Black Sheep Sunday: Kokomo Robbers Held In Detroit

Call-Leader, Elwood, Indiana, April 3, 1925, page 1.

KOKOMO ROBBERS HELD IN DETROIT

Two Young Men Arrest and $ 7,100 in Securities Are Recovered

STOLEN AUTO PROVES CLUE

(International News Service)

Detroit, Mich., April 3. – James E. Hayes, 27, said to be the third member of the bandit gang which last week held up and robbed the Southside bank at Kokomo, Indiana, of $ 9,000, was held by the police today.  His alleged accomplices, Henry Pierpont and Thaddeus Skeer, also held here, will be taken to Kokomo.  Five thousand dollars have been recovered.

Detroit, Mich., April 2 – Frank Mason, alias AL Pierpont, 24, and Thaddeus Skeer, 22, were arrested here to day and are being held for Kokomo (Ind.) police in connection with the robbery of South Kokomo Bank last week, in which nearly $10,000 was taken.

A girl giving her name as Louise Brunner, 22, of Fort Wayne, Ind., was arrested and, is being held as a witness.  Miss Brunner was trailed to Detroit by detectives, who apprehended Skeer and the girl as the two met.  Mason was arrested later.

Pierpont was found with $ 4,000 on his person and bonds and securities totaling $5,400 were uncovered in the apartment where the trio was found.  The loot originally amounted to $ 7,000 in negotiable securities and about $ 2,000 in Liberty bonds.

Suspension [sic] was directed toward Skeer, it is said, when it was learned that the machine used by the bandits had been stolen in Fort Wayne a few days before.

He was suspected of the automobile theft, and when the robbery was reported, police began working on the theory that he was implicated.

Kokomo, Ind., April 2 – Louise Brunner, held as a witness at Detroit in the South Kokomo robbery case, Harry Pierpont and Thaddeus R.  Skeer, both held as suspects in the robbery, are to be returned to this city tomorrow, according to word received by Kokomo police tonight.  All the bonds, amounting to $ 7,1000, stolen from the bank, have been recovered and have been identified by A.E. Gorton, cashier, according to information received here.  A part of the case has also been recovered.

The three prisoners have waived extradition and warrants charging petit larceny and bank robbery, have been issued here by City Judge Joseph Cripe against Pierpont and Skeer.

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This account of the arrest of cousin Harry PIERPONT (1902-1934) and part of his gang in Detroit was from found during research at the Elwood Public Library, and provides a different take on the account from other papers, such as here and here.

Black Sheep Sunday – create a post with the main focus being an ancestor with a “shaded past.” Bring out your ne’er-do-wells, your cads, your black widows, your horse thieves and tell their stories. And don’t forget to check out the International Black Sheep Society of Genealogists (IBSSG). This is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers.

Sunday's Obituary: Ora Lee (Brady) LeMaster (1920-2008)

Commercial-Review, Portland, Indiana, April 16, 2005, page 2

Ora Lee LeMaster, 87, 229 W. McNell St., Portland, died Tuesday at Miller's Merry Manner in Dunkirk.


Born on June 17, 1920, in Jay County, to Harry and Rebecca (Lindsay) Brady, she was married on May 9, 1942 , to Garth L. LeMaster, who died on Feb. 5, 1998.


She was a homemaker and attended Portland Friends Church.


Surviving are three sons, Garth L. "Mike" LeMaster, Portland; James "David" LeMaster, Portland, and Pat LeMaster, Balbec; a daughter, Martha "LeAnn" Morrical, Indianapolis; three sisters, Ann Reed, Florida, Marie Bierbaum, Elkhart, and Doris Myers, Minnesota; nine grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.


Services are Monday at 11 a.m. in Baird-Freeman Funeral Home.


Burial will be in Salamonia Cemetery.


Visitation is Monday from 9 to 11 a.m. at the funeral home.


Memorials may be sent to Portland Friends Church, Gideons International or State of the Heart Home Health and Hospice.




Sunday’s Obituary – if you have obituaries of family members and ancestors, consider posting them along with other information about that person as part of Sunday’s Obituary. This is an ongoing series developed by Leslie Ann at Ancestors Live Here.

How many facts do you add to your Ancestry tree?

I'm sort of proud of the family tree I've been creating on Ancestry.com.  As I've written about before, I'm taking baby steps to ensure that I document and source as much information as possible.  In contrast to my tree on WorldConnect, which contains my entire GEDCOM database, with this tree I've just put out a "skeleton" of the family tree.  


Right now, I've been focusing on my maternal line, working with my grandparents and great-grandparents to be sure that I have all facts listed with source citations, and have been adding some photos and other media.  My intent is to slowly move back through each generation and add source information.  I understand this is Genealogy 101 but when you find yourself going back and re-examining your work with fresh eyes you begin to see things you've missed.


Question for those who use public trees on Ancestry, how many facts do you add to your trees?  Besides the birth, death, marriage and census information, do you add the "miscellaneous" facts such as draft registration, mentions in the newspaper, etc?  


I've finding that there is much information I either don't have sources for in my Rootsmagic database, or the sources are derivative and I need to seek out the original sources.  Too many items I thought I had scanned, I'm realizing that I hadn't, so that adds to my list of things to do.  Such fun!