Irishtown’s Code of Silence “That alley was the most turbulent spot in Irishtown,” so said a man who called himself the Gas Drip Bard in an 1899 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle about a dangerous place off Gold Street in the mid 1800s. “It would be worth a policeman’s life to enter there afterContinue reading “Code of Silence”
Tag Archives: White Hand Gang
The Irish White Hand Gang
Since Kindle bestselling historical novel Divide the Dawn has come out, which features the White Hand Gang, there has been rising interest in the 1910s ruffian brawlers and brutal gals that wreaked havoc in Brooklyn’s industrial waterfront era. The White Hand Gang was a real, Irish-American street and dock gang composed of wild teens andContinue reading “The Irish White Hand Gang”
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NYC Turn of the Century Gangs
Earlier this year, I tried to take a wider view of the book and ask some important questions. One of the questions I asked, and what has always weighed on my mind… Why were there gangs anyway? Why do they still exist today? After many years of research, my conclusion is really no different thanContinue reading “NYC Turn of the Century Gangs”
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Sands Street Station
Here is a photo of the Sands Street Elevated Train Station in Brooklyn during the White Hand Gang’s era. It was built around 1908 and torn down in 1944. As you can see, it had many tentacles of tracks coming out from it as it was literally the central station for all Brooklyn travel. SinceContinue reading “Sands Street Station”
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Frankie Yale – Divide the Dawn
Frankie Yale is a minor character in the historical novel Divide the Dawn (Fall, 2019). As are most of the characters in the book, he is based on a real, historical person: The Brooklyn, Italian Mafia “Capo.” Francesco Ioele moved from Italy to Southern Brooklyn in 1901 as an eight-year old and quickly became known as aContinue reading “Frankie Yale – Divide the Dawn”
