was being held in the Providence jail after committing a rape back in December 1773 in Smithfield, RI. He had escaped from the jail twice before, although both times he was caught and returned. But he vowed to himself on this early […]

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Crime Poems: The Three Counterfeiters

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

In September 1766, Richard Hodges and John Newingham Clark were convicted by the Superior Court in Boston of breaking into a shop and stealing fifty pounds worth of goods. As punishment, they were each fined twenty pounds, ordered to pay triple damages, imprisoned for six months, and bound for good behavior for twelve months. After […]

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Special Limited-Time Price Drop for Bound with an Iron Chain

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Did you receive a Kindle, Nook, or other e-reader as a gift for the holidays? Now you can load my Amazon.com bestselling book, Bound with an Iron Chain: The Untold Story of How the British Transported 50,000 Convicts to Colonial America, onto your e-reader for only $0.99. Kindle: Amazon.com. Nook: Barnes and Noble All other […]

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Early American Criminals: Samuel Bellamy’s Treasure

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

It was love at first sight for Samuel Bellamy and Mary Hallett. According to local lore, when the two met on a spring evening in 1715 in a tavern in Eastham, MA on Cape Cod, they began to talk about marriage. But when Hallett’s wealthy parents put a stop to the plan when they learned […]

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The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: Now on Twitter (and Other Special Announcements)

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Get a Daily Dose of Early American Crime! The American Malefactor’s Dictionary is now on Twitter at the username @EarlyAmerCrime. Entries for the dictionary will appear daily, Monday through Friday, and you can see all of them by clicking the #CrimeDict hashtag or typing it in the Twitter search box. Daily Twitter entries at @EarlyAmerCrime […]

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