- Ludlow Street Jail
The Ludlow Street Jail was
New York City 's federal prison, located on Ludlow Street andBroome Street inManhattan . Some prisoners, such as soldiers, were held there temporarily awaiting extradition to other jurisdictions, but most of the inmates were debtors imprisoned by their creditors. The two most famous inmates of the Ludlow Street Jail wereVictoria Woodhull andBoss Tweed . Seward Park High School now sits on the site of the jail.Victoria Woodhull
Victoria Woodhull was an American
suffragist who was publicized inGilded Age newspapers as a leader of the American woman's suffrage movement in the 19th century. OnNovember 2 ,1872 , U.S. Federal Marshals arrested Victoria and her sister Tennessee for sending obscene material through the mail. The sisters were held in the Ludlow Street Jail for the next month. The arrest was arranged byAnthony Comstock , the self-appointed moral defender of the nation at the time, and the event incited questions about censorship and government persecution. The Claflin sisters were found not guilty six months later, but the arrest prevented Victoria from being present during the 1872 presidential election.Boss Tweed
William Magear Tweed (
April 3 ,1823 –April 12 ,1878 ), commonly known as "Boss" Tweed, was an American politician and head ofTammany Hall , the name given to the Democratic Partypolitical machine that played a major role in New York City politics from the 1790s to the 1960s. After being arrested for bilking the city out of millions of dollars, Tweed jumped bail and was later apprehended in Spain. He was subsequently delivered to authorities inNew York City onNovember 23 ,1876 . He was imprisoned in the Ludlow Street Jail, occupying the warden's parlor for $75.00 a week. He died two years after being imprisoned at the age of 55.References
*Sante, Luc (2003). "Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York". Farrar, Straus, & Giroux.
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