This is a list of identities referenced in Herbert Asbury's 1928 book The Gangs of New York including underworld figures, gang members, crime fighters and others of the Old New York era from the mid- to late 19th and early 20th century. Some were also portrayed in Martin Scorsese's 2002 film Gangs of New York.
Gang members
Batavia Street Gang
{| class=wikitable
! width="21%" | Name
! width="7%" | Portrait
! width="7%" | Life
! width="55%" | Comments
|-
|Duck Reardon
|
|fl. 1895
|Gang leader and "dandy" whose involvement in the theft of Herman Segal's jewelry store resulted in the arrests of himself and several members of the gang.
|-
|Mike Walsh
|
|fl. 1895
|He and Duck Reardon led several members in the robbery of Herman Segal's jewelry store, supposedly to raise money for members to attend a fancy dress ball at New Irving Hall, and was arrested days later with Reardon and other participants of the robbery.
|}
Bowe Brothers
{| class=wikitable
! width="21%" | Name
! width="7%" | Portrait
! width="7%" | Life
! width="55%" | Comments
|-
|Bill Bowe
|
|
|Member of the Bowe crime family led by his brother Martin Bowe.
|-
| William Varley, a.k.a. Reddy The Blacksmith
|
55px
|1835-1876
|One of the few career criminals of the street gang, he was one of the city's most notorious underworld figures during the mid-to late 19th century.
|-
|Syksey
|
|
|Lieutenant and longtime companion of Mose the Fireboy. He is supposed to have coined the phrase "hold de butt" which refers to a "dead cigar".
|Founder and co-leader of the Car Barn Gang with Freddie Muchfeldt. The two were eventually convicted and executed for murder in 1911.
|Co-leader of the Car Barn Gang known as "The Kid". He and "Big Bill" Lingley were convicted of murder and executed in 1911.
|-
|Nicholas Saul
|
|1833–1853
|Co-leader of the Daybreak Boys with William Howlett. He and Howlett were convicted and hanged for murder after killing the watchman during the robbery of the brig William Watson.
|-
|Bill Johnson
|
|fl. 1850
|A close associate, but reportedly ineffectual, member of the Daybreak Boys. A participant in the robbery of the brig William Watson with William Howlett and Nicholas Saul, he was so drunk that "he was unable to lend a hand at the oars" and was later arrested with them after a gunfight with police at their Slaughter House Point headquarters. Of the three, Johnson was sentenced to life imprisonment and the others to be hanged.
|-
|Slobbery Jim
|
|1839-?
|He and Bill Lowrie succeeded Howlett and Saul as leaders of the Daybreak Boys. Slobbery Jim was later forced to flee the city after murdering fellow member Patsy the Barber.
|-
|Patsy The Barber
|
|d. 1859
|Member of the Daybreak Boys during the 1850s. His murder by Slobbery Jim forced the gang leader to flee the city.
|He was shot and killed in Paul Kelly's bar by "Biff Ellison", leader of the Gopher Gang.
|Last leader of the Gas House Gang. Killed by rival Jimmy Cariggio in 1912.
|-
|Battle Annie
|
|
|Popularly known as "Queen of Hell's Kitchen", she led the female contingent known as the Lady Gophers during the 1870s.
|-
|William Burke
|55px
|
|Another thief known as "Billy the Kid", he was considered one of Grady's best men and was said to have been arrested one hundred times before his 21st birthday.
|-
|Jake Rand
|
|
|Swindler known as John "Greedy Jack" Rand. He planned and led members of the Grady Gang in the robbery of industrialist Rufus L. Lord in 1866. His role was to distract Lord while "Boston" Anderson and Eddie Pettingill sneaked into his Exchange Place office and stole nearly $2 million in cash and negotiable securities.
|-
|Lobster Kid
|
|
|A lieutenant of Humpty Jackson.
|-
|Jimmy Hope
|55px
|1836–1905
|Bank robber involved in the 1878 robbery of the Manhattan Savings Institution.
|-
|Sophie Lyons
|55px
|1848–1924
|One of the most notorious confidence women of the 19th century, she and her husband bank robber Ned Lyons were the most hunted criminals in the country.
|-
|Kid Shanahan
|
|fl. 1883
|Gang leader and river pirate. In 1883, he was convicted of the attempted hijacking of the sloop Victor while anchored in Flushing Bay.
|-
|Mark Shinburn
|55px
|1838–1915
|
|-
|Rosanna Peers
|
|
|The earliest known criminal fence, whose Center Street grocery store and dive bar was used as the headquarters of the Forty Thieves.
|-
|John Daly
|
|1838–1906
|Owner of a popular Broadway gambling resort and a rival of John Kelly.
|-
|Kid Jigger
|
|
|A former gunman-turned-gambler, Kid Jigger operated one of the most successful stuss parlors in Manhattan's East Side. Johnny Spanish attempted to murder Kid Jigger after a failed extortion attempt but instead killed an eight-year-old girl during the gunfight and was forced to flee the city for a time.
|-
|Lizzie The Dove
|
|fl. 1887
|Five Points prostitute under Danny Lyons.
|-
|Inspector George W. McClusky
|
|1861–1912
|Police official who led the NYPD Detectives Bureau and was involved in the Becker-Rosenthal trial.
|-
|Colonel Cleveland Winslow
|55px
|1836–1864
|Senior officer who led a large military force with Major Robinson and Colonel Jardine against rioters on First Avenue but were forced to flee after suffering a large number of casualties.
|-
|Bill Howe
|55px
|1828–1902
|Founder of the Howe and Hummel law firm who represented a number of underworld figures with his partner Abe Hummel throughout the 19th century.
|}
Celebrity residents
{| class=wikitable
! width="21%" | Name
! width="7%" | Portrait
! width="7%" | Life
! width="55%" | Comments
|-
|Grand Duke Alexis
|55px
|1850–1908
|Russian noble who reportedly discovered a destitute Russian countess working as a waitress at Bismark Hall whom he brought back to Russia.
|-
|John L. Stevens
|55px
|1805–1852
|Author of Stevens' Travels, whose description of Egyptian mausoleums would later be used in the construction of The Tombs.
|-
|Hom Ling
|
|
|Chinese tragician who performed with comic Ah Hoon at the Chinese Theater.
|-
|Tai Yu
|55px
|1878–?
|First wife of Mock Duck. In December 1911, she returned to China a month before Mock Dock's arrest.
|}
Industrialists
{| class=wikitable
! width="21%" | Name
! width="7%" | Portrait
! width="7%" | Life
! width="55%" | Comments
|-
|Barnet Baff
|55px
|1863-1914
|Celebrity businessman and "poultry king" whose murder was the result of a contract put out on him by business rivals.
|-
|David Lamar
|55px
|1876–1934
|An industrialist known as the "Wolf of Wall Street", whose coachmen James McMahon was assaulted by Monk Eastman in Freehold, New Jersey. When McMahon appeared against Lamar in court, he was stabbed and beaten by members of the Eastman Gang as he entered the courthouse and was unable to testify.
|-
|Jacob Brown
|
|
|Civil servant and city street commissioner who unsuccessfully proposed that the drainage area known as "the Collect" be drained and filled.
|-
|Jerry McAuley
|55px
|1839–1884
|A reformed gambler and alcoholic, he was the founder of McAuley's Mission which served free meals to the homeless on Water Street. It was originally opened as The Cremourne, the name of the popular dive bar next door, and was often confused by its patrons who often entered his place instead. He was supposed to have locked the front doors and not allow these customers to leave until they had listened to one of his sermons.
|-
|Shang Draper
|55px
|1839–1883
|Saloon keeper and underworld figure sometimes associated with George Leonidas Leslie and his gang.
|-
|Harry Hill
|
|1827–1896
|British-born sportsman and gambler whose West Houston Street gambling resort remained one of the most popular places in the city for over three decades until its close in 1886.
|-
|Jimmy Kelly
|
|
|Owner of a Bowery dive bar and was a criminal associate of the Eastman Gang.
|-
|Mallet Murphy
|
|
|A popular Bowery saloon keeper, his nickname was attributed to his use of a wooden mallet as a weapon against unruly customers and to defend his bar against criminals. His Battle Row saloon was used as the headquarters of the Gopher Gang during the turn of the 20th century.
|-
|Mersher Miller
|
|
|Saloon keeper known as "Mersher The Strong Arm", who owned a Norfolk Street beer house at the turn of the 20th century. His bar was later the scene of a gunbattle when Johnny Spanish attempted to rob the bar and the patrons.
|-
|Frank Stephenson
|
|
|Bowery saloon keeper and owner of the Bleecker Street basement bar The Black and Tan. One of the first saloons to cater to African Americans, it competed directly against neighboring establishments such as Harry Hill's gambling resort and Billy McGlory's Armory Hall among others.