James Turner ( fl. 1854–1866) was an American criminal figure, pugilist and "slugger" for

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

. Turner was one of several men under Captain Isaac Rynders who committed

voter intimidation Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

and

election fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

for Tammany Hall during the 1850s. He and Paudeen McLaughlin were bodyguards to

Lew Baker Lewis "Lew" Baker was a patrolman in the New York Police Department who was simultaneously employed as a "slugger" for Tammany Hall. He was involved in voter intimidation and election fraud during the 1840s and 1850s. A close friend and associa ...

and were present with him when Baker fatally shot William "Bill the Butcher" Poole in the back in 1855.

Biography

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

n-born thug and pugilist, Turner was forced to leave the state by the San Francisco Vigilance Committee in 1854. He eventually surfaced in New York City where he found employment with Captain Isaac Rynders and his ''Empire Club''. In a short time, he became one of the Rynders' most feared "sluggers". In January 1855, Turner and

entered ''Platt's Hall'' and became involved in a verbal altercation with prizefighter

Tom Hyer Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

''"calling the fighter vile names"''. The argument escalated until Turner drew his pistol and shot Hyer in the neck. Hyer fired back but missed, hitting the wall instead. Putting away his weapon, Hyer attacked his assailants and dragged Baker out into the street, but the fight came to an end when a police officer arrived. The fight was broken up, but no charges were brought against the three.Sutton, Charles; James B. Mix and Samuel A. Mackeever, ed. ''The New York Tombs: Its Secrets and Its Mysteries. Being a History of Noted Criminals, with Narratives of Their Crimes''. San Francisco: A. Roman & Co., 1874. (pg. 138-144) On the night of February 25, 1855, Turner and Paudeen McLaughlin accompanied

when he entered Stanwix Hall saloon to confront William "Bill the Butcher" Poole over an argument he and

John Morrissey John Morrissey (February 12, 1831 – May 1, 1878), also known as Old Smoke, was an Irish American politician, bare-knuckle boxing champion, and criminal. He was born in 1831 in Ireland. His parents moved to New York State when he was a ...

had several hours before. Although most accounts claim Baker shot Poole when the two began fighting, another version has Turner and McLaughlin participating in the barroom brawl, according to retired police chief George Washington Walling In this version, Turner pulled out a pistol to fire at Poole, using the hollow of his left arm as a rest, but shot himself in the arm with an eight-inch

Colt Navy Revolver The Colt Revolving Belt Pistol or Navy Pistol, sometimes erroneously referred to as "Colt Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber" or "of Navy Caliber" (Naval is heavy gun and Navy Size Caliber was termed later for another Colt model), is a Caplock ...

. While falling to the floor, it was Turner who fired the second shot that hit Poole in the leg. Poole staggered towards Baker who drew his own revolver and shot him twice then left the bar with Turner and McLaughlin.Walling, George W. ''Recollections of a New York Chief of Police: An Official Record of Thirty-eight Years as Patrolman, Detective, Captain, Inspector and Chief of the New York Police''. New York: Caxton Book Concern, 1887. (pg. 49-51) He and McLaughlin were arrested soon after and imprisoned in separate cells in

The Tombs ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. Turner was charged with a number of other men including Baker, McLaughlin, Morrissey, Cornelius Linn, Charles Van Pelt, John Huyler and James Irving among others, but all were eventually acquitted of the murder. On the morning of August 30, 1860, Turner was arrested and charged with assaulting a

West Broadway West Broadway is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, separated into two parts by Tribeca Park. The northern part begins at Tribeca Park, near the intersection of Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), Walker Street a ...

resident, Edward Leonard, beating him so severely that he was hospitalized and confined to a bed. Turner was sent to The Tombs in default of a $500 bail by the presiding magistrate. He was sent to the Workhouse on March 28, 1866, in default of $1,000 bail for his good behavior, after being charged with fighting, using foul language and striking Mary Ann Scott with a hot poker."A Notorious Character Disposed of -- James Turner". New York Times. 29 Mar 1866

Biography

References

Further reading