Humpty Jackson
Encyclopedia
Thomas "Humpty" Jackson was a New York criminal and last of the independent gang leaders in New York's underworld during the early 20th century. Reportedly well read, Jackson was said to be an admirer of such writers such as Voltaire
, Charles Darwin
, Leonard Huxley
and Herbert Spencer
as well as various Greek and Latin texts. He was, however, known to be a violent man who regularly carried three revolvers, including one in his derby hat and another slung under his hunchback
.
Although little is known of his early life, Jackson was uncommonly possessed an educational background despite his reputation as a ruthless criminal whose gang numbering fifty men included street thugs such as Spanish Louie
, Kid Ruhl, the Grabber, and the Lobster Kid.
Based out of an old graveyard located between First
and Second Avenues bound by 12th and 13th Street
in Manhattan, Jackson was said to give out assignments from blackjacking to murder for hire to his followers while sitting atop a tombstone. Although involved in organizing and planning, specifically armed robberies, burglaries and looting of warehouses, Jackson rarely participated in the actual criminal activities. However, on the evening of May 21, 1900, Jackson stabbed New York City policeman William J. Tynan five times. Tynan and his partner had been looking for Jackson because he was suspected of having stolen a gold watch and chain. The two policemen managed to arrest Jackson despite Tynan's having been stabbed. In 1902, Jackson fired four shots at Detective Edward Reardon, for which he served 30 months in Sing Sing
. Reardon arrested Jackson again in May 1907 for robbing young women. At his arraignment, Jackson complained to the magistrate that he was being hounded by the detective, stating that "Reardon is dead sore on me and gave me my bit. My only crime is that I'm popular." As of 1905, the Humpty Jackson Gang was considered among the "big four", along with the Cherry Hill
and Five Points Gang
s, which dominated the Lower East Side
.
Jackson once boasted in court that he'd been arrested "over 100 times." At least four of these arrests resulted in convictions. In January 1909, he was arrested for grand larceny, pled guilty to avoid a life sentence as a habitual offender, and was sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment. Released from Dannemora
in 1912, he left the criminal underworld and began a small business. In 1932, while living in retirement as a pet store owner in East Harlem, he was interviewed by Collier's Weekly
, in which he was referred to as the one-time "King of New York gangsters", as well as the New York Times three years later.
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
, Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, Leonard Huxley
Leonard Huxley (writer)
Leonard Huxley was an English schoolteacher, writer and editor.- Family :His father was the zoologist Thomas Henry Huxley, 'Darwin's bulldog'. Leonard was educated at University College School, London, St. Andrews University, and Balliol College, Oxford. He first married Julia Arnold, daughter of...
and Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....
as well as various Greek and Latin texts. He was, however, known to be a violent man who regularly carried three revolvers, including one in his derby hat and another slung under his hunchback
Hunchback
Hunchback may refer to one of the following.*A derogatory term for a person who has severe kyphosis*The Hunchback of Notre Dame*Hunchback , an arcade and computer game from the 1980s*The Hunchback, a 1914 film featuring Lillian Gish...
.
Although little is known of his early life, Jackson was uncommonly possessed an educational background despite his reputation as a ruthless criminal whose gang numbering fifty men included street thugs such as Spanish Louie
Spanish Louie
John Lewis , better known by his alias Indian or Spanish Louie , was an American criminal and member of the Humpty Jackson Gang, serving as the gang leader's longtime lieutenant from around the turn of the century until his murder in either 1900 or 1910...
, Kid Ruhl, the Grabber, and the Lobster Kid.
Based out of an old graveyard located between First
First Avenue (Manhattan)
First Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Houston Street northbound for over 125 blocks before terminating at the Willis Avenue Bridge into The Bronx at the Harlem River near East 127th Street. South of Houston Street, the...
and Second Avenues bound by 12th and 13th Street
13th Street
13th Street Universal is a television channel specialising in action and suspense shows and movies. It is owned by NBCUniversal and was launched in France on November 13, 1997 and in Germany on May 1, 1998...
in Manhattan, Jackson was said to give out assignments from blackjacking to murder for hire to his followers while sitting atop a tombstone. Although involved in organizing and planning, specifically armed robberies, burglaries and looting of warehouses, Jackson rarely participated in the actual criminal activities. However, on the evening of May 21, 1900, Jackson stabbed New York City policeman William J. Tynan five times. Tynan and his partner had been looking for Jackson because he was suspected of having stolen a gold watch and chain. The two policemen managed to arrest Jackson despite Tynan's having been stabbed. In 1902, Jackson fired four shots at Detective Edward Reardon, for which he served 30 months in Sing Sing
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services in the town of Ossining, New York...
. Reardon arrested Jackson again in May 1907 for robbing young women. At his arraignment, Jackson complained to the magistrate that he was being hounded by the detective, stating that "Reardon is dead sore on me and gave me my bit. My only crime is that I'm popular." As of 1905, the Humpty Jackson Gang was considered among the "big four", along with the Cherry Hill
Cherry Hill Gang
The Cherry Hill Gang was a New York street gang during the late nineteenth century.Formed in the 1890s, the Cherry Hill Gang were known as the "dandies" of New York's underworld...
and Five Points Gang
Five Points Gang
Five Points Gang was a 19th-century and early 20th-century criminal organization, primarily of Italian-American origins, based in the Sixth Ward of Manhattan, New York City. Since the early 19th century, the area was first known for gangs of Irish immigrants...
s, which dominated the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
.
Jackson once boasted in court that he'd been arrested "over 100 times." At least four of these arrests resulted in convictions. In January 1909, he was arrested for grand larceny, pled guilty to avoid a life sentence as a habitual offender, and was sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment. Released from Dannemora
Dannemora
Dannemora may refer to:* Dannemora , New York* Dannemora Prison, colloquial name for the Clinton Correctional Facility in the village of Dannemora* Dannemora , New York* Dannemora, Sweden, a village with 200 inhabitants...
in 1912, he left the criminal underworld and began a small business. In 1932, while living in retirement as a pet store owner in East Harlem, he was interviewed by Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
, in which he was referred to as the one-time "King of New York gangsters", as well as the New York Times three years later.
Further reading
- Dash, Mike. Satan's Circus: Murder, Vice, Police Corruption, and New York's Trial of the Century. New York: Random House, 2008. ISBN 1-4000-5472-9
- Lewis, Alfred Henry. The Apaches of New York. New York: G.W. Dillingham Company, 1912.
- Sante, LucLuc Sante-Early life:Born in Verviers, Belgium, Sante emigrated to the United States in the early 1960s. He attended school in New York City, first at Regis High School in Manhattan and then at Columbia University.-Writing:...
. Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003. ISBN 0-374-52899-3