Billy the Boodler Comes to Carleton Place

 

Clipped from The Ottawa Journal,  15 Jun 1887, Wed,  Page 1

 

Photo-Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum from the old Canadian files where Billy would have gone to purchase his steamer yacht.

 

Clipped from The Times,  11 Jun 1886, Fri,  Page 2

 

Billy Maloney/Moloney was the reading clerk of the Board of Alderman in New York City which granted franchise to the Broadway Surface Railway Co.  He secured the signatures of the requisite number of aldermen to a call for the special meeting of the board August 9 1884 when a fraudulent bill was passed over Mayor Edson’s veto. Billy was finally charged in the stories of Fullgraff and Duffy with the evidence as having acted as a go-between between Jake Sharp and the purchasable aldermen.

In 1885 when it began to get too hot for the boodlers in New York City Maloney/Moloney, Delacy, Dempsey, John Keenan and others fled to Canada. They all remained across the border for 5 years and Maloney/Moloney is said to have spent time in this area. After the acquittal of Thomas B Kerr they all went back to the United States, but charges were somehow all dismissed and I am sure made the exiles quite happy.

 

 

The Board of Aldermen in New York City was notoriously corrupt in the 19th century, sometimes earning itself the nickname “Forty Thieves”. The 1884 Board of Aldermen became nicknamed the “boodle board” when it was discovered that several aldermen took bribes so that Jake Sharp could acquire a Broadway railroad franchise at a greatly reduced cost.

“Boodle” is a Dutch word meaning “bribe money” that was popularly used in New York City in the 19th century. The term “boodle board” was most specifically applied to the 1884 board, but was also sometimes used for boards of other years. The Board of Aldermen was replaced by the City Council in 1938.

 

 

 

 

Clipped from Goldsboro Messenger,  27 May 1886, Thu,  Page 4

 

Clipped from Goldsboro Messenger,  27 May 1886, Thu,  Page 4

 

 

Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum–The “Fairy Belle” from a copy of the Carleton Place Herald from Feb. 16 1892. These boat engines were made at the Gillies Machine Shops on Rosamond Street.

 

Clipped from The Ottawa Journal, 13 Apr 1894, Fri, Page 2– read more here.. Channeling John Gillies–CLICK here https://lindaseccaspina.wordpress.com/2015/08/10/channeling-john-gillies/

 

 

Is There a Secret Tunnel in Carleton Place?

Smooth Criminals in Carleton Place –The Robberies on Bridge Street

Smooth Criminals in Carleton Place –The Robberies on Bridge Street

Lanark County “Bad Girls”– Bank Street 1873

“Wenches” in Almonte??

Searching for the Red-Headed Wench of Carleton Place

Hallelujah and a Haircut —Faces of St. James 1976

An actual “Letter to the Editor” with “a few slight additions” thrown in from The Carleton Place Canadian files Carleton Place, Ontario: December 16, 1948 edition-photos 1976 except the last one. Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum

In a letter to the editor of The Carleton Place Canadian newspaper in December of 1948 a concerned citizen simply known as J.R.P. wrote a scathing letter about the ongoing power shortages. He was furious about the outage the day before and said it was a complete joke. J.R.P. was angry the lights had gone out while he sat relaxing in the barber’s chair. Apparently his “tonsorial artist” as he called him, was in the middle of trimming his beard, an appendage he admires, even though the ladies don’t like how it tickles.

 

The barber informed him he could continue trimming J.R.P.’s beard in the dark and so he did. As our fair gentleman strolled down Bridge Street later several friends greeted him with a hearty “Good Evening George!” His name was not George, and as he looked at his reflection in Oklilimins he realized the barber had made him look like an exact facsimile of George Bernard Shaw. Not bad for a power outage he thought, but when the cleaner told him he had only pressed one leg of his trousers due to the blackout he began to change his tune.

J.R. P. had enough and as the children dressed as shepherds opened the Parish Hall door and marched towards St. James Anglican church he had some serious thoughts. Was this power shortage business just a political stunt or could God be at work in this force? Is this force God? Will learning more about electricity bring us closer to God? Maybe electricity is the Holy Spirit? I’m going to have a shot of whiskey he thought and then I’ll see if I can figure this out. After all I learned long ago from George Bernard Shaw, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.

Hallelujah!

1940s?