Stories
Early Characters
Humpty Jackson – The Hunchback of the Gas House District
Thomas "Humpty" Jackson born in 1879 and died in 1951, he was a New York criminal and last of the independent gang leaders in New York's underworld during the early 20th century. He was, however, known to be a violent man who regularly carried three revolvers,...
George Appo – An Extraordinary Pickpocket
George Washington Appo was born on the 4th of July 1854 in New Haven, Connecticut to a Chinese father, Quimbo Appo also known in Chinese as Lee Ah Bow and an Irish mother Catherine Fitzpatrick. George Appo died in Manhattan in 1930. George Appo was no ordinary...
Weapons – The Shillelagh, Shillelagh Law & Faction Fights
The Shillelagh (pronounced shi - lay - la) is the name for a traditional Irish stick or stick of blackthorn wood, its usually sold to tourists and is a symbol of Irishness, it is on the logo of sports clubs, political office and other places around the world however,...
The Distinguished Owen Vincent Madden of Hot Springs, Arkansas
Owen Vincent Madden was a quiet an unassuming character in Hot Springs, Arizona, he married the postmasters daughter, Agnes Denby. He was often seen out on the streets tipping his hat to the women. He was always quick to give impressive donations to the Boys Club. He...
Vinegar Hill – Irishtown – Brooklyn New York
In the 1800's and during the Great Famine of Ireland many Irish settled along the banks of the Brooklyn Waterfront, over time there were so many Irish living there it became known as Irishtown. Many found employment in the Navy Yard, on the docks of the waterfront and...
A murder on the Brooklyn Docks
After the deaths of "Wild" Bill Lovett & Richard "Peg Leg" Lonergan, the White Hand Gang were in turmoil. After a spree of killings and revenge killings Eddie McGuire had taken control of the gang, very briefly, on the night of 27th December 1929 Eddie McGuire...
Yakey Yake Brady
John or James "Yakey Yake" Brady was the founder and leader of the Yakey Yakes, an independent street gang based in Manhattan, New York at the turn of the 20th century. Under his leadership, the gang, which had its base around the Brooklyn Bridge, operated freely...
River Pirates on the Hudson & East Rivers
From 1866 to 1877 river pirates terrorized the water of New York's rivers and harbor robbing cargo and what ever other goods they could from boats that were docked or coming in to port. Piracy in the waters of New York became so bad that the police eventually set up a...
“Old” Jimmy Hope – Master Bank Robber
James Hope was born in Philadelphia to Irish parents in 1836, the family were poor and Jimmy took a job as a machinist when he was a teenager. He married young and had a family but Jimmy Hope would soon find himself attracted to a life of crime. He would go on to...