William "Bill the Butcher" Poole

-
Continuing the subject of bad boys...In the 19th Century, William “Bill The Butcher” Poole was said to be the most brutal gang leader in New York.  A butcher by occupation, Poole led a gang of street toughs on the Lower East Side. A dirty fighter, Poole would gouge his opponents in the eye. Having been a member of the Bowery Boys, Poole later formed his gang. His arch-opponent was another gang leader, John Morrisey, whom Poole severely beat on the night of February 24, 1855. Three of Morrisey’s cohorts retaliated and shot Poole in the heart. Poole, 33, lingered for two weeks before he died. His last words were purported: “Good-bye boys, I die a true American.”  Poole’s funeral was huge, with reports of 6,000 mourners in attendance. After a procession through lower Manhattan, the cortege was ferried to Brooklyn and  Green-Wood Cemetery. In 2003, Green-Wood unveiled the new granite monument (seen above) in a ceremony at Poole’s grave after Martin Scorcese’s movie Gangs of New York renewed interest in Poole. On the monument, Poole’s last words are inscribed.

Comments

  1. Random001April 15, 2012 at 6:16 PM

    Surely you mean 18Th century bad boy. It says it right there on his tombstone.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alexandra Kathryn MoscaApril 16, 2012 at 10:26 AM

    No, I didn't mean 18th Century. FYI: The 19th Century encompasses the years 1801-1900 and Poole died in 1855.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Mother's Grief

-
Image
  Near the edge of Green -Wood Cemetery, a sculpture of a beautiful woman –Rose Guarino--reclining across stone steps stops visitors in their tracks. Open-eyed, with lips parted and long hair flowing, she is dressed in a flowing gown, and wearing sandals. She clutches a bouquet in her hands. For generations, Brooklyn locals have believed that the monument commemorates a mafia bride gunned down on her wedding day in a revenge killing. The true story behind the statue does involve a murder and is just as tragic.  In the summer of 1909, Dominica Merello and her daughter, Rose Guarino, were dining with family members on the lawn of their NJ summer home when Pietro Silverio, an irate domestic employee, rushed the women, gun in hand, to exact revenge for losing his job. As the women attempted to flee, Silverio gave chase and shot Guarino in the back.   She died three days later. Guarino's body was held for two years in the cemetery's receiving vault while the monument w...
Read more

Mario Puzo: They Made Him an Offer

-
Image
It took me three determined attempts to locate the grave of author Mario Puzo, buried in North Babylon Cemetery (not to be confused with Babylon Rural Cemetery) on Long Island. The third time was the charm, and I finally found it. On Sunday evening, after dinner, my cousin joined me in the search. We split up and walked through the rows of the cemetery.  Despite coming across many noteworthy monuments, I still couldn't find Puzo's grave. Suddenly, it occurred to me that he might be buried in the small --and less occupied-- graveyard across the street.  It turned out that it was another section of the cemetery, and I spotted Puzo's grave nestled within some bushes as soon as I entered. He is buried with his wife Erika who died in 1978. Surprisingly, the rose granite monument makes no mention of his fame as a writer.  Standing before the grave, I couldn't help but recall the day long ago when, as a teenager, I and some friends eagerly made our way into the city to see the...
Read more

Dr. Auguste Renouard --The "Father of Arterial Embalming"

-
Image
I came upon the grave of Dr. Auguste Renouard quite by accident when I was working on my Green-Wood Cemetery book. And, of course, I included a photo of it in the book.   Considered "the father of arterial embalming."  Renouard's monument is a tribute to him and notes: E rected by the Funeral Directors and Embalmers of the United States in Recognition of the Valuable Services of August Renouard in Advancing the Science of the Preservation of the Dead. Trained as a medical doctor, he developed a keen interest in embalming, writing often on the subject for funeral industry trade journals. In 1878, Renouard published what is said to be the first embalming textbook, 'The Undertaker's Manual.' Several years later, he opened The Renouard Training School for Embalmers in New York City. The mortuary school had a stellar reputation for turning out some of the most skilled embalmers of the time. Dr, Renouard died on March 13, 1912. Three years after Renouard's death...
Read more