(Election) "Repeater" (1867)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Wed, 25 May 2005 01:44:53 -0400, bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:

>http://www.barrypopik.com/article/904/repeater
>...
>Is "repeater" a New York election term? What does OED, the next HDAS
>have?

>From Barry's site:

-----
6 July 1867, National Police Gazette, pg. 2:
As the elections seem to be coming on, the noted thieves of New York, or
rather those that have set themselves up as their leaders, have commenced
organizing certain gangs known as 'repeaters;" [...]
-----

Here's a modest antedating:

-----
National Police Gazette, Issue 1114, Jan 5, 1867, p. 3, col. 2
When I wrote an exposition lately relative to the frauds in voting by
"repeaters" and "colonizers," I hardly thought at the time, although you
knew every word to be true, that you dare to publish it.
-----

As with Barry's citation, this is from a column called "The Dodger's
Expositions," wherein "The Dodger" delves into New York's criminal
underworld (asserting his street-smartness by using plenty of thieves'
jargon).  I checked the "Dodger" columns of late 1866 on Proquest but
couldn't find the "exposition" he mentions.  Proquest is missing Issues
#1111 (12/15/1866) and #1112 (12/22/1866) of NPG, so it might be in one
of those.


--Ben Zimmer