Neil K. MacMillan - Wicked Syracuse: A History of Sin in Salt City

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2013 by Neil K. MacMillan

All rights reserved

First published 2013

e-book edition 2013

Manufactured in the United States

ISBN 978.1.61423.951.2

Library of Congress CIP data applied for.

print edition ISBN 978.1.60949.752.1

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Id like to acknowledge the staff at the Onondaga Historical Association for the incalculable assistance they tendered me throughout this project. The Post-Standard Newspaper Archives proved an invaluable resource at every step and turn. Thanks to the staff at The History Press for their guidance, especially my commissioning editor, Whitney Tarella Landis. Thanks are also due to the many friends and relations who offered hints and rumors to follow up on and lastly but always first in my heart, my wife, Peggy. I dedicate this work to those who fostered my love of history: my father, Vernon MacMillan; my mother, Betty Stanton MacMillan; Mrs. Florence Supnik, teacher, mentor and historian; Lawrence Grant Allen, soldier, scholar, mentor and friend; and Professors Mary Borden, Deb Holler, Yvonne Murphy and Mark Soderstrom of SUNY Empire State College for giving me the tools to adequately express my love of history.

INTRODUCTION

Walk with me. You dont need a jacket. Were not going far. We all hear the history of our families, our homes, our country, but we dont often hear the whole story. Some things hide in the dark. Were going to peek in the shadows where the often-untold stories lurk.

Like any city, Syracuse holds secrets. Some secrets are simply things that dont get said, but others are juicythe stuff scandals, soap operas and miniseries are made of. If stalwart heroes made Syracuse a vibrant, growing city, so too did the miscreants that dot the citys history.

Lets face itgood and evil co-exist, and we all love a scandalous story. If we need examples like Ephraim Webster and James Geddes to uphold as paragons of the pioneer spirit and work ethic, we also need the examples of Oliver Curtis Perry, Benjamin Roscoe and Zachariah Freeman for moral comparison. French philosopher Georges Santayana said, Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. We learn from our mistakesor were supposed to, anyway.

Syracuse was and is a city built by immigration. To be sure, a fair portion of the population came from New England stock, but from the earliest days, immigrants played an ever-growing part in the citys history. All facets of life in Syracuse were affected and continue to be by immigrants. Yet it would be too easy and quite erroneous to label crime thenas nowas an immigrant problem. Syracuse and the United States both have a rich criminal history. As Syracuse grew, so too did the criminal elements. In the period between 1840 and 1890, when the electric chair was used for the first time, only four people were hanged in Onondaga County. The first was the above-mentioned Mr. Freeman. Salt built Syracuse, and salt boilers would prove to be some of the first criminals in the city. With the Erie Canal came criminals from other areas following the water way colloquially known as Clintons Ditch seeking to ply their nefarious trades. From a sleepy village originally known as Bogardus Corners, Syracuse grew to a city of over 100,000 people. There were killings, and there were rescues of African Americans who fled to Syracuse in search of freedom only to be confronted with the cruelty of the Fugitive Slave Act. There were thieves and con artists, some of them under the guise of official duty. There were violators of the Volstead Act, which outlawed the sale of alcohol, and there were, how shall we put this delicately, practitioners of the worlds oldest profession.

Syracuse in 1855 was a thriving town, thanks to the salt industry and the Erie Canal. But with prosperity came crime. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

I chose to focus on the period before 1950 for several reasons. I am a historian with a focus on the mid-nineteenth century, and so there is a natural gravitation to that time period. Secondly, there is an old adage: the more things change, the more they stay the same. If you name a crime we have now, its certain that our ancestors dealt with it then. Some of you will mention Internet fraudthe fraud just got faster. Third, like it or not, criminals are human. They are people like us. We are all subject to the temptation of something for nothing or the anger that urges us to do harm to someone who has wronged us. The difference, quite simply, is that most of us dont act on those impulses. Lastly, our ancestors tended to have a more cosmopolitan outlook about certain crimes. There was only white-collar crime if you got caught. They might have covered table and chair legs out of exaggerated modesty, but fraud and embezzlement were business as usual until someone got caught with their hand in the till. The hack drivers all knew where the houses of ill fame were, and so did the pillars of the community.

Shall we go? There is a chill in the airor maybe that is the anticipation of skullduggery. What was that noise? Careful now! The alleys are dark, and mischief is afoot.

Chapter 1

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR: THE COOK COFFEE HOUSE RIOT

It is a pivotal event in the history of Syracuse, and yet it is an event little known to the general populous. New Years Day 1844 was a day of celebration for Syracuse and neighboring Salina. It was also the day that Cooks Coffee House would become rooted in the lore of Syracuse. The coffeehouse was located on the corner of Washington and South Warren Streets. The business was run by Charles Seigle and his wife, and there were plans for a dinner and dance the night of New Years Day 1844. The coffeehouse was considered upscale and catered to Syracuses German population. The furnishings were ornate, including much glasswork. The establishment boasted a salty old parrot well versed in tavern talk and able to recite the drinks the coffeehouse served in both German and English.

By 1844, Syracuse was a growing village and competed with the neighboring town of Salina for economic prosperity. If Syracuse had the Erie Canal, Salina, also known as Salt Point, had access to the Onondaga salt deposits. Culling salt from the deposits was backbreaking work for the men known as salt boilers. They were men who endured harsh working conditions and viewed fighting as a recreational pursuit. Most of the Salt Point boilers were Irish immigrants, and ethnic and economic rivalry lay just under the surface as the villages of Syracuse and Salina grew. Like any future conflagration, all that was needed was a good spark.

William Blake and his fellow Irish salt boilers were looking for a fight. They entered Seigles establishment and positioned themselves throughout the large room decorated for the New Years celebration. As in previous brawls, the Salt Pointers established a signal to start the fracas. Blake and company lubricated themselves with copious amounts of liquor for the task ahead. Draining his drink, William Blake smashed the glass on the bar.