Madison County, Indiana - Chapter 61, 1897

At the hour of high noon on Saturday the lOtli of August, 1878, the city of Anderson was tinown into wild excitement over the announcement that the i)anking house of William Crim & Co. had been robbed of a large sum of money. This was one of the slickest pieces of robbery that was ever perpetrated in this [jart of the couutrv.

A well dressed stranger, a few days previously, had registered at the Doxev House under the name of U. F. Tilden, of Mound Citv, Iowa. lie was of verv pleasant address, of unassuming manner, talked but little to anvone but when in conversation was entertaining and .soon ingratiated himself into the good will of several leading citizens about the city, among whom was Joseph R. Cain, the cashier of the Crim Bank. Tilden made several visits to the bank for small accoinmodations in the way of procuring change, at one time asking the cashier to gi\'e him silver for a twenty dollar bill. Mr. Cain took the bag of silver from the vault and counted it out, but just at that moment the stranger seemed to be troubled with a .<ore finger. Me politely recjuested Mr. Cain to tie it up for him as he could not tie it with his other hand. He had a white rag wrapped around his tinger which was also wrapped with a thread which was ready to tie. Mr. Cain, of cour.se, complied with the request but in so doing he was compelled to reach over the counter. Mr. Tilden detained him as long as possible in tying it up by telling him that he had tied it too tight and had him to loosen it and retie it.

While this was going on a couple of sneak thieves, confederates of Tilden, had slifiped in, with cork soles on their shoes, and crawled around the counter and got behind the cashier's department, where the safe was standing with the tloor open. .\ large sum of money was exposed, which they

When Mr. Tilden entered the door he had a confederate who stood on the front steps for the purpose of detaining any one that might come in while the robbery was going on. Richard Thornburg, a farmer living a few miles from the city, was just entering the bank to transact some business, when the confederate, who stood on the outside, stopped him and made some imiuiry as to where some person lived, or some other unimportant matter, and detained him until the sneak thieves had passed out of the bank and Mr. Tilden had also made his escape.

About this time Nerval Crim, the son of William L'rim. the president of the bank, arrived to relieve Mr. Cain while he went to his noon meal. Just as Crim entered the bank some customer came in with a large check, which required more money than was usually kept on the counter to pay it. After looking at the check he turned to the safe to take out a package, when, to his astonishment, the packages were gone. He immediately accosted Mr. Cain and asked him what had become of the currency- Mr. Cain was astoundetl to find that the packages had disappeared, and it immediately dawned upon him that he had "been robbed, and at once suspected Tilden of being the guilty party, or at least an accoinplice in the aft'air.

Tilden and his confederates immediately on leaving the bank started for the Pan-JIandle train going north at 1 :20 V. ,M. The alarm was gi-ven and pursuit was made. The officers boarding the train placed Tilden under arrest and also tliree others who were under suspicion as being his accomplices. The parties arrested with Tilden gave their names as T- C. Curtis, of Cleveland, John Ryan, of Fort Waj'ne, J. Ash and J. T. Bradley, of Pittsfield. All of these parties had boarded the train with Tilden. When the train arrived at Elwood Ryan endeavored to make his escape and jumped from the train and ran through a stave yard. He was seen holding his coat on entering the yard, but on leaving he had left it behind. This action on the part of Ryan led the officers to believe that he had hidden the money somewhere among the staves, and search was made by parties at Elwood, assisted by the officers, but nothing was found until the next day when Mr. P'rank M. Hunter, Postmaster at Elwood, found $1,790, and anotlier party found a small sum, the amount of which the writer does

Ryan and the other p.articipants were returned to Anderson on the evening train, but waived preliminary examination until ?vIonday morning. They were placed in the Madison county jail. James Ilazlett was then Mayor of the city and the case was brougiit before him for trial, but the parties took a change of \ enue from His Honor and their cases were sent to William Roach, Esquire, where the preliminary trial took place on the Tuesday and Wednesday following. Ash and Curtis were both released, but the others, Ryan, Bradley and Tilden were held on bail, which tiiey failed to give and were sent back to jail. Hon. Howell D. Tliompson and Calvin D. Thompson, Esquire, were employed to defend them. Hon. James W. Sansberry and Hon. Charles L. Henry and A. S. McAllister appeared for the State. Friends of the parties came to the front and put up cash bail for them, which they afterward forfeited and never came to trial. It is said, however, that there were some arrangements with the managers of the bank and the friends of these parties that the greater portion of the money was restored to the bank. How much was taken and how much the bank received in return is known only by those who were intimately connected with the affair. The amount was varioush' estimated at from $5,000 to $12,000. It will never be known to outside parties what was the true state of affairs in this relation.

It is said that Ryan was afterwards killed in an encounter of some kind when he was in the act of committing an unlawful deed. Tilden, after being released, was on one or two occasions seen by parties who recognized him at Indianapolis. He was imdoubtedly the smoothest rogue who ever planted his foot in Madison county. During the preliminary trial which was held in the court house, Mr. Tilden sat each day with a kid glove on one hand, in which he help the glove for the other. His faultless linen shirt front and the sparkling diamonds that he wore, with his boots shining as brightly as they could be made, were all scenes in his part of the play, and anyone entering the court room during the proceedings whom he had met at any time during his stay in town he saluted with a bow and greeted with a smile. He was so polite and kind to the officers, to the prosecuting attorney and the lawyers on the other side that he almost won their favors before the trial ended.

^^'hile many criticised Cashier Cain, it is safe to say that tliL-re is not one man out of a tiioiisand phiced as lie was who would not have done as he did.

The writer has been behind the counter of a bank for many years and is ready to confess that lie would in all probabilitv have done as Mr. Cain did under similar circiuiistaiices

W. S. Shirk, who is well known to almost every one in Anderson, and who kept a jewelry store on tlie north side, was the victim of two daring robberies within a period of two years. The first time, in the month of November. 1888, some miknown persons entered his store through the back door while the proprietor was at supper, and got away with about .'t!2,(K)() worth of jewelry, and diamonds, and made good their escape. The trays in which the valuables were kept were all emptied and the show cases left bare, a greeting that met Mr. Shirk's view when he returned from his meal that made him heart-sick. He could scarcely believe his own eyes when he beheld the empty cases.

Mr. Shirk had just begun to recover from the effects of this robber)' in a financial way, when he was again, on the night of March 14, 189U, visited with a similar occurrence, only on a larger scale.

Mr. and Mrs. Shirk were boarders at the Hotel Doxey, and had gone to their rooms leaving the store closed, and the safes securely locked. A young man of the name of C. H. Williams was a clerk in the store, and had gone out to call on a ladv friend, returning at about 1'2 o'clock to retire for the night, he having his sleeping apartments in the store. Upon entering the room he was astonished to see the safe door open, and upon examination he ascertained that a robbery had been committed. He at once repaired to the hotel and aroused Mr. Shirk, who hastened to the store, wiiere he was soon convinced that he had again been the victim of burglars. The alarm was immediately given to the police and all effort to find a clue was made without success. The entire stock was taken and a lai-ge loss was sustained. Detectives were put to work on the case and the whole country was scoured in order to find some evidence of guilt or some trace of the robbers. Suspicion pointed towards the clerk, and the detectives decided to cause his arrest, which was accordingly done, but on

This was without doubt one of the slickest pieces of thievery e\er perpetrated. There was no one in the wide world who had the combination to the safe except Mr. Shirk, and how it was opened is to this day a mystery.

There was but one tiieory advanced bj' experts, and that was that some one had gotten possession of tiie letters on which the combination was set, at some time when Mr. Shirk iiad inadvertently laid them down, and quietly bided the time until an opportunity offered itself to perfect the job.

Some people were of the opinion that Shirk was the guilty party of his own robbery, but there was absolutely no foundation or reason for this concju-ion, as he was in no one's debt, and could in no wise profit bj' such a transaction, and besides, he was the personification of honor and would not be guilty of such a crime.

Mr. Shirk was one of tiie finest workmen in his line in the United States, being a practical watch maker. He left Anderson not long after this occurrence, and moved to Florida on account of his wife's health, where he at this time resides.

He was born and reared at Newcastle, Ind. This was a severe blow to him financially, and was the cause of his having to give up business for himself, and is now working as a journeyman at his trade.

On the 18th of August, 1880, about the hour of 12 o'clock at night, when all honest people had sought their peaceful couches and all was serene and quiet, Frank Murphy, a des])erate night prowler of the ligiit-fingered fraternity, made his way into the sleeping apartments of Charles A.Henderson, the well-known Anderson druggist, by climbing over the veranda from the groimd below. He very deliberately went to Mr. Henderson's bed, where he and his wife were sleeping, and took Mr. Henderson's trowsers from under his head and rifled their pockets. Tliis aroused the sleeping victim, who at once made an attempt to get up and give the alarm, but he was promptly stopped by his midnight visitor.

wlio held a Smith & Wesson's revolver to his face and commanded him to keep still at the risk of his life. Mr. Henderson thought discretion the better part of valor, so he ineekly obeyed the command. There was a light in the room, and Mr. Henderson took a good look at the intruder. He satisfied himself that if he should ever meet him again he would know him. The impression made on Henderson's mind was so vivid that he has never lost the full outlines of that man's face. The ne.xt day after this occurrence Mr. Henderson met the robber on the street, and at once recognized him. He quietly gave the alarm to the city marshal, and he started in pursuit of the criminal. The rogue must have suspected that Henderson knew him, for he at once took a straight line for the Bee Line railroad, where a freight train was standing, about to start east. While the marshal was getting his forces readv a friend of Mr. Henderson hurried to the depot and quietlv informed the conductor of what was going on, and he held the train until the officers arrived, and in a few minutes Murphy was a prisoner. The Circuit Court was in session at the time, arid an indictment was procured against the prisoner and a hasty trial had, and he was soon on his way to Michigan City to serve time for iiis crime. He made threats that he would come back when he had served his time and kill Henderson ; but he got over this, as he did come back, but never molested Mr. Henderson in any way.