Margaret Brown (born c. 1828) was an Irish-born American criminal and thief in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

during the late 19th century. She was most widely known under the name ''Old Mother Hubbard'', after the nursery rhyme of that name, which was popular at the time. Among her aliases she also included the surnames ''Young'' and ''Haskins''. She was one of the most well-publicized female thieves in the United States during the mid-to late 19th century and was part of Marm Mandelbaum's "inner circle" which included other notorious women such as Big Mary,

Sophie Lyons Sophie Lyons (December 24, 1848 – May 8, 1924) was an American criminal and one of the country's most notorious female ''thieves, pickpockets, shoplifters, and confidence women'' during the mid-to-late 19th century. She and her husbands ...

, Queen Liz and Lena Kleinschmidt.

Biography

Born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, she became a prominent shoplifter and pickpocket specializing in handbags. Although employed as a housekeeper at times, she enjoyed a career lasting over fifty years. She was eventually arrested in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and sentenced to three years imprisonment at

Joliet Prison Joliet or Jolliet may refer to: People * Louis Jolliet (1645–1700), French-Canadian explorer of North America * Oscar Joliet (1878–1969), Belgian scholar-priest and Catholic Auxiliary bishop of Ghent Places in the United States * Joliet, Illi ...

where she would suffer serious injuries in a failed escape attempt. After being discharged from Joliet Prison in 1878, she resumed her criminal career in major cities including

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and New York before her arrest in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

on March24, 1883. Arrested while attempting to steal a handbag from R.H. White's dry goods store, she served a six-month prison sentence in the Boston House of Corrections. Following her release, she traveled to New York where she was again apprehended for stealing a pocketbook from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

resident Mrs. H.S. Dennison while in Macy's on Fourteenth Street on March26, 1884. She was again convicted and sentenced to three months at

Blackwell's Island Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. Running from the equivalent of East 46th to 85 ...

. Released on July2, she was arrested as she was leaving the penitentiary on Blackwell's Island and returned to Boston for trial, for stealing a purse containing $260 from a Mrs. Coburn in a Boston store. The New York Times reported that police records showed she had been a criminal for 50 years. She was returned to Boston where she was convicted of larceny. Although sentenced to two years in Boston House of Correction in late July, she was eventually transferred to Deer Island due to her old age and infirmity.Byrnes, Thomas. ''1886 Professional Criminals of America''. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Margaret 1820s births Year of death missing Criminals from New York City Irish emigrants to the United States