Jenny Everdeane (born 1832) was an Irish-American criminal who worked as a "grifter" (a confidence trickster) and a "turtledove" (a woman who, dressed as a maid, robs wealthy homes) during the mid-19th century. In 1862, she fell in love with Amsterdam Vallon, and the two ran off to California following the New York draft riots of July 1863.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Jenny Everdeane was born in the Five Points slum of Manhattan, New York City, New York in 1832, the daughter of poor Irish immigrant parents. After her mother died, she was forced to live on the street, and, at the age of 12, William Cutting took her in and took care of her "in his own way". He later impregnated her after she asked him to have sex with her, forcing her to have an abortion, leaving scars on her belly. Afterwards, Cutting threw her away, as he did not like scarred girls.
Grifting[]
Everdeane in 1862
Everdeane took advantage of her good looks to become a pickpocket, using her body and her attractive features to distract men as she stole their belongings; she also dressed up as a maid in order to sneak into wealthy estates in Uptown Manhattan and burgle them. She became acquainted with Amsterdam Vallon in 1862 after she stole their mutual acquaintance Johnny Sirocco's watch, and Vallon thwarted an attempt by her to steal his father's medallion. She said that she never wanted to see him again, but, after meeting him at the Five Points Mission's charity dance, she chose him as her dance partner. Again, they fell out after Vallon discovered that she had slept with William Cutting in exchange for a necklace, and Vallon decided against having sex with her. However, they met again at a whorehouse where Everdeane was nursing Cutting after an assassination attempt, and Vallon took her into a room to interrogate her about her relationship to Cutting. After resisting Vallon, she ultimately kissed him passionately and made love with him.
Running off to California[]
The next morning, after Vallon had a conversation with Cutting, Everdeane revealed her past with Cutting. That night, however, having discovered that Amsterdam was the son of his rival Priest Vallon, Cutting decided to bait Amsterdam by using Jenny for a knife throwing act at Sparrow's Chinese Pagoda in front of a large crowd assembled to commemorate the Battle of the Five Points' 16th anniversary. Cutting used a knife to destroy the locket he had given to Jenny and also scarred her neck, causing her to secretly turn on him. She was distraught when Vallon failed to kill Cutting and was instead wounded and scarred by him, and she nursed him back to health under the Old Brewery. She told him that she had saved $215 since she was 13, and that they could leave for San Francisco, California to become rich from digging for gold. For three months, she nursed Vallon back to health, and he ultimately decided to recreate the original Dead Rabbits gang to take on Cutting. Vallon was ultimately able to kill Cutting during the New York draft riots in July 1863, and he and Jenny went on to leave for California.