Suds Merrick (died 1884) was a New York river pirate and member of the Hook Gang during the 1870s. Merrick, along with Tommy Shay, James Coffee and Terry Le Strange, operated in the New York waterfront and involved in burglary and pickpocketing as well as raiding the nearby vessels anchored in the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

. Merrick would co-lead the gang with Le Strange during the early 1870s until the arrest of Sam McCracken, Tommy Bonner, and Johnny Gallagher after they had looted the canal boat ''Thomas H. Brick'' and sent to

Auburn State Prison Auburn Correctional Facility is a state prison on State Street in Auburn, New York, United States. It was built on land that was once a Cayuga village. It is classified as a maximum security facility. History In 1816, assemblyman John H. Bea ...

in 1874. Following this incident, Merrick turned control of the Hookers to Bum Mahoney although he would remain with the gang in a limited capacity until his death in 1884.Kohn, George C. "Suds Merrick". ''Dictionary of Culprits and Criminals''. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1986. (pg. 242)

References

Year of birth missing 1884 deaths Gang members of New York City American gangsters of Irish descent American pirates 19th-century pirates {{piracy-stub