Vintage Photos, Genealogy & Crime Stories
There's a shrewdness in her eyes. And what about her mouth, with its barely up-turned corners, as if she's just finished telling the photographer a joke and is waiting to see if he gets it. Her body language is relaxed, despite that high-collared, stiffly pleated shirtwaist she's got on. From the collection of the author. … Continue reading Arresting Attire
When Florence Brown got home from the dance, her husband Jack met her at the door. He was either pleased to see her or as angry as a wasp, depending on whose story you want to believe. Jack left the dance early. Why? Reasons varied. Either his feet were hurting from a burn he'd gotten … Continue reading Gun Play
A few months ago I bought 15 rare photos from an established Oakland ephemera dealer who sells vintage mugshots. Here’s what he knew about the photos: “These came in the large collection I purchased of San Francisco police mug shots over twenty years ago. A man in his 90s sold them to the owner of the … Continue reading San Francisco’s Secret Sex Workers
Her dress, with its soft silhouette and wide fabric belt, emphasizes her generous bust. The bodice of the dress is covered with lace or embroidery. Based on the dress, which is all I have to go on, I’d guess the photo of this fashionable, attractive woman was taken around 1910. It's possible the photo was … Continue reading Hiding the Camera?
Herman Perlmutter had a problem with Esther, his 16-year-old daughter. The middle child of seven, she refused to get a job in a factory like her older siblings had done. With nine mouths to feed, Herman and his wife, Celia — Jewish immigrants who came to America fleeing the pogroms in Hungary — desperately needed … Continue reading A Defect of the Heart
A young girl was found wandering in the vicinity of New York City’s Bowery neighborhood on a cold day in February 1920. She was taken to a Christian missionary society, where she told authorities a disturbing story about having been forced to become the “child wife” of a much older man. Mary Banta, the missionary … Continue reading The Strange Case of Marie Chin Wore
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
The smell must have been horrendous when the police finally entered the apartment, given how long the old man’s body had been lying there. It was murder — there was no question about that. He’d been shot with a single bullet to the back of the head. Robbery was thought to be the motive because … Continue reading Her Mona Lisa Smile
Mrs. Catherine O. Neill will have to spend her Christmas in the Tombs Prison, much as she desires to be taken to Connecticut to be tried on the charge of murdering her husband, Joseph Neill, on the night of Dec. 14. Sheriff Rich of Greenwich says that this is due to Gov. Higgins being away … Continue reading Christmas in the Tombs
Thirty-two-year-old Frieda Trost gave the prison photographer a wide-eyed, stoic stare. Despite not showing any sign of emotion, she had plenty of reason to be afraid. Frieda had just been convicted of murdering her husband, William Trost, and was facing the noose. If her sentence was carried out, she would be the first woman executed … Continue reading The Woman Without Tears
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
On May 30, 1914, a group of eleven men and one woman—people affiliated with the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World, aka the “Wobblies”)—gathered in the public square in Tarrytown, New York. Their intention was to hold an open-air meeting to protest the recent Ludlow Massacre. The massacre occurred the previous month when the National … Continue reading The Protester
Captured and Exposed 