Chicago May: Difference between revisions
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| birth_place = Edenmore, [[Ballinamuck]] [[County Longford, Ireland]] |
| birth_place = Edenmore, [[Ballinamuck]] [[County Longford, Ireland]] |
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| death_date = {{death year and age|1929|1871}} |
| death_date = {{death year and age|1929|1871}} |
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| death_place = [[Detroit]], |
| death_place = [[Detroit]], Michigan |
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| alias = Chicago May, Queen of |
| alias = Chicago May, Queen of Crooks |
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| charge = Robbery; Attempted Murder |
| charge = Robbery; Attempted Murder |
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| conviction_penalty = 5 years imprisonment; 15 years imprisonment |
| conviction_penalty = 5 years imprisonment; 15 years imprisonment |
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| spouse = Jim Sharpe (????–????) |
| spouse = Jim Sharpe (????–????) |
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'''Chicago May''' (1871–1929) was the nickname of '''Mary Anne Duignan''', an [[Ireland|Irish]]-born criminal who became notorious in |
'''Chicago May''' (1871–1929) was the nickname of '''Mary Anne Duignan''', an [[Ireland|Irish]]-born criminal who became notorious in the U.S., United Kingdom and France. She referred to herself as the "queen of crooks".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-chicago-may-duignan-crook-flashback-perspec-1120-jm-20161117-story.html|title='Chicago May': Globe-trotting celebrity crook|first=Patrick T.|last=Reardon|date=November 19, 2016|work=Chicago Tribune|accessdate=November 20, 2016}}</ref> |
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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She was born in Edenmore, [[Ballinamuck]], [[County Longford]], |
She was born in Edenmore, [[Ballinamuck]], [[County Longford]], Ireland. In 1890, at the age of 19, she stole the proceeds earned by her parents from a recent cattle fair and ran away to Liverpool, England where she bought new clothes and booked a ticket to America.<ref name = "quee">Nuala O'Faolain, ''Queen of Crooks: The Story of Chicago May'', Michael Joseph, 2005.</ref> Upon arrival in New York she supported herself by prostitution and picking pockets. She moved to Nebraska to stay with her uncle, where she met a criminal, Dal Churchill, whom she married, but the marriage was brought to a sudden end when her husband was lynched after an attempted train robbery.<ref name = "quee"/> The marriage gave her American citizenship. |
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She moved to |
She moved to Chicago to take advantage of the large influx of visitors at the 1893 [[World's Columbian Exposition]]. She teamed with another prostitute. One robbed customers while the other was having sex with them. She returned to New York City, where she worked as a dancer, but was soon arrested for stealing a wallet, earning her first jail sentence. She briefly married friend Jim Sharpe but the couple soon separated. After this, she called herself May Churchill Sharpe. She soon established herself with the local criminal underworld, becoming involved in various crimes, mostly of a petty nature, including fraud, assault, brawling, drunk and disorderly behavior, beggary and pickpocketing. |
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==Criminal heyday== |
==Criminal heyday== |
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[[File: Eddie Guerin, mug shot, ca. 1900.jpg|thumb|May's most notable lover, Eddie Guerin]] |
[[File: Eddie Guerin, mug shot, ca. 1900.jpg|thumb|May's most notable lover, Eddie Guerin]] |
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She had various criminal lovers, but she graduated from petty criminality to major crime when she met [[Eddie Guerin]], who organised a robbery of the American Express office in Paris. May was imprisoned for her role in the crime. She operated her schemes on four continents and in nine countries. She reached the height of her career in |
She had various criminal lovers, but she graduated from petty criminality to major crime when she met [[Eddie Guerin]], who organised a robbery of the American Express office in Paris. May was imprisoned for her role in the crime. She operated her schemes on four continents and in nine countries. She reached the height of her career in England, when she was taken up by aristocrat Sir Sidney Hamilton Gore, who is said to have proposed marriage to her - shortly before he shot himself.<ref>"A world less travelled", ''The Guardian'', Saturday 9 September 2006.</ref> |
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After Geurin escaped from a French prison island, he made his way to London where he met May again, but the relationship turned sour. She took up with a burglar named Charley Smith. In 1907, during an altercation with Geurin, Smith shot him, wounding him in the foot. Smith and May were both accused of attempted murder. May was convicted and sentenced to |
After Geurin escaped from a French prison island, he made his way to London where he met May again, but the relationship turned sour. She took up with a burglar named Charley Smith. In 1907, during an altercation with Geurin, Smith shot him, wounding him in the foot. Smith and May were both accused of attempted murder. May was convicted and sentenced to 15 years. She was released in 1917, and returned to the U.S. |
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==Later years== |
==Later years== |
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By the 1920s she was living in Detroit and had become |
By the 1920s, she was living in Detroit and had become destitute. No longer young, she was reduced to propositioning men on the streets and was repeatedly arrested for soliciting and common prostitution. She hoped to make money from her former notoriety by writing magazine articles and an autobiography with the help of a journalist, which was published in 1928 as ''Chicago May, Her Story, by the Queen of Crooks''. Her former lover Guerin published his own life story at the same time, under the title ''I Was a Bandit''. She died in 1929 at the age of 59.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/memoir/fr/chicagoMay_2.htm |title=The Story of Chicago May by Nuala O'Faolin |publisher=About.com |date=5 January 2008}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 13:05, 1 April 2019
Mary Anne Churchill Sharpe | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mary Anne Duignan 1871 Edenmore, Ballinamuck County Longford, Ireland |
| Died | 1929 (aged 57–58) Detroit, Michigan |
| Other names | Chicago May, Queen of Crooks |
| Occupation | Prostitute |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Spouse | Jim Sharpe (????–????) |
| Criminal charge | Robbery; Attempted Murder |
| Penalty | 5 years imprisonment; 15 years imprisonment |
Chicago May (1871–1929) was the nickname of Mary Anne Duignan, an Irish-born criminal who became notorious in the U.S., United Kingdom and France. She referred to herself as the "queen of crooks".[1]
Early life
She was born in Edenmore, Ballinamuck, County Longford, Ireland. In 1890, at the age of 19, she stole the proceeds earned by her parents from a recent cattle fair and ran away to Liverpool, England where she bought new clothes and booked a ticket to America.[2] Upon arrival in New York she supported herself by prostitution and picking pockets. She moved to Nebraska to stay with her uncle, where she met a criminal, Dal Churchill, whom she married, but the marriage was brought to a sudden end when her husband was lynched after an attempted train robbery.[2] The marriage gave her American citizenship.
She moved to Chicago to take advantage of the large influx of visitors at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. She teamed with another prostitute. One robbed customers while the other was having sex with them. She returned to New York City, where she worked as a dancer, but was soon arrested for stealing a wallet, earning her first jail sentence. She briefly married friend Jim Sharpe but the couple soon separated. After this, she called herself May Churchill Sharpe. She soon established herself with the local criminal underworld, becoming involved in various crimes, mostly of a petty nature, including fraud, assault, brawling, drunk and disorderly behavior, beggary and pickpocketing.
Criminal heyday
She had various criminal lovers, but she graduated from petty criminality to major crime when she met Eddie Guerin, who organised a robbery of the American Express office in Paris. May was imprisoned for her role in the crime. She operated her schemes on four continents and in nine countries. She reached the height of her career in England, when she was taken up by aristocrat Sir Sidney Hamilton Gore, who is said to have proposed marriage to her - shortly before he shot himself.[3]
After Geurin escaped from a French prison island, he made his way to London where he met May again, but the relationship turned sour. She took up with a burglar named Charley Smith. In 1907, during an altercation with Geurin, Smith shot him, wounding him in the foot. Smith and May were both accused of attempted murder. May was convicted and sentenced to 15 years. She was released in 1917, and returned to the U.S.
Later years
By the 1920s, she was living in Detroit and had become destitute. No longer young, she was reduced to propositioning men on the streets and was repeatedly arrested for soliciting and common prostitution. She hoped to make money from her former notoriety by writing magazine articles and an autobiography with the help of a journalist, which was published in 1928 as Chicago May, Her Story, by the Queen of Crooks. Her former lover Guerin published his own life story at the same time, under the title I Was a Bandit. She died in 1929 at the age of 59.[4]
References
- ^ Reardon, Patrick T. (November 19, 2016). "'Chicago May': Globe-trotting celebrity crook". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
- ^ a b Nuala O'Faolain, Queen of Crooks: The Story of Chicago May, Michael Joseph, 2005.
- ^ "A world less travelled", The Guardian, Saturday 9 September 2006.
- ^ "The Story of Chicago May by Nuala O'Faolin". About.com. 5 January 2008.
Further reading
- "Report featuring Chicago May receiving a 5 year sentence". New York Times. July 28, 1907.
- Frank Columb (1999). Chicago May, Queen of the Blackmailers. Evod Academic Publishing Co.
- Nuala O'Faolain (2005). The Story of Chicago May. Riverhead Books. ISBN 1-57322-320-4.
- King, Betty Nygaard. Hell Hath No Fury: Famous Women in Crime. Ottawa: Borealis Press, 2001. ISBN 0-88887-262-3, ISBN 0-88887-264-X.
