Sadie Farrell, aka Sadie the Goat (c. 1869) was a robber and New York river pirate.
Sadie Farrell, aka Sadie the Goat (c. 1869) was a robber and New York river pirate.
In honor of the spookiest month, we’re revisiting our favorite Womanica episodes featuring villains, troublemakers, magic, and mystery all October. Join host Jenny Kaplan — with a few special introductions — as she takes you back in time, highlighting women like Sadie the Goat, Marie Laveau, Patricia Krenwinkel and more who were ruthless, vengeful, and mystical. The riveting stories of these women are sure to keep you up at night.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Sara Schleede, a production assistant here at WMN. I’m so excited to be introducing this “best of” episode of Womanica.
This episode was originally part of our August 2019 theme, “Villainesses.”
Our Womanican today was a legendary criminal, gang leader, and river pirate in New York City.
I really like this episode because it highlights such a scrappy and adventurous figure in NYC’s history.
Now here’s host Jenny Kaplan to talk about Sadie the Goat.
Not much is known about the particulars of Sadie’s youth, but Sadie Farrell was an Irish-American who lived in mid-19th century New York.
Sadie is believed to have lived in New York’s fourth ward which was located around what is today known as the financial district.
The Fourth Ward had serious sanitation issues and a crime problem. In 1865, the Citizens Association of New York published a report on sanitation and public health in the city. Of the 4th ward the report said, ““There are more than four hundred families in this district whose homes can only be reached by wading through a disgusting deposit of filthy refuse.”
Sadie was a colorful character in the area. She earned her nickname because when she came across travelers walking solo, she headbutted them in the stomach like a goat while an accomplice fired a slingshot at the victim and robbed them.
One anecdote that has made its way prominently into the folklore surrounding Sadie involved a long-time feud with a woman named Gallus Mag.
Gallus Mag was a tough, six-foot-tall female bouncer. Mag’s signature move was to bite off the ear of troublemakers. Most of the time, that meant she was biting the ears off of men. But Mag didn’t necessarily descriminate and in the midst of a major bar fight, Mag bit off Sadie’s ear.
Sadie fled the area and ventured to the West Side of Manhattan. The story goes that Sadie was walking the docks on the West Side in the spring of 1869 when she saw members of the Charlton Street Gang attempt to board a small ship anchored in the river. They were unsuccessful against the ship’s crew.
Sadie offered to help and became the gang’s leader. Days later, Sadie successfully led efforts to steal a bigger ship. Thus Sadie and her crew’s pirating careers began.
They sailed the Hudson and Harlem Rivers, going as far north as Poughkeepsie and Albany, New York. The gang wreaked havoc under Sadie’s leadership -- raiding villages, robbing houses and kidnapping for ransom. Local newspapers at the time said that Sadie made several male prisoners walk the plank. The gang’s strategy worked for several months before the tides of fortune shifted.
Farmers in the Hudson Valley began to fight back. Whenever Sadie and the Charlton Street Gang landed, the farmers opened fire. The locals’ won and the pirates disbanded, returning to their previous haunts.
Sadie returned to the fourth ward, where she was deemed Queen of the Waterfront. It’s believed that she made a truce with Gallus Mag and Gallus Mag gave Sadie her ear back. Mag had been keeping it displayed in a jar on the bar.
The tale goes that Sadie kept the ear in a locket and wore it around her neck for the rest of her life.
Sadie the Goat was referenced in many historical novels and was part of the basis for the character Hellcat Maggie in the movie Gangs of New York.
All month, we’re bringing you the best of villainy, magic, and mystery. Tune in tomorrow for another of our favorite episodes.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!