Vintage Photos, Genealogy & Crime Stories
I’ve pretty much stopped buying vintage mugshots on eBay because there’s almost nothing of interest for sale, but recently two photos popped up that captured my eye. They were CDVs of two young African American males, both of whom had been arrested in 1895 for “housebraking,” according to the backs of the cards. The photos … Continue reading “Housebraking”
Pearl Clifton had a serious love of drink, along with a tendency to be reckless, which her taste for booze didn’t help. On the night of February 27, 1897, her world came crashing down when she was arrested after her ill-fated attempt to burn down her house at 250 Normal Avenue in Buffalo, New York. … Continue reading Older Than the Hills in Crime
Naturally before writing my biography of nineteenth century conwoman, Sophie Lyons, I researched her life extensively. I was successful in tracing the lives of her various husbands and children. But one notable exception to my success was Sophie’s third daughter, Charlotte Lyons, known as Lotta Belmont. Born 1875 in Montreal, Canada, Lotta arrived during a … Continue reading A Granddaughter in Vienna
Kate Dickson first appeared in the racist newspapers of Leavenworth, Kansas on August 29, 1895, when The Leavenworth Times reported that she had been stabbed three or four times on the breast by “the notorious Lulu Jefferson,” and that “none of the stabs were fatel.” The news report included the information that Kate had also … Continue reading Slashed
A couple of months ago this image caught my eye when I saw it for sale at an online vintage photo fair. The seller titled it "Four mug shots framed in a mat with a prisoner stripe motif." Obviously, I wasn't able to examine it in person, but got in touch with the seller and … Continue reading An Odd Display
Born in Texas on July 14, 1876, 100 years and ten days after the United States, Nathan Bridgeforth became prisoner #2007 at Leavenworth on February 26, 1900. Seven weeks earlier, he pleaded guilty to forgery in the Northern District Court of Muskogee, Indian Territory. The details of the crime that sent him to Leavenworth have … Continue reading The Cowboy
Mary Grayson, Mollie Martin and Louie Vann were charged with “robbing J. Teter at Tulsa." The Claremore Commissioner’s Court in Indian Territory held them for a grand jury hearing on bond of $300 each. Of the three, only Mary Grayson was convicted of a crime: larceny. She was sentenced to three years in prison on … Continue reading Three Mary Graysons
Recently I spoke to Tori Telfer, the host of the podcast Criminal Broads, about my biography of Sophie Lyons. I shared some stories with Tori about Sophie's crazy life and her long career in crime. Here's the link to the podcast, or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Women have often been seen as victims … Continue reading Sophie Lyons on Criminal Broads
A Chicago detective named Clifton Woolridge described Bertha Liebbeke as a “girlish young woman, with the baby dimples and skin of peach and cream, the innocent blue eyes, and the smiles that play so easily over her face as she talks vivaciously and with keen sense of both wit and humor.” Woolridge was clearly smitten … Continue reading Fainting Bertha
Harry Featherstone started his bank robbery career in his late teens. By the time he was 22, he had served time in Indiana’s state prison for safe robbery and in the Illinois State Penitentiary for burglary. Harry was born “Henry Featherstonhaugh” and was named for his grandfather. In England, where Grandpa Henry was born, the … Continue reading The Bank Robber and the Baronet
After watching The Alienist: Angel of Darkness I wondered about Sara Howard, the protagonist in season two of the show. Did a woman like Howard, who works as a detective, actually exist in New York of the 1890s? Author Caleb Carr said he based the character of Howard on a flesh and blood woman named … Continue reading Sherlock Holmes in a Skirt
No one who follows this blog will be surprised to find that I’m a fan of The Alienist, currently in its second season on TNT. The show, based on the novels by Caleb Carr, vividly brings to life crime in gritty lower Manhattan in the late nineteenth century, complete with dimly lit saloons, dogfights in … Continue reading The Real Inspector Byrnes
Captured and Exposed 