THE BROOKLYN BARBER WHO BURGLED (1904)
******************************************************************************************************************************** Brownstone Detectives investigates the history of our clients’ homes. The story you are about to read was composed from research conducted in the course of one of those investigations. ******************************************************************************************************************************** Abe Miller was fond of burglary. You might say that it was in his bones. He could not resist it any more than a child could resist candied apples at the fair. He burgled countless Brooklyn and Manhattan homes – more, certainly, than he was ever tried and convicted for – crossing the North River, at times, to burgle still more in New Jersey. Miller, aka Abram Miller, aka Abram Skudden, aka Abe Skudin, &c., &c., &c…was a burglar, though, of little note. As his life of crime ran from the early 20th century through 1940, he had been caught, convicted, and sentenced many times over. But he never reformed. GETTING MARRIED, ARRESTED, & DRAFTED Researching people who are long dead is like putting together the pieces of a puzzle that you find between the cushions of a couch – the pieces are a little dusty, some are broken, and usually they are not all there. In the end, if you do not have the puzzle’s box top, you are left to guess at what the whole picture looks like. This was the case with “Abe Miller.” THE PART ABOUT GETTING “MARRIED” & “DRAFTED” Miller first shows up in government records in 1904 when he married Lena Silverman 14 August on Manhattan. Both were from Russia, the two remaining […]
“TOMMY” O’TOOLE IN SING SING AGAIN? (1915)
Burglaries took place with great regularity in Brooklyn 100 years ago. Skimming through Brooklyn Daily Eagle archives and reading newspapers from that period, I come across them all the time. They usually involve males, between the ages of a 16 and 24, just about all of whom have previous criminal records, and who end up getting sent “up the river” to Sing Sing. Yesterday, while scanning the papers, a small story on a burglary that took place almost 100 years ago – to the day – caught my eye. Why? I cannot say. It was a rather pedestrian article, but it caused me to wonder at what happened to the subject, one William O’Toole. Being in the detective business, there are always ways of finding out these things. Being a history detective, though, it gets a little tougher and requires some more than usual digging. But I was ready for digging yesterday, and so I decided to follow my leads. THE STORY The offense took place on 18 May 1915, at 864 Nostrand Avenue. O’Toole was the unlucky one to get caught as an accomplice got away. Hailing from Manhattan, according to the piece, he was young man of 22 years at the time, referred to in the article as an “Old Offender.” His record of offenses was three deep, having already served time in Elmira, Sing Sing, and the State Penitentiary. This time he was collared for stealing $46 out of a strong box belonging to “Miss Mary Maddren.” […]
