After one week, hunger finally drove Owen Syllavan out of his hiding place in the Connecticut woods and forced him to seek refuge with an acquaintance. Syllavan cut open a plank in the floor of his friend’s house, dug a large cavity that went under the hearth of the fireplace, and rigged a vent so [...]
As soon as Joseph Andrews read the newspaper article in the St. Christopher’s Gazette, which reproduced the deposition William Harris gave to the authorities, he knew he had to leave the Caribbean island of St. Eustatia immediately. The decision was a wise one, because as soon as Governor John De Windt read the same story [...]
booly-dog – a police officer. From bulldog, via bouledogue (French). Note: This cartoon by Thomas Nast–which depicts a bulldog dressed in the uniform of a police officer–was inspired by charges of corruption and graft in the New York City Police Department by Rev. Charles Parkhurst in 1892. Parkhurst accused police officials of accepting money for [...]
Robert Wilhelm, the author and publisher of the excellent Murder by Gaslight blog has just launched a new website called The National Night Stick. Readers of crime on the Web have come to expect engaging tales of 19th-century murder and mayhem on Murder by Gaslight, and The National Night Stick promises to follow in this [...]
Note: This post continues “Thomas Mount’s Crime Tips.” Long before Nicholas Pileggi wrote Wiseguy and revealed the inner-workings of present-day organized crime, Thomas Mount in 1791 disclosed the secrets of the Flash Company, a gang of burglars, thieves, and highwaymen. As a part of his revelations, Mount asked that the language and songs of [...]
In April 1791, Thomas Mount and James Williams were thrown in the Newport, RI jail to be held until their execution for burglary. Williams was reticent to discuss his life or the crime that the two committed, but Mount not only willingly talked at length about these topics, he divulged the inner-workings of the [...]
Francis Uss handed a manuscript to a visitor a “day or two before his suffering.” The manuscript was an account of his life and crimes, and it gives a remarkable picture of a man waiting to be hanged. Back and Forth Uss said that he was born in 1761 to “reputable parents,” who lived in [...]
Even though William Huggins and John Mansfield were both born into good families, their backgrounds couldn’t have been more different. Huggins was raised in New York, served in the army, and then worked the land as a farm laborer. Mansfield was born in the Province of Maine and traveled the sea as a sailor. But [...]
Isaac Frasier was colonial America’s most prolific burglar. In his Brief Account of the Life, and Abominable Thefts, of the Notorious Isaac Frasier, he recorded over 50 acts of burglary and theft and stated that he committed many more that he could not specifically remember. He toured all over New England and into New York, [...]
Read my article on Anthony Lamb, who was perhaps America’s most successful transported convict, in February’s issue of The Readex Report: “‘Human Serpents sent us by our Mother Country’: The Transformation of Anthony Lamb, Transported Convict.” * * * J. L. Bell posted a follow-up to my recent article about the burglar William Linsey on [...]
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. Vaver has been profiled and interviewed by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, D.C. Public Safety Radio, and other media outlets. He is also the author of the Amazon.com bestselling book, Bound with an Iron Chain. Contact Me.
All purchases made by going through the links on this website help to keep it running--whether you buy the products specifically listed or find something else you would rather purchase. Prices are exactly the same as if you went directly to the commercial website.
If you are interested in advertising on my website, please contact me.
Books reviewed on this website are supplied by the publisher.
Do you like this website?
If you do, then click this button to let Google know:
Read my new book, Bound with an Iron Chain: The Untold Story of How the British Transported 50,000 Convicts to Colonial America, an Amazon.com bestseller! Visit Pickpocket Publishing for more details.
Subscribe to all posts via an RSS feed.
Subscribe to all posts by Email.
Subscribe to all podcasts on iTunes.
