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 [...]
I was recently in London and had the good fortune to interview and enjoy afternoon tea with Lucy Inglis, who is the author/publisher of Georgian London. Lucy and I met on Monday, April 18 at Blacks in Soho, London, and we talked about eighteenth-century London, crime, and the perception of Americans by Londoners during [...]
In the 1930’s, John A. Lomax and his son, Alan Lomax, traveled around the United States collecting and recording ballads and songs sung by cowboys, lumberjacks, slaves, creoles, and railway men. They also recorded work songs sung by convicts in Southern prison farms. The following song, “Black Betty,” appears in their 1934 compilation, American [...]
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 [...]
Johnson Green was born in Bridgewater, MA on February 7, 1757 to unmarried parents. His father was a servant who worked for Timothy Edson. His mother was a widow named Sarah Johnson. His mother’s maiden name was Green, so he was sometimes called Joseph-Johnson Green. Green’s father was African American; his mother was Irish. Green [...]
Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island was constructed in 1779 in order to protect the lucrative fur trade in northern Michigan and maintain relations with neighboring Native American tribes. The military importance of the Fort diminished as the nineteenth century progressed, but the Fort took on a new role when the Mackinac National Park was established [...]
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, [...]
Note: This post continues “Advice from a Condemned Burglar.” Joseph Atwood and Levi Ames both participated in the burglary of Martin Bicker’s house in 1773, although the extent to which each one was involved was a matter of debate. Both said that the other was the mastermind of the burglary, and Atwood claimed that he [...]
Note: This post continues “The Stories of Levi Ames, Burglar.” After Levi Ames was sentenced to death for his part in the burglary of Martin Bicker in the early fall of 1773, he was held in prison to await his execution. At first, he hoped to find a means of escape, but he came to [...]
On August 23, 1773, Martin Bicker took out the above newspaper advertisement in the hope that it would lead to the capture of Levi Ames’s accomplice in burglarizing his house. Tucked away in the back pages of the Boston Post-Boy, the ad marks the first time that Levi Ames was mentioned in print. Soon, however, [...]
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.
