Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(orig. US) the female companion of a ‘lad’, a young rowdy.

1848		Boston Blade 17 June n.p.: Could not you [...] send some of the b-hoys here to keep some of the g-hals from spoiling and becoming old maids.
1849		G.G. Foster N.Y. in Slices 45: If you would see the B’hoy, however, in his glory [...] you must see him taking a drive with his G’hal on the avenues.
1856		G.G. Foster N.Y. by Gas-Light (1990) 175: The g’hal is very independent in her tastes.
1872		Schele De Vere Americanisms 583: B’hoys, the name of young men in the city of New York who fill the streets with their noise, are prominent at the polls and at fires, and drive fast on Sundays on favorite roads leading out of town, often with their g’hals by their side.
1888		(ref. to mid-19C) M. Lane in America 20 Sept. 15: The B’hoys were well matched with the G’hals, and between the two they managed in the olden days to make a good deal of noise and confusion upon the New York streets [DA].