Abstract
The rich artifactual data that was recovered on a block in Manhattan, which was once part of the notorious Five Points district, suggests aspects of everyday life among New York’s emerging working class that were previously unavailable. By weaving the artifacts into narrative vignettes that connect the artifacts to their owners, and drawing on secondary sources for historical context, the neighborhood emerges as something quite different than contemporary and even recent sources have portrayed. This paper contrasts previously published “tales” about Five Points with the more homely stories constructed from the artifactual and historical data. The use of narrative is considered here as a way of “knowing” the past as well as presenting it.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Asbury, Herbert H. 1927 The Gangs of New York. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Bayor, Ronald H., and Timothy J. Meagher 1996 The New York Irish. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Blackmar, Elizabeth S. 1989 Manhattan for Rent, 1785–1850. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.
Campbell, Helen 1896 Darkness and Daylight. A.D. Worthington, Hartford, CT.
Carr, Caleb 1994 The Alienist. Bantam, New York.
Dickens, Charles 1842 American Notes. John Longmans, London, UK.
Diner, Hasia R. 1983 Erin’s Daughters in America. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Gero, Joan M. 1991 Who Experienced What in Prehistory? A Narrative Explanation from Queyash, Peru. In Processual and Postprocessual Archaeologies, Multiple Ways of Knowing the Past, edited by Robert W. Preucel. Occasional Paper 10:126–139. Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
Gilfoyle, Timothy J. 1992 City of Eros: New York City, Prostitution, and the Commercialization of Sex, 1790–1920. W.W. Norton, New York.
Glassie, Henry 1982 Passing the Time at Ballymenone, Culture and History of an Ulster Community. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.
Grinstein, Hyman 1949 The Rise of the New York City Jewish Community, 1644–1860. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, PA.
Groneman, Carol Pernicone 1973 The “Bloody Ould Sixth”: A Social Analysis of a New York City Working Class Community in the Mid-Nineteenth Century. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of History, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
Hill, Marilyn Wood 1993 Their Sisters’ Keepers: Prostitution in New York City 1830–1870. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Sanger, William W. 1939 The History of Prostitution. Reprint of 1858 edition. Eugenics Publishing, New York.
Stansell, Christine 1987 City of Women: Sex and Class in New York, 1789–1860. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yamin, R. Lurid tales and homely stories of New York’s notorious five points. Hist Arch 32, 74–85 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03373615
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03373615