William Poole

William Poole (July 24, 1821 – March 8, 1855), also known as Bill the Butcher, was the leader of the Washington Street Gang, which later became known as the Bowery Boys gang. He was a local leader of the Know Nothing political movement in mid-19th-century New York City. Early life Poole was born in Sussex County, New Jersey, to parents of English descent. In 1832, his family moved to New York City to open a butcher shop in Washington Market, Manhattan. Poole became skilled in his father's trade and eventually took over the family store. In the 1840s, he worked with the Howard (Red Rover) Volunteer Fire Engine Company #34, on Hudson and Christopher Streets, and started the Washington Street Gang which later became the Bowery Boys. During this period in New York, fires were a problem for the city. Volunteer fire groups, such as the one Poole was in were important for keeping fires under control. These firefighting groups were closely tied with street gangs, and were seen as a public service provided by those groups. Throughout the years there was an ongoing rivalry between gangs; over who would be the one to extinguish the fire. There began a common strategy that the Bowery Boys utilized to ensure that other fire engine companies could not put out the fires. Being that upon hearing the alarm sound a member of the Bowery Boys would find the nearest fire hydrant. He would then proceed to flip over an empty barrel upon the hydrant. In doing so it could not be seen or used. The Bowery Boys would sit on the barrel until his own fire engine arrived. Fights over the hydrants would break out, and often the Bowery Boys had no time to actually extinguish the fire. Personality William Poole was a large man for the time. He weighed over two hundred pounds and was about six feet tall. He was known for his brutal boxing style: "He was well known as being a notoriously dirty fighter, not averse to biting off noses, gouging out eyeballs, or beating a man to jelly." He fought in many fights that were considered illegal due to the brutality of bare-knuckle boxing. He was also a known skilled knife fighter, as a result of his profession as a butcher. Poole was a known gambler and a heavy drinker. He closed his family's butchery business in the 1850s and opened a drinking saloon, known as the "Bank Exchange". Street gangs Street gangs in New York were fluid in their membership and name as they merged and found new leaders.