T H E S I N S O F N E W Y O R K
As "Exposed" by the Police Gazette
By: Edward Van Emery
P A R T I
THE ORIGINAL POLICE GAZETTE (1845)
Chapter 5
They Let George Do It
Hanging Artistically Performed, Satisfactory Work Guaranteed
MONSIEUR NEW YORK
They called him George, though his correct name was quite well known outside
of official circles. He was also known as Monsieur New York. In private life
he was regarded as an estimable neighbor and a worthy friend. Back in the
Eighties he still resided with his family in Harlem in a modest three-story
house close to the East River, in the vicinity of the 125th Street "L"
station, and was a member of the Methodist Church. Very few, if any, among
his associates knew that this quiet and rather portly gentleman with the
ruddy, cheerful visage, and George, or Monsieur New York, the noted hangman,
were one and the same person.
Early in the Fifties the Sheriff of New York was drowning his perplexity in
a glass of hot Scotch in Matt Gorderson's popular hostelry opposite the City
Hall when he was approached by a pleasant-faced young man who remarked:
"Sheriff, I hear you are looking for a man to do that little job for you
next Friday?" "I am, indeed," was the answer.
"Well, I wish you would give me a chance to do that little job for you. I'll
do my best, I assure you, Sheriff, and I believe I will give every
satisfaction."
The little job in question was the hanging of a Negro prisoner. it seems
that the man who had been delegated to attend to the execution of the
condemned man had suddenly changed his mind and the sheriff was encountering
much trouble in finding some one to undertake the duties of hangman. The
sheriff was agreeably surprised when George called on him the day after the
above conversation and made formal application for the post of common hangman.
GEORGE AS BUTCHER AND DEPUTY SHERIFF
George, it turned out, was a butcher's assistant in Washington Market and
was then aged about thirty. He had read the autobiography of Jack Ketch, the
renowned high-executioner of Great Britain, and had conceived the idea that
he was called upon to emulate this historic character in his own city.
Anyway, George was appointed a deputy sheriff, was conducted around to the
tier of the condemned in the Tombs and, looking the situation over
generally, as it were, he thereupon entered upon his duties with great zeal
and in quick time became a true connoisseur in his peculiar calling.
The Negro was duly hanged and the delicate operation was performed with such
perfection that Monsieur New York, as he shortly came to be known, had his
fame established at once. He soon was regarded as an authority in the
science of inflicting death by means of the halter. His fame spread until
his services were in demand all over the United States.
Until George became a specialist in his vocation the several hangings that
had taken place in the vicinity of New York had been by means of what was
known as the "Trap gallows," and the dispatching of the doomed had been
attended with much awkward work, and in some instances the business had
involved gruesome torture. The visitation of death upon Angelo Cornetti was
most horrifying. We read that "his terrorized clamor was like the barking of
a dog as he was led to the scaffold, and his body was not sufficiently heavy
to produce the requisite rebound to dislocate the neck, so that death came
through strangulation in a way that sickened all onlookers."
GEORGE AND THE BUSINESS OF HANGING
George showed himself to be an artist from the very first. Even before the
undertaking of his first assignment, he was inspired by a desire to excel in
his work, and in his leisure hours he had given much thought and study to
this business of hanging. His daily visits to the slaughter-house had made
him familiar with the use of the windlass then in use for the hoisting of
the cattle and he applied the principle of the windlass to the perfection of
an apparatus for the "humane accommodation of the law-breaking community."
With the able assistance of a carpenter named Joseph B. Atkinson, their
joint efforts produced "a perfected gibbet" which came to be termed the New
York pattern, and the inventors brought forth a species of machinery which,
to use their own language, "was unsurpassed in simplicity and perfection of
construction by any machine in the market." It was generally conceded that
the invention worked so faultlessly that, if such a thing had been possible,
the inventors would surely have boasted the possession of "testimonials from
the nether regions."
George took genuine pride, indeed, in his work. He was not merely "the man
who cut the rope and thus cut off the thread-life of the culprit." He was
the master of ceremonies who supervised the erection of the gallows and the
adjustment of the weights, and the testing of the hooks, the ropes and the
noose. "On the morning of an execution he bustled into the prison yard like
the manager of a theater just prior to the first performance." The quotes
and the information provided in this chapter are all culled from the
illuminating work of Charles A. Mackeever, in the National Police Gazette
and substantiated through other reliable sources.
In a way it was to be regretted that this artist could not have been "master
of ceremonies" at the execution of Guiteau, the assassin of President
Garfield, and which was featured with such detail in the pages of the Gazette.
The conscientious Monsieur New York, we learn, became a very prominent
figure at practically all of the hangings of importance in his time. When
the clergyman attending had signified that the doomed one was fully prepared
for the last event of his life, this short, ruddy-faced, neatly dressed man,
whose snowy white shirt was ornamented by a large diamond, appeared on the
scene. He dropped quietly into the cell and from out of a little black
satchel he took a neatly worked noose and slipped it over the head of the
culprit with such dexterity as to be hardly noticed by the man. Next from
the little black satchel there quickly appeared a black cap, and it was over
the head of the prisoner and his arms were pinioned behind his back in a
jiffy. George carefully avoided giving any needless pain, and his few words
were so well-timed and intoned with such a fine sympathy as to "inspire
confidence even in the victim himself." When the procession arrived at the
gallows the noose was adjusted without the loss of a second. When the body
was taken down, the pulley and pinioning ropes and the noose were returned
to the black satchel and George was ready for the next job. One could not
help but concede that the job was cheap at the price, one hundred dollars,
and that it had been well done. Also one could readily excuse the glow of
pride that was evident in the deportment of Monsieur New York when his
thoroughness and efficiency through every detail were considered.
Monsieur New York helped many noted criminals our of the world and had some
very interesting experiences in providing a "respectable taking off." In
1864 he was specially sent for by General John A. Dix, then in command of
the Department of the East. George was called on to act as executioner of
Captain Beale, on Governors Island, and of Captain Kennedy at Fort
Lafayette.
Captain Beale was a proud-spirited Southerner, who died for the cause he had
espoused and he maintained his pride to the very last moment. He turned his
back on George haughtily with the remark: "Sir, I am a gentleman and desire
to be treated as such." George said later that this particular job was the
hardest one he had ever undertaken.
A month or so later came the hanging of Kennedy, who had been guilty of
burning down a hotel. He had been an officer in the Union army and was a
personal friend of the jailor, the commander of the fort. During the night
before the hanging a carousal took place in the casement, and it is said
that not only the prisoner and the commandant of the fort, but a certain man
of the gospel, were raised to a more or less exhilarated condition. When
George made his appearance on the scene and started talking in his blandest
tones, the significance of his identity was not at first grasped by the
hazy-headed prisoner. The caller's pleasant manner was found so agreeable
that he was invited to have a drink and a cigar, but when George started to
ask personal questions about the Captain's weight Kennedy wanted to know:
"Who the hell are you?"
George answered: "Oh, I'm just here to see that everything goes off all right."
George had to leave the casement in double-quick time. He said it was just
another of the few unpleasant jobs he had experienced.
Such an enthusiast was George in his vocation, it is a matter of record that
when in 1866 thirty Indians were to have been hanged, he communicated with
Washington and offered to pay his own expenses to and from the State of
Nebraska, solely for the purpose of demonstrating how, on a patent gallows
which he had invented, thirty persons, to use his own terms, could be
"worked off at once." This invention was secured by a caveat in the Patent
Office. While George was waiting an answer from Washington, President
Johnson granted pardons to nearly every one of the Indians, and thus the
invention could not be practically tested, much to the chagrin of the proud inventor.
For all his enthusiasm George had a stubborn streak in his system. In 1869,
after Harry Lazarus, who stabbed Barney Friery in a famous killing, and one
Ferris, who had killed his wife with a hatchet in front of the St. James
Church on James Street, had been sent out of the world by Monsieur New York,
he refused positively for some reason or other to put his services further
at the call of Sheriff O'Brien. The latter had to bring in another master of
ceremonies and the departure of John Real was sadly bungled.
However, George was not without employment during the regime of O'Brien as
sheriff, or even through the period when capital punishment was abolished in
the State of New York. That law was made to cover the case of Mrs. Hartford,
who had been guilty of doing away with an obnoxious mate in 1858. After the
many killings of the Civil War the law resumed its right to take human life.
They say that, on more than one occasion, the demands for the fine handiwork
of Monsieur New York were such that, since he could not appear in two parts
of the country at one and the same time, the condemned ones had to wait on
the convenience of the hangman. Possibly, if those who had need of his
special attention would have had any say in the matter, they would have
requested George not to hurry himself.
Only New Jersey, always behind the age, so we read in the Gazette, failed to
recognize the talent of the New York Jack Ketch, though George had offered
on a couple of occasions to work for mere glory. However, George was
tendered the compliment of a pass to the execution in the jail yard at New
Brunswick of Bridget O'Brien, who had slain her mistress, the wife of Dr. Corriel.
"Boys, that Jerseyman will make a mess of the job," was the first remark
made by George when he got a sight of the gallows. Events proved that the
affair was likely to be one of the most unskillful possible.
"What are you trying to do, you damned fool!" cried George, when he saw the
Jerseyman Handling the rope, and then, unable to restrain himself, the
scientific stranger pushed his way through the crowd and saw to it that
Bridget was sent out of this vale of tears in as laudable style as
conditions would permit and the hand of an artist could assure.
THE HANGING OF ALFRED E. HICKS ON BEDLOE'S ISLAND
July 13, 1860, however, was the big day in the life of Monsieur New York.
This was the date of the hanging of Alfred E. Hicks on Bedloe's Island, and
it stands out as a specially gala occasion in the history of New York. Never
before had such a tremendous gathering been privileged to be onlookers upon
the handiwork of the mysterious George. Water carriers by the hundreds,
private and excursion, all heavily loaded hugged the island shore. The sail
was delightful, the day balmy, and the law had provided something unusual
for the seekers of a morbid thrill. And, George? he was truly at his best on
this day, and praise cannot well go beyond this. The crime for which Hicks
was punished was the sensation of the day and the penalty was meted out with
rare expediency, we are informed by the Gazette.
On March 16, 1860, the sloop E.A. Johnson left port for Deep Creek, Va., to
procure a cargo of oysters. The company on board consisted of Captain Burr,
two boys named Oliver and Smith Watts, and a man known as William Johnson.
The captain had with him a considerable sum of money.
At six o'clock on the morning of Wednesday, the 21st, the small sloop was
picked up by the schooner Telegraph, of New London, Conn., and subsequently
towed to Fulton Market slip by the steam tug Ceres. Here she was boarded by
Captain Weed, of the Second Police Precinct, and Coroner Schirmer, who at
once proceeded to make an examination.
The sloop had evidently collided with some other vessel, as was indicated by
the damaged condition of the bowsprit and cutwater. The sails were loose
upon the deck, and everything denoted confusion and violence. The floor,
ceiling, benches and furniture in the cabin were stained with blood, as were
also the clothing, bedding and papers which had been scattered about on the
floor. Marks of the dragging of some bloody substance from the cabin door to
the sides of the rails of the boat were discernible, and the spectacle on
board the sloop was ghastly and horrible. The small boat at the stern was
discovered to be missing.
Within a short time after this discovery two men residing at 129 Cedar
Street appeared at the Second Precinct Station-house and stated that a man
who was believed to have been one of the crew had arrived at his home in the
house where they resided and had appeared to have come into a fortune. By
the time the man was sought he had already made a hurried departure with his
wife and child. The suspected man was quickly traced to a place near
Providence and he was transferred to the custody of Isaiah Rynders, now
United States Marshal. Overwhelming evidence revealed that his real name was
Alfred E. Hicks and that he was the guilty man sought. It took a jury only
seven minutes to pronounce him guilty of piracy and murder on the high seas.
While confined in the Tombs Hicks stated that he desired to make full
confession before his departure from this earth, and before a large
assemblage of officials and reporters the murderer stood with arms and legs
shackled and told minutely and without sign of emotion of the gruesome
happenings aboard the sloop E.A. Johnson on the night of his dreadful crime.
He described the affair as having occurred at 9:30 or 10 o'clock at night,
when Captain Burr and one of the Watts boys were asleep in the cabin. He
said he was steering at the time, and the other Watts was on the lookout at
the bows. He had been shanghaied from a place in Water Street, he declared,
and brought aboard while drunk. Suddenly the devil took possession of him,
and he determined to murder the captain and the crew that very night.
Creeping forward softly, he stole upon the boy at the bows, and with one
blow of an ax knocked out his brains. The noise attracted the attention of
the other Watts, who jumped out of bed and came up the companionway to see
what was the matter. Just at that moment Hicks struck him a heavy blow on
the head and left him weltering in his blood on the deck. He then went down
in search of the captain, and upon entering the cabin they at once came into
conflict. The captain, who was a short, thickset, very muscular man,
grappled with his assailant and there was a long tussle, during which the
stove was upset. The Captain was beginning to master the murderer, when a
well-directed blow of the ax felled him to the floor, another blow and he
was dead. Hicks then went on deck, and taking up the bleeding and helpless
man he had left there, threw him over the vessel's side. The man clutched at
the taffrail, but Hicks chopped off his hands with the ax, and the poor
fellow dropped into the sea. The other bodies were then thrown overboard,
the captain's money-bags were rifled, and Hicks headed the sloop for shore.
He used the small boat to effect a landing.
Among the people who visited Hicks in the Tombs, following his confession,
was P.T. Barnum, who sought a private interview. Barnum had a proposition to
make he was desirous of obtaining a plaster cast of the head and bust of the
murderer for exhibition among the curiosities in his museum. The two came to
terms, the price being twenty-five dollars, with two boxes of cigars tossed
in after some haggling. Barnum then offered to give Hicks a suit of new
clothes for those he had on. The transaction was agreeable to Hicks until
the exchange had been effected, When the prisoner complained to the warden
that the new clothes were not as good as his old ones. But now we will let
the Gazette bring us to Monsieur New York's part in the proceedings.
At 6 o'clock on Thursday, July 12, the day preceding his execution, Mrs.
Hicks took farewell of her husband, but neither exhibited the slightest
emotion. It was more like parting for a few days than forever. At 11 o'clock
he partook of a cup of tea and retired for the night. He was awakened at 4
o'clock the following morning and told to dress. He was perfectly
unconcerned as to his fate, and manifested no signs of grief or penitence.
At 9 o'clock Marshal Rynders, Sheriff Kelly and others entered, when he
quietly arose and saluted them. The marshal then read the death warrant, and
told Hicks to prepare himself for the approaching execution. He did so by
arraying himself in a suit of blue cottonade, made expressly for the
occasion. He was driven in a closed carriage to the foot of Canal Street,
there to embark on the Red Jacket for Bedloe's Island, where it was arranged
the execution would take place. About 1,500 persons, consisting of gamblers,
politicians, pugilisits, reporters and medical men, were assembled on board
at 10 a.m. and immediately started for their destination.
The marshal, finding that he had plenty of time to spare, and the Great
Eastern, then lying at the foot of Hammond Street, having but recently
arrived on her first voyage to this country, concluded to give his guests a
view of that monster ship. The steamboat was accordingly headed up the
river, whither it proceeded as far as Hammond Street, sailed around the
Great Eastern, and then started for Bedloe's Island, where it arrived at 11 o'clock.
The pier was lined by a platoon of marines, under command of Capt. John B.
Hall, and on the passing of the procession, they, with the troops from Fort
Hamilton and Governor's Island, formed themselves into a hollow square all
the way to the scaffold.
The scene was altogether a very imposing one, hundreds of boats, large and
small, being within easy distance of the shore. For eighty or one hundred
feet out the boats formed one solid mass, and again on the outside of these
were excursion boats moving about.
The execution was witnessed by about 10,000 people. Hicks maintained his
stolid air of bravery to the last. He never quailed beneath the glance of
the crowd. Immediately on landing on the island he knelt down and silently
prayed for a few moments, and then proceeded to the scaffold, which was
within fifteen feet or twenty feet of the shore.
The fatal signal having been given, Hicks was executed at precisely 11:05.
For three minutes he struggled severely, but after that exhibited no signs
of pain. The body was allowed to remain suspended for half an hour, when it
was cut down, placed in a coffin and borne back to the ship.
The remains were buried in Calvary Cemetery, but no stone has ever been
erected to show the precise spot. Even if it did exist, it would be to
little purpose, for the corpse was removed a night or two after the burial
by some body-snatchers and sold to the surgeons for dissection.
Sins of New York
As "Exposed" by the Police Gazette
By Edward Van Every
Publisher: Frederick A. Stokes Company--New York
Copyright: 1930 3 Printings October 15, October 23 and October 30.
Prepared and Transcribed by Miriam Medina
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