Ephraim Snow or Old Snow (fl. 1850–1865) was an American criminal fence and underworld figure on New York City during the early-to mid-19th century. He was one of the first major fences in New York and the main competitor of Joe Erich during the 1850s and 60s, however the two had a far more friendly and cooperative relationship then the fierce rivalries of later fences such as John D. "Traveling Mike" Grady and Fredericka "Marm" Mandelbaum. He operated from a small dry goods store on the corner of Grand and Allen Streets, only a short distance from Erich's establishment in Maiden Lane, and was well known as a dealer in "stolen property of every description". According to underworld lore, Erich once disposed of a flock of sheep that some Bowery thugs brought back with them while on vacation in Upstate New York having stolen them from a farm in Westchester County and herded them "through the streets of the city to the shop of the fence".[1]
Ephraim Snow | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Old Snow |
| Occupation | Fence |
| Known for | Early criminal fence and underworld figure in New York during the early-to mid 19th century; principal rival of Joe Erich during the 1850s and 60s. |
He and Erich were eventually overshadowed of the rise of John Grady and Marm Mandelbaum in the post-American Civil War era, both earning millions though financing criminal gangs in addition to dealing in stolen goods, and Snow worked with Mandelbaum in her early criminal career.[2] Snow was eventually arrested and sentenced to five years imprisonment.[3]
References edit
- ^ Asbury, Herbert. The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. (pg. 193) ISBN 1-56025-275-8
- ^ Moss, Frank. The American Metropolis from Knickerbocker Days to the Present Time. London: The Authors' Syndicate, 1897. (pg. 26)
- ^ Crapsey, Edward. The Nether Side of New York, Or, the Vice, Crime and Poverty of the Great Metropolis. Sheldon & Company, 1872. (pg. 84)
Further reading edit
- Johnson, David R. Policing the Urban Underworld: The Impact of Crime on the Development of the American Police, 1800-1887. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1979.