Patrick McLaughlin (criminal)
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Patrick "Paudeen" McLaughlin (c. 1822 – March 20, 1858) was a New York criminal and a "slugger" for
Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...
during the middle of the 19th century. McLaughlin, whose nose had previously been chewed off during a brawl in the Five Points with the Alderman of the First Ward, was widely regarded in the underworld for his skill with a bludgeon and slung-shot.


Biography

Born to Irish immigrants in
Cohoes Falls Cohoes Falls (, "a boat is in the water/is actively submerged") is a waterfall on the Mohawk River shared by the city of Cohoes and the town of Waterford, New York. History Cohoes historian Arthur Masten incorrectly wrote in his 1880 history tha ...
(near
Lansingburgh, New York Lansingburgh is a village in the north end of Troy, New York, United States. It was first laid out in lots and incorporated in 1771 by Abraham Jacob Lansing, who had purchased the land in 1763. In 1900, Lansingburgh became part of the City of Tr ...
), McLaughlin left home at an early age to work as an immigrant runner in New York and soon became a well known street fighter and was imprisoned for a time on
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. It is about long, with an area of , and had a ...
. After being severely disfigured in a brawl with a future Alderman of the First Ward, he retired from immigrant running and was employed as hired muscle for the Erie Railroad Company for several years. During the mid-1850s, he and Jim Turner were bodyguards for Lewis "Lew" Baker during his feud with William "Bill the Butcher" Poole. He, along with Turner and several others were eventually convicted of aiding and abetting Baker after he shot and killed Poole on February 25, 1855. McLaughlin himself, while drinking at a Howard Street saloon and dance hall, was mortally wounded when he was shot on the morning of March 20, 1858 by sportsman Daniel "Dad" Cunningham. He and Cunningham had become involved in a heated argument after McLaughlin had insulted the boxing abilities of
John Morrissey John Morrissey (February 12, 1831 – May 1, 1878), also known as Old Smoke, was an Irish American politician, bare-knuckle boxing champion, and criminal. He became a bare-knuckle boxer, challenging and defeated "Yankee Sullivan", who w ...
. When a fight broke out between the two men, Cunningham pulled a revolver and shot McLaughlin in the chest. Although later taken to the New York City Hospital, he would die of his wounds several hours after his arrival as doctors failed to find the bullet which remained lodged in his chest.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Patrick 1820s births 1858 deaths Gang members of New York City American gangsters of Irish descent People from Lansingburgh, New York