BAD SEED in the BIG APPLE

OK, every once and a while it’s important to have a little fun. I imagine that Patrick Downey the author of Bad Seeds in the Big Apple: Bandits, Killers, and Chaos in New York City, 1920-40must have had a blast researching his book. Reading it was most enjoyable! The book starts out with a synopsis of Gentleman Gerald Chapman (Yippee- cause I still can’t find my book!) and moves on to other notable criminals who are seldom heard about anymore such as the Whittamore gang. Then there are a number of well known and less well known punks such as Two Gun Crowley who weren’t stand up criminals but who were glorified or vilified in the press. In one respect, the book is sad – it’s sad to have one story after another of boys/men who have barely begun life throw their lives away for a thrill. It’s funny why don’t I consider it sad that someone as bright as Gerald Chapmen chose a life of crime, but some pimply faced adolescent whose only claim to fame is killing policemen in an amazing shootout (Crowley) is really depressing to me. I guess because guys like Chapman at least had a chance to live for a bit. Sure, they made bad choices but they lived the life they chose. A kid like Francis Crowley— I don’t think he was mature enough to have thought through what he did. I’m not trying to excuse him. Everyone has to pay the price of his or her actions and that’s one thing this book demonstrates time and time again. Some of these men deserve to be better known (professionalism has its merits) and the rest of Downey’s subjects make great cautionary tales. All in all a good read for the summer. BUT, don’t buy this book expecting a who’s who of NYC’s criminal world if you want to read about Owney Madden, Legs Diamond, etc. You’ll have to look elsewhere—but then you’d miss reading about all of these interesting screw-ups you never heard of before!

Maybes

Well my idea maybe half-witted but I think it's as good a hunch as anyone has ever had to figuring out Vivian's past. My idea that Vivian's maiden name may not have been Davis has been fun to research. Since Vivian had listed Springfield, Mo as her hometown, I started with some old school records from Greene County Mo. Luckily of the 2 other Vivian's that I found who were an appropriate age one was very easily eliminated. Vivian Gaunt was alive and well with her family in the 1920 census the same year that Vivian Davis is found living in KCMO in January of that year and by April marries George M. Chase.

So I have one other canditate. Vivian Byrne, who became more frustrating with every step (that is so like Vivian Chase)! I find Vivian Byrne in the 1912-1913 school year Springfield attending the Liberty School. I can't find her at all in the 1920 census, but in the 1910 census I find her with her family. She is the adopted daughter of G.W. Byrne and Susannie Byrne. I can find the Missouri death certificate for George Washington Bryne in 1928 but no further record for Susannie. I'm hampered because I am only guessing at Susannie's name. The 1910 census takers penmanship was not neat. I have no success with Susannah, Susan, or Susamie. Was the diminutive Susie used back then?

Well while it's too soon to tell if Vivian Byrne and Vivian Chase are the same people it is promising to me. The FBI and police tried hard to find out about Vivian's background. Maybe the reason that they got nowhere was that there wasn't any family left that she knew about. In some ways this is good in some ways it's frustrating. There's a good chance that I may learn all about another woman who turns out not to be Vivian Chase. Nothing beats a failure but a try. Oh yeah, start praying now because accessing adoption records is going to make getting Harry Pierpont's competency information seem easy.

$#!#

I've misplaced my copy of Robert Alcorn's Count of Gramercy Park. "Gentleman "Gerald Chapman has been mentioned in the last couple of books I read.
I guess he was the first 20th century celebrity criminal. My copy is old and moth eaten. I suffer from an allergy to dust mites so I figured I let it air out for awhile. Been over a year now, the book should be readable. If only I knew where it was.

Mr. Chapman was an extraordinary thief who escaped from federal custody (several times); while on the lam he committed a robbery in CT. A policeman was killed. Caught and sentenced to hang, the Gentleman's attorney argued that he could not be executed by a state because technically he was still a ward of the federal prison system. Lepke Buchalter's lawyer argued the same thing. It's surprising that Buchalter's attorney went that route. They hung Chapman and the public certainly liked him a lot more than they did Mr. Buchalter.

If I were to write a book, I think I would write it on Gentleman Gerald or someone like him. My understanding is that Alcorn's book isn't a definitive work. I haven't been able to find another bio on Chapman.

Lepke Buchalter

It's funny after finishing Paul R. Kavieff's biography of Lepke BuchalterThe Life and Times of Lepke Buchalter: America's Most Ruthless Labor Racketeer I can honestly say that I feel no sympathy for Louis Buchalter. I've felt more sympathy for serial killers than I did for Lepke. It stands to reason though. Lepke could not have been who he was if a wuss like me could identify with him! Let's see...started out as your basic pick pocket. Discovered more money in busting heads for or against labor unions. Discovered the real money was in taking over the businesses that he'd worked for. A lot of times the prior owners were killed or maimed when they protested. On the side he was the CEO of Murder, Inc. a group of hit men who specialised in killing people who displeased the mob. He did it all so well, too. In the end, he was taken down by a ruse conceived by Lucky Luciano and eventually paid the ultimate price for ordering the murder of a hapless trucking company owner he had hounded out of his business and never adequately compensated. Never pays to be cheap.

I've got mixed emotions about this book. I'm not sure if my lack of enthusiasm isn't because hoods aren't thieves.

Vivian Again

so far I actually have 2 candidates for my little theory that Vivian was born or raised in Springfield but her maiden name was not Davis...Vivian Gaunt 11 years old in 1911 and Vivian Byrne 12 years old in 1911. Both in Springfield for the right time frame. In fact Vivian Gaunt moved from Springfield around 1917. It may be a wild goose chase but hey...nothing ventured nothing gained.

Hmmm...

OK, so for a while now Vivian's kind of had me stumped. It's like the more I learn the less I know. I'd been thinking that maybe Vivian Davis wasn't her maiden name. The marriage certificate to George Chase listed her maiden name as Vivian Davis from KC, MO and her age as 19. I can find Vivian Davis earlier in that year (1920) in the census as a single waitress in KC, MO. When she was booked for her fight with Mrs. Flournoy in 1926 she listed her hometown as Springfield, MO. Now, I've looked for Vivian Davis in Springfield and I found one. But she died in 1920 at 15 years old.

Vivian was most likely born around 1901; unfortunately, birth certificates were not required in MO until 1910. (For now, I'm sticking to MO as a birth place) The MO state archives has a wonderful website with digital vital records and indexes for the period before 1910. But no luck. I'm more than likely going to need to travel for what I'm looking for in KC (school records and such)to determine if there was a Vivian Davis who at school there during the right time period. That is going to have to wait for a while until I can afford to get away. So while I'm waiting to pursue that angle I'll see if I can't find another Vivian in Springfield during the right time frame. I found some old school records online so.... It's just one possibility and it won't hurt. Might not help but it won't hurt.

The Starker Big Jack Zelig

Anyone who's followed my blog is aware that I enjoy Rose Keefe's work so it won't come as any surprise that I think The Starker: Big Jack Zelig, the Becker-Rosenthal Case, and the Advent of the Jewish Gangster
is much better than good.

What surprised me was Keefe's ability to bring Zelig to life. While I was excited when I heard about the book (research on a period that deserves a more detailed look), I had my doubts that someone who has been dead for over 90 years and who has NOT been studied in depth could be “brought to life” {clichés exist for a reason}. As much as I love her work, I honestly wondered whether Rose Keefe could pull it off. She did!

“Big Jack Zelig” is only a marginal figure in most crime histories. He rose to prominence as ‘the” NYC Jewish Gang leader in the first decade of the 20th century. Here’s a man who died in 1912 and, in most histories, whose chief claim to fame had been the circumstances of his death. He was murdered by Red Phil Davidson in order to keep him from testifying for the defense in the Herman "Beansy" Rosenthal murder trial. The Rosenthal murder was the crime of the century during this time period. Charles Becker a NYPD Lieutenant was railroaded and executed for the murder. Zelig was to testify in his defense but was killed to prevent his naming the true killers and exonerating Becker.

Keefe introduces readers to Zelig Zvi Lefkowitz more person than myth. A young, bright child, who did not understand why the money that he drew wouldn't ease his family and neighbors' lives, Zelig, was a bright kid from a respectable family who chose to steal (how familiar). In his teens he became an accomplished "gun" as pickpockets were called then. When he was younger he could bring tears to his eyes at will when he was caught to feign hunger and desperate need so his victims would have sympathy for him. Oddly enough, he was only a peripheral member of Monk Eastman's gang, while he was a good thief, Zelig wasn't a standout thug. He actually chickened out on the first murder he agreed to do. A trip to Chicago and a severe beating at the hands of gamblers changed that. He returned to NYC a hardened man who would not back down. Keefe writes about Zelig's world detailing an array of colorful gang members, seedy gamblers, and corrupt politicians with just enough detail to be enjoyable with out ever getting too scholarly.

To me a good historical biography knows what to leave out. The book never stopped being about Big Jack Zelig. It would be easy to let the Herman Rosenthal murder and the Becker trials overwhelm Zelig's story. I could go on and on but in a nutshell Rose Keefe did a lot better than I would have thought possible. She takes her subject a man who has become a marginal figure in the 90 years after his death and lets the reader understand just who Big Jack Zelig is and why some people called him great. This book is a lot better than good. Take a look at Rose Keefe's Zelig web page for more information: http://www.jackzelig.com/

The Jews of Sing Sing

The Jews of Sing Sing by Ron Arons would have been much more enjoyable if I didn't have prior knowledge about the subject matter. The book is short on analysis. If you don't know anything about historic crime, you might find Arons' book interesting.