Big Sue

Big Sue or Sue, the Turtle was the pseudonym of an African-American saloonkeeper and underworld figure whose Grand Street dive bar was destroyed during the New York Draft Riots in 1863.^[1] After she had been attacked and "frightfully beaten" by a group of women from the Five Points, her liquor was confiscated and distributed amongst the rioters around Thompson Street's Arch Block.^[2]

Although considered an honest dive keeper, as thievery among many of the city's taverns and saloons was rampant, she is suspected to have been involved in prostitution as a procuress and brothel owner.^[3]

References

↑ Asbury, Herbert. The Gangs of New York. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. ISBN 1-56025-275-8
↑ Crapsey, Edward. The Nether Side of New York, Or, the Vice, Crime and Poverty of the Great Metropolis. New York: Sheldon & Company, 1872.
↑ Feldman, Bert S. (1998-07-28). "A disaster in New York". The River Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.

External links

“The Spectacle of Fearsome Acts”: Crime in the Melting P(l)ot in Gangs of New York

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[1] Asbury, Herbert. The Gangs of New York. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. ISBN 1-56025-275-8

[2] Crapsey, Edward. The Nether Side of New York, Or, the Vice, Crime and Poverty of the Great Metropolis. New York: Sheldon & Company, 1872.

[3] Feldman, Bert S. (1998-07-28). "A disaster in New York". The River Reporter. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.