Larason, otherwise known as Larrison and potentially identified as William J. Larason, was famed for his connection to Nick-Nax during his Pfaffian era. Larason was the brother-in-law of Mary A. Levison, wife of Nick-Nax proprietor William Levison, and Frank Cahill’s replacement for the editorship in 1860. Larason boarded with Jesse Haney at a house on 16th Street. He accompanied Haney on a Fort Lee excursion with Thomas Butler Gunn, Richard (Dick) Bolton, and Charles Damoreau. Larason was also later acquainted with George Boweryem.

Jesse Haney (1829-1901) was a famed publisher and comic proprietor in New York. He was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, and apprenticed under James Parton (Collins, 54). Haney arrived in New York in 1853 (“Death of Jesse Haney”). Parton, a biographer and educator, was well connected within the Pfaffian circle; Haney’s introduction to the New York literary scene may have been through Parton (Collins, 56). 

Robert Gun, or more commonly known as Bob Gun, was introduced to the Pfaffian scene in 1858. The Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries currently offer the most comprehensive account of Bob Gun’s life. Bob Gun was an early collaborator of Frank Henry Temple Bellew, a connection that introduced Bob Gun to Fitz-James O’Brien and Thomas Butler Gunn. Bob Gun and Bellew would soon become co-owners of the New York Picayune. However, Bob Gun would struggle with running the paper as his Bohemian social circle grew. He met Frank Cahill, Jesse Haney, and Henry Clapp Jr.

Charles Brown was born in London in 1828. Brown immigrated to the United States in 1845 as a wood engraver. Brown was introduced in Thomas Butler Gunn’s diaries just five years later. After meeting Brown, Gunn decided to take a room at Brown’s Canal Street boarding house. Brown briefly grew closer with Gunn during the holiday season and leading into New Year’s 1851. However, Brown soon departed New York for a newspaper job in Boston that same year. His lack of correspondence eventually spurred resentment in Gunn.

Frank Cahill was an arguably infamous Pfaffian due to the complex nature of his work and social lives. According to Thomas Butler Gunn’s diaries, Cahill was introduced to the Pfaffian scene in October 1856 as an early acquaintance of Frank Henry Temple Bellew. Thomas Butler Gunn and Solomon Eytinge would meet Cahill through this connection. Jesse Haney became an early collaborator of Cahill’s after the untimely passing of William Levison. The two men were employed by Levison’s widow, Mary Levison, on the New York Picayune.

Amos Bowman was born in Ontario, Canada in 1839. Bowman attended college in Ohio after his family moved to the United States. At just seventeen years old, Bowman traveled to New York City to continue his studies. While there, Bowman learned the skill of shorthand. He displayed such proficiency that he soon secured a position on the New York Tribune through Horace Greeley (Lythgoe). Bowman first appeared in the Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries in 1860. He became housemates with Gunn himself and James Willard Morris at 132 Bleecker Street.

Boweryem was born on the banks of Avon in England and died at just thirty-three years old. Boweryem spent the last ten years of his life in the United States pursuing careers in both writing and music composition. Boweryem first appeared in the Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries in 1859 as a patron of the North American Phalanx, the utopian socialist commune. In Gunn’s words, Boweryem was “an advertisement collector for the Century and other papers, and once a boy on Punch in its early days” (vol. 11, p. 166-167).

Richard (Dick) Bolton was a friend of Thomas Butler Gunn’s family in England. Thomas Butler Gunn’s diaries placed Bolton, a chemist in Sunderland, in Canada during the 1850s. Bolton later visited Gunn in New York during the summer of 1860. Bolton met multiple Pffafians, including Jesse Haney, Frank Henry Temple Bellew, Charles Damoreau (Brown), and Larason. Gunn brought Bolton by Pfaff’s after a day trip to Fort Lee.