Tonight’s selection comes to us from Fall River, Massachusetts. I couldn’t decide between these two mugshots. They are different but each has a unique appeal.
We’ll begin with Peter St. Peter. On January 24, 1912, he was arrested for larceny at the age of 39. He got six months in jail for this little incident.
Courtesy Fall River Historical Society
Look, can we make some allowances for him? The guy probably had a tough life with a name like Peter St. Peter. And he was Canadian. Maybe he was befuddled by our strange American way of life? Then you add in that mugshot and I don’t know… He may just need someone to give him a break.
Our other guest this evening is 22-year-old Joseph Corneau.
Courtesy Fall River Historical Society
On the surface, there’s nothing particularly unique about Joseph, but his crime was “Attempt to Blackmail”…! Do you ever notice, there’s something unique about the crime of blackmail. It’s a very psychological crime and it requires someone whose nature is calculating and cruel.
(Corneau, as it turns out, was also Canadian. What gives, Canada? 😂)
old spirituals 
Those staring eyes, Peter, those staring eyes. It’s like you are still seeing what you wanted to steal in your mind! And as to the Canadians, well there was a lot of cross-border traffic in those days. I transcribe a lot of genealogical documents and there are always quite a few Canadians heading south in them. I live on the Canadian side of the border and even now there are a lot of cross-border marriages and work permits. Shoot, for my parents and grandparents back in the day, smuggling stuff across the border was an art form! A couple of my high school teachers were Americans who crossed the border everyday to teach in Canada. And I have Canadian friends who cross the border every day to work in the States and vice versa. It’s a way of life on the borders, lol. My sister-in-law used to live here and grocery shop in the States every week because it was literally closer to shop there than to leave her small town and head into the city where she’d find the nearest Canadian grocery store. So hey, while you’re there, why not try your hand a little petty larceny or blackmail? Two for one, right? Makes sense, lol.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Jennie! As Old Spirituals’ brand-new unofficial Canadian correspondent, maybe you can answer an off-topic question for me: Do Canadians ever describe themselves as “American”?
I use the names “United States” and “America” interchangeably but my friend from Colombia once told me this was confusing to her. She said the United States is a country within North America, like Colombia is a country within South America… so she and I are both American. But if you asked either of us where we’re from, she would say Columbia and I would say America. Can you tell me if this is a topic in Canada?
LikeLike
Living so close to the States, we refer to it as either the States or America, or possibly the USA. Living where I am we refer to it as going “over the river”, lol. But in Canada, YOU are Americans and we are Canadians. We never refer to ourselves as other than that. Well, maybe occasionally we call ourselves Canucks, or that we are from the North, or the Great White North, but it is those who are south of the border who are Americans, not us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah interesting! Thank you! 🙏🏼
LikeLike
Blackmail is an especially despicable crime. It’s often done by people represented themselves as a friend. They were trusted. There is a certain amount of betrayal involved.
LikeLiked by 1 person
People have a certain expectation that they’ll be able to do as they please and can maintain a degree of privacy, provided they don’t infringe on anyone else’s rights. Some blackmail is perpetrated against people who have violated others’ rights or broken the law but lots of times it’s just embarrassing stuff the person did that they don’t want to be raked up again. The blackmailer violates our ideas about privacy and our ability to put things behind us and become better people. Despicable is a good word for them!
LikeLike