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Tag Archives: Theft

The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: angler

angler – 1. a petty thief who uses a hook on the end of a string to steal from shop-windows, grates, doors, etc.; 2. a member of a gang of petty thieves who roams the street looking for opportunities; 3. a receiver of stolen goods; a fence; 4. a putter up, i.e., a servant, clerk, […]

The American Malefactor’s Dictionary: amuse

amuse – 1. to fling dust into someone’s eyes in order to distract them; 2. to tell a false tale in order to distract and then rob an unsuspecting victim; to “entertain” deceptively. Amusers threw dust or pepper, which they kept in their pockets, into the eyes of someone they wanted to rob. As the […]

Early American Criminals: Is Robin Hood More American than British?

Tom Cook was a notorious New England thief who happens to have been born in my hometown of Westborough, MA. He called himself “The Leveller” and cultivated a reputation for stealing from the rich and readily sharing his ill-gotten gains with the poor. Stories of his exploits have been handed down for generations. Alice Morse […]

Convict Transportation to America: Epilogue

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. Almost as soon as British convict transportation to America ended, Americans began to downplay the numbers and significance of convicts sent to the colonies. In 1786, Thomas Jefferson led the way by claiming, The Malefactors sent to America were not […]

The End of Convict Transportation: Ex-Convicts Who Succeeded in America

Note: This post is part of a series on Convict Transportation to the American colonies. In a letter to the Maryland Gazette on July 30, 1767, one writer defended importing convicts from Great Britain by citing how many of them reform their ways: [A] few Gentlemen seem very angry that Convicts are imported here at […]