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THE JEW BOY GANG
(By SIR SOLOMON.)
One of the most notorious of the
early bushrangers was Edward Davis,
commonly known as the Jew Boy, by
reason of his Hebrew extraction. Davis
was in an iron gang working near Syd-
ney, and he succeeded in making his
escape, and then with others, who had
agreed to join him in a bushranging
stunt, he made direct for the Hunter
River districts and entered upon his
depredations. His field of operations
covered most of the ground worked, in
later years, by Thunderbolt, and ex-
tended from Maitland to New Eng-
land. On April 3rd, 1839, the "Syd
ney Gazette" said "The country, be-
tween Patrick's Plains and Maitland
has lately been the scene of numerous
outrages by the bushrangers, In one
week they robbed no less than seven
teams on the Wollombi-road, taking
away everything portable, Mr
M'Dougall, late chief constable at
Maitland, and a party of volunteers set
out in pursuit. The Wollombi district
constable is a tailor by trade, and he
refused to leave work to accompany the
party on the plea that it would not pay
him." Readers will see that the police
force of that day was not constituted as
at present, and many tradesmen receiv-
ed a small annual salary to act as a con-
stable, whilst in large towns the soldiers
performed police duties. One of the
Jew Boy's first robberies was an the
house of Mr Windeyer (father of Sir
William Windeyer), at Strond. Mait-
land. Paterson River, Singleton and
Upper Hunter residents suffered in
quick succession, at the hands of the
gang. They stuck up Mr Caswell's
house and took away £400 in cash.
After bailing up a number of persons
about Patrick Plains, they went on to
Muswellbrook and looted the stores
there; and then went to Scone the
same day and repeated the crime. On
June 17th, 1839, four bushrangers, sup-
posed to be members of the Jew Boy
gang, were captured near Murrurundi,
and sentenced to long terms of impri-
sonment, About this time Davis re-
constructed his gang, and the personnel
of it consisted in addition to the lead-
er, John Everett, John Shea, Robt.
Chitty, Jas. Bryans, Richard Glanville
and John Marshall. The latter put
in much of his time about Singleton
whilst others of the gang did likewise
but to a lesser extent than Marshall.
The latter would be absent from the
gang for weeks, the whole of which
would be spend in the environs of a
dissolute woman, who had previously
been an assigned servant of Major
Mudie at Castle Forbes. It is doubt-
ful if this district has ever possessed a
more debauched and dissolute woman
than Kitty Phillips. The one possible
exception was Helen McDougall or
Glasspoole, one of the Burke and Hare
ghouls, and who was burnt to death in
1868 at Rix's Creek.
The depravity of Kitty Phillips beg-
gars description. Not content with
her own wild and woolly orgies with
Marshall and other members of the
gang, she tried by all sorts of diaboli-
cal means, to force her ruffianly com-
panions company upon her own cousin
another ex-convict, but a young woman
who was striving hard to live down her
past, and became a useful member of
society. Thwarted on every side by
her cousin's strong will and earnest
resolve to lead an honorable life, Kitty
resorted to all sorts of devious means
to attain her desire, or, as an alterna-
tive, to have revenge. She took the
bushranger to the young woman's house
on the Maitland road, whilst the latter's
husband was up country, and tried to force
the scoundrel's attentions on the
unfortunate woman, but failed in every
attempt. She then resorted to revenge
upon her cousin's child, and brought
into play every diabolical scheme used
by Mudie in the subjection of his ser-
vants. One day finding her cousin out
and the child alone Kitty began her
plan of reveng by sticking pins into
the child, and savagely beating it, when
its cries attracted the mother rush-
ed to the house and found her cousin
gloating over the agony she was causing
the innocent child. The reprobate felt
secure knowing that one of the Jew boy
gang was waiting her a short distance
from the house, but that did not pre-
vent the distracted mother from protect-
ing her child, and meting out deserved
punishment to the callous creature. The
distracted mother grabbed a heavy
stick, and with a savage blow struck
the drunken cousin on the head, and
uttering a piercing scream Kitty Phil-
lips fell into the fire. Mrs Walshutt
with her child in her arms now rushed
screaming to the road, and the bush-
ranger who was waiting for his de-
bauched companion now made off,
whilst a neighbour --Mrs Atkinson--
rushed to the house and dragged the
burning woman from the flames. She
immediately sent for Dr. Glennie, and a
Mr Simpson. To the latter Kitty re-
lated her story but when the Doctor
arrived, a quarter of an hour later
she was dead. Mary Walshutt was
tried at Maitland for the murder, and
found guilty of manslaughter under, ex-
tenuating circumstances and sentenced
to one year's imprisonment.
It was the association of the mem-
bers of the Jew-boy gang in orgies and
crimes such as the above that made
them abhorred, and their career of
crime has placed them in history as the
worst band of brutal ruffians that ever
took to bushranging though they were
closely pressed by "bloodthirsty" Mor
gan for that dubious title. -
After the death of Kitty Phillips that,
scoundrel Marshall and his companions
paid less visits to Singleton, andwhen
they did come it was in company with
the whole gang and not individual
visits for revelry.
In 1840 the gang made Doughboy.
Hollow near Murrurundi their head-
quarters, but the lower Hunter suffered
severely at their hands. Wollombi was
specially selected for visitations, and
paid dearly for them. They robbed
Mr Deake's house and then appropriat-
ed his best horses. On one occasion a
large part of special police and volun-
teers went after the gang fully deter-
mined to extgerminate the pest, but the
Jew-boy caught them napping and yard-
ed them all up like a mob of cattle.
They took all the fireams, horses and
tucker, and then, to add insult to in-
jury, made all hands empty their
pockets. On one occasion two of the
gang suffered and indignity which their
companions were wont to throw up to
them. the two had bailed up a bul-
lock team driven by an ex-convict nam-
ed Budge, and whilst one of them kept
Budge covered with his pistol the other
ransacked tho dray. The bullock
driver waited his opportunity, and ob-
serving the outlaw with the pistol was
acting carelessly he grabbed the wea-
pon and called upon the two bushrang-
ers to surrender, and they obeyed. For
several hours he kept them standing
together with hands above their heads,
but as no assistance came to enable
him to take them to gaol, he was forced
to let them go, but before so doing he
took all their equipment and horses and
delivered them up to the authorities.
Budge had a most remarkable career,
for when he was an assigned servant of
Mr Potter he, and seven other convicts,
bolted, and intended to reach Timor.
After three days in the bush their sup-
ply of food became exhausted, and
Budge left the party with the intention
of returning to tho Hunter River, but
ho was overcome by exhaustion and
want of food, and he lay down to die,
but was discovered in time by a stock-
man rounding up cattle and taken to
the station in a deplorable condition,
and for a time his life was considered
beyond human aid., The remainder of
the party resorted to cannibalism to
save themselves, and one of the party
was killed and cut up for food. Subse-
quently the remains of the whole seven
were discovered some miles from the
others.
.On Sunday, March 21st, 1840, the
gang stuck up Captain Horsley's house
at Hexham and robbed the place of
everything portable, and then made
northwards. They passed through Sin-
gleton, where they committed a few
pelty robberies, and were pursued by a
band of volunteers led by Mr E.D.
Bay, of Maitland, and Mr. Scott, who
lived in the house now occupied by Mr
Shearer, at Glendon, and after whom
Scott's Flat is named, and they were
encountered at Doughboy Hollow, and
after a desperate battle captured. Great
excitement was manifested locally as
the desperate prisoners passed through
on their way to gaol. On March 16th,
1841, Edward Davis (the Jew-boy),
John Everett, John Shea. Richard Glan-
ville, John Marshall, James Bryant, and
Robert Chitty who comprised the gang,
paid heavy toll by being hanged in Syd-
ney.
Public meetings were held to express
thanks to the volunteers who had per-
formed such a grand work as ridding
the country of such a band of desperate,
and callous criminals, and a handsome
presentation . was made Mr Day for
organising the party.
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