1905

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OH, LOATHSOME ME (CHARLIE HOLMES III)

Jeff Elliott Leave a comment

Pity Charlie Holmes; his bad luck streak continued as his wife nearly burned to death.

That misplaced sympathy appeared in a 1901 Press Democrat item (transcribed below). Today we find it offensive the PD would cast him as the main victim, but turn of the century Santa Rosa is a far throw away from the here and now. The odd story of Charlie Holmes – and particularly, the troubled history of his relationships – offers a revealing peek at how much of a dark side our ancestors were willing to tolerate from someone they otherwise admired.

As explored in the previous two chapters, Charlie was front and center for every banquet, holiday parade and amateur stage show. He joined every club he could and was an officer in our local National Guard Company E. Charlie was elected City Marshal (same as being a Chief of Police) in 1898 and was easily reelected two years later.

– –

THE THREE (OR MORE) FACES OF CHARLIE HOLMES

Charles H. Holmes Jr. was surely the most talked about person in Santa Rosa 120 years ago, and that wasn’t always a good thing.

OUR OWN TOM SAWYER
TERRIFIC GUY, TERRIBLE MARSHAL
OH, LOATHSOME ME
BOSS SQUEEDUNK

As Marshal, his duties included being the city tax collector and on November 19, 1901 it was discovered his office had been robbed overnight. Nearly $1,300 – equal to about two years of a worker’s earnings – was gone, but nobody knew at the time how much was missing because Holmes’ wasn’t paying attention to bookkeeping. Worse, the PD article suggested it was an inside job. If that were true, Charlie was the main suspect but regardless, he was on the hook to pay the money back if it was not recovered.

It was two days after the theft that Margaret Holmes had her accident, her clothes catching fire after she fell while carrying a lighted oil lamp. Charles was still at his office but others in the household came to her rescue. “The flames were extinguished, but not before Mrs. Holmes sustained several bad burns,” it was reported.

The PD did not suggest the accident might be related to stress from her husband’s legal woes. The paper observed, “…Mrs. Holmes is subject to sudden spells of illness…one of the attacks spoken of came on and she fell with the lamp.” More about this in a minute.

At the time the Holmes’ had been married thirteen years and were living with his sister and parents. The former Margaret May Ward came to town as a teenager, having a sister and aunt in Santa Rosa.

It’s good she had family here because it appears Margaret had few, if any, friends. Local newspapers from that time padded their pages with every sort of social item – who attended club meetings, who visited someone after dinner, who spent the day in San Francisco – an endless procession of whos. But it’s rare to spot Margaret doing anything.1 Now contrast her lack of outgoing activities with Charlie’s packed social calendar and a portrait emerges of a couple who were likely estranged for years.

Charlie’s career as a lawman ended in 1902 and he was required to pay back the stolen (?) tax money, as detailed in the previous part of this series. He was back to his old day job of plastering, working mainly in San Francisco. And then came 1904, when he was arrested and charged with statutory rape.

That October it came out Holmes was living in Calistoga with a young woman he said was his wife. The emphasis was on young – although he insisted she was over seventeen (California’s age of consent was then 16), she was not. The “wife” of 40 year-old Charles H. Holmes was actually fourteen.

Holmes was held at the Napa jail for a week as a relative of hers and the Napa District Attorney scrambled to find proof of her age. He was released after posting a $2,000 bond, the girl previously freed the day after their arrests. Near the end of the year the Napa DA dropped charges, mostly on their word and the assurances of her uncle that she was over 17.

What Santa Rosa thought of his adultery/statutory rape is unclear. The Press Democrat suggested it was well-known and had been going on for some time: “Judging from sentiment expressed around town yesterday the arrest of the former marshal did not occasion much surprise among those who knew or had heard of alleged previous familiarity between the man and girl.” The Republican reported the opposite: “The arrest of Holmes on the charge caused great surprise among his friends in this city.”

The girl was Nellie Holmes and both local newspapers were quick to add they were unrelated, the same last name being a coincidence. She and her mother – also named Nellie – lived in Santa Rosa with her aunt, four cousins and her grandmother.2 The eight of them were crammed into a tiny house on First Street across from the Grace Brothers brewery warehouse. There can be no dispute this was the poorest part of town.

Nellie Holmes, probably c. 1915. Image courtesy Sonoma County Library which labeled it as "Mrs. Charles Holmes 1903".
Nellie Holmes, probably c. 1915. Image courtesy Sonoma County Library which labeled it as “Mrs. Charles Holmes 1903”.

Charlie kept a low profile and wasn’t seen much around town. He was still working as a plasterer in San Francisco and presumably staying there as well (it’s unknown whether Nellie was with him or not). Margaret, his mom and sister (his father had since died) were now living on Sonoma Avenue because their previous house had burned down – feel free to also wonder whether that might have been the result of another lamp accident.

Exactly a year after his Napa arrest for cohabiting with a child, Holmes was again in the news for another awful incident.

In the middle of the night Sonoma Ave. neighbors were awakened “by a series of shrill cries” from Margaret, who was heard to be shouting, “murder,” “police” and “let me go.” The Santa Rosa Republican further reported they “heard sounds of slaps being administered as if someone was chastising a child.”

The night officer was summoned and told “Mrs. Holmes had made the outcry while in a state of epilepsy.” What the Press Democrat had discreetly called “sudden spells of illness” that caused her to be severely burned must have been an epileptic seizure.

The 1905 Republican item suggested the neighbors believed the Holmes were abusive: “…The woman is an almost helpless invalid and the people of the vicinity where she resides declare the woman is not given proper attention and treatment…It is believed that her condition of epilepsy would be removed if her surroundings were changed. The people of the neighborhood feel that Mrs. Holmes is entitled to the protection of the community…”

After reading that article in the evening Republican newspaper, Charles immediately ran to the PD office where he was certain to find a more sympathetic reporter. He claimed not to be at the family home that night (yet was apparently somewhere else in town?) and what the neighbors thought was slapping was really Margaret “clapping her hands while not responsible for her actions.”

A following issue of the Republican stated “the family declare[d she] had been clapping her hands and talking incoherently” and revealed Margaret had been hospitalized repeatedly: “…[she] has been subject to epilepsy which has gradually progressed until at times she passed from the epileptic state to that condition of insanity in which she is wholly irresponsible for her actions. The lady has been taken to private sanitariums in times past and her case has been pronounced hopeless.”

Let Gentle Reader note the Epilepsy Foundation says a only small number of people with epilepsy also have psychotic disorders, and also that emotional stress can lead to seizures.

Little was written in the papers about the Holmes family over the following two years. We don’t know what any of them were doing as the Great 1906 Earthquake struck. Charlie happened to be on the scene of a 1907 shootout at a downtown restaurant (predictably, he was attending a banquet).

Then in May 1907, Margaret was committed to the Mendocino State Asylum for the Insane near Ukiah. She died there of pneumonia the next year. She was 39 years old and it was a few days past their 20th wedding anniversary.

The widower Charles did not dawdle when it came to burying his wife. She died on a Friday. Her remains arrived in Santa Rosa on the Saturday train. The funeral was early Sunday afternoon. If your family read the Press Democrat over breakfast, you had only a few hours notice should anyone desire to pay their respects. If your family read the evening Republican, she was in the ground before you cracked the paper and knew she was even dead.

Margaret M. Ware Holmes is buried in the Rural Cemetery, but not in the Holmes family plot where Charles’ parents were, and where he and his sister would later be. Her grave is next to the parents of “Bud” Parks, who was the leader of Santa Rosa’s brass band. Charlie almost certainly knew Bud well because they both appeared at the same sort of social functions, but it’s doubtful Margaret knew any of the Parks, who died several years earlier. It was just an empty grave site for sale. Today there is no tombstone and likely she never had one.

Soon after New Year 1910 there was a small notice in the Press Democrat: Charles H. Holmes Jr. had married Nellie Holmes in a quiet ceremony. He was 45, she had recently turned twenty. “Their friends wish them much happiness,” the newspaper said warmly.

NEXT: BOSS SQUEEDUNK

 


1 Whenever I found a mention of Mrs. Charles H. Holmes, a closer look revealed it was usually her mother-in-law, the editor being sloppy and not specifying between Mrs. C. H. Holmes Sr. and C. H. Holmes Jr.
2 Nellie Olga Holmes was reportedly born December 9, 1889 in San Francisco but an inquiry by the Napa District Attorney in 1904 failed to turn up a birth certificate or other documentation. Her Press Democrat obituary gave her age as someone born in 1889. In the June 1900 census she was listed as born in December 1889. Her grandmother was named as Elizabeth Granque, but other spellings included Giauque and Gaigue.

 

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Mrs. Holmes Badly Burned

Some people seem to have more than their share of trouble. Thursday night Mrs. Holmes, wife of City Marshal Holmes, met with a very painful accident. Unfortunately Mrs. Holmes is subject to sudden spells of illness and while the other members of the household were upstairs, with the exception of her husband, who was still at his office, she started to walk across the floor with a lighted lamp. While doing this one of the attacks spoken of came on and she fell with the lamp. The burning oil set fire to her garments. The fall was heard by those upstairs and they came to her assistance. The flames were extinguished, but not before Mrs. Holmes sustained several bad burns.

– Press Democrat, November 23 1901

 

GIRL’S AGE MUST BE ASCERTAINED
CHARLES H. HOLMES WILL REMAIN IN JAIL AT NAPA PENDING INVESTIGATION
Effort Made to Secure a Bail Bond in This City Yesterday If One Should Be Required by Authorities

Inquiry at the office of Sheriff Dunlap of Napa last night elicited the information that nothing had been done in the Holmes case yesterday, beyond an endeavor to ascertain the true age of Nellie Holmes, the girl with whom Charles H. Holmes cohabited at Calistoga. Holmes and the girl were still in jail last night.

District Attorney Benjamin of Napa learned yesterday that he could find the age of the girl by consulting the records of San Francisco, and he at once sent there for the information. If she is found to be over sixteen years of age the charge is reduced as far as the law goes, but if not the consequences are very serious when it comes to punishment after conviction.

Holmes was visited in jail yesterday by a Napa attorney. An effort was made by a relative of the accused man here yesterday to arrange for a bail bond, if one should be required and pending the result of the investigation. It is not thought one was secured.

William Porter, who married an aunt of Nellie Hoimes went over to Napa from this city yesterday, it being thought that he could furnish absolute information as to the girl’s age. This he was not able to do, and then consulting the records in San Francisco was suggested and adopted by District Attorney Benjamin. Judging from sentiment expressed around town yesterday the arrest of the former marshal did not occasion much surprise among those who knew or had heard of alleged previous familiarity between the man and girl.

– Press Democrat, October 20 1904

 

HOLMES IS IN JAIL GIRL COMES HOME
NELLIE HOMES IS RELEASED FROM DETENTION AT NAPA COUNTY HOSPITAL
Former City Marshal Remains in Custody While Girl’s Age is Being Investigated by the Authorities

Charles H. Holmes was still in jail at Napa last night while the girl with whom he had been living with at Calistoga until the hand of the law was laid on both of them, Nellie Holmes, returned to this city. She was seen and conversed with by a Santa Rosan on the Southern Pacific train last night, and from what she told him, he did not feel very kindly disposed towards the man in jail, made by Holmes’ sister yesterday night and it was learned that District Attorney Benjamin was still investigating as to the girl’s age, and that nothing new had been done in the matter. According to a statement made by Holmes sister yesterday it is likely that bail bond may be furnished her brother today. This is not certain, however.

During her stay in Napa Nellie Holmes was kept in the Napa County Hospital. She was released from there Thursday afternoon on a written order sanctioning her release signed by District Attorney Benjamin. She will have to appear as a witness in the event of the Holmes case coming to trial. What was stated yesterday morning, must be stated again this morning and that is, until District Attorney Benjamin is satisfied as to the correct age of Nellie Holmes, proceedings on the charge of rape will not proceed.

– Press Democrat, October 21 1904

 

HOLMES RELEASED ON $2,000 BOND
FORMER CITY MARSHAL RETURNS TO TOWN AFTER DETENTION FOR SEVERAL DAYS
What Disposition Will be Made of His Case is Still Undecided But Meanwhile He is a Free Man

Charles H. Holmes, former city marshal is in town from Napa. He secured his release from detention at Napa on furnishing a two thousand dollar bail bond. It is not definitely known what the outcome of the case will be. It will be remembered that the man was arrested a week ago last Tuesday in company with a girl named Nellie Holmes of this city at Calistoga. The charge upon which he was arrested was that of rape.

– Press Democrat, October 26 1904

 

HOLMES WILL BE RELEASED
District Attorney of Napa County Finds That Girl Was Over Sixteen Years Old

The charge of rape preferred against ex-Marshal Charles H. Holmes in Napa will probable be dismissed shortly. District Attorney Ray Benjamin has made a thorough search of records to ascertain the age of the young woman and is of the opinion that he will have to dismiss the case against Holmes by reason of the fact that the girl is over seventeen years old.

It will be remembered that Holmes was arrested at St. Helena several weeks ago where he had been living with Nellie Holmes a young girl of this city and passing her as his wife. Holmes was following his trade of plastering. They had rented a single room in the residence of Mrs. Collins mother of the county clerk of Napa County and lived in that one apartment.

The arrest of Holmes on the charge caused great surprise among his friends in this city. He was kept in jail several days while relatives here searched for bondsmen. These were finally secured and the accused man came to this city. The girl with whom he had been living was detained by the Napa county officials for several days. She stoutly maintained from the first that she was more than sixteen years of age. Although the name of the parties are the same there is no blood relationship between them.

– Santa Rosa Republican, December 9 1904

 

WOMEN CAUSE POLICE CALLS
Mrs. Holmes Startled Sonoma Avenue Last Night by Cries of “Murder” — Case Investigated

The police department had two hurried calls last night both of which were responded to by Officer Don McIntosh and in each instance the calls were occasioned by women.

About midnight the residents of Sonoma avenue were alarmed by a series of shrill cries of murder police and fainter cries of “Let me go” emanating from Mrs. Anna Holmes [sic] the wife of Charles H. Holmes. The whole neighborhood was aroused and when the officer arrived it was explained to him that Mrs. Holmes had made the outcry while in a state of epilepsy. The neighbors however had heard sounds of slaps being administered as if someone was chastising a child, this fact also being reported to the police.

The woman is an almost helpless invalid and the people of the vicinity where she resides declare the woman is not given proper attention and treatment. It is more than probable that the case will be called to the attention of the proper authorities and an effort made to have Mrs. Holmes removed to an institution where she can at least receive proper treatment. It is believed that her condition of epilepsy would be removed if her surroundings were changed. The people of the neighborhood feel that Mrs. Holmes is entitled to the protection of the community…

– Santa Rosa Republican, October 20 1905

 

Mr. Holmes Statement

Charles H. Holmes called at this office last night and stated that his wife was not suffering from epilepsy at the time of the excitement at his residence Thursday night. He says that she was experiencing one of a series of spells she has had lately in which she temporarily loses her reason. He stated further that the noise heard as if some one was being slapped was in reality Mrs. Holmes clapping her hands while not responsible for her actions.

Mr. Holmes was not at home on Thursday night when his wife’s cries awoke the neighborhood. Mrs. Holmes has been an invalid and afflicted with epileptic fits for a long time. The poor woman is deserving of much commiseration.

– Press Democrat, October 21 1905

 

Feel They Are Doing All in Their Power

Charles H. Holmes and his mother and sister who have the care of the invalid wife of Mr. Holmes feel that they have done and are doing everything for that lady which lies in their power to do. Mrs. Holmes’ condition is at times precarious and for eighteen years she has been subject to epilepsy which has gradually progressed until at times she passed from the epileptic state to that condition of insanity in which she is wholly irresponsible for her actions. The lady has been taken to private sanitariums in times past and her case has been pronounced hopeless. At the present time the mother and sister of Mrs. Holmes are caring for the lady who is practically an invalid and they feel that the lady could probably get better treatment at a proper institution for epileptics and that her removal to such an institution might be advisable. The case is being attended by Dr. J. W. Cline whose prescriptions have always brought her out of the condition of epilepsy and the doctor is giving the patient every attention.

On a recent night when neighbors were called to assist in caring for Mrs. Holmes the lady had a particularly heavy spell and the family declared had been clapping her hands and talking incoherently before assistance came to them. Two strong men were required to hold Mrs. Holmes in her bed for a number of hours until the medicine given her had time to act properly. As Mr. Holmes cannot be away from his employment the care of his invalid wife naturally devolves upon his mother and sister. Residents of the City of Roses have been at the home where the woman was being cared for and have noticed her peculiar mental condition.

– Santa Rosa Republican, October 23 1905

 

MRS. CHARLES H. HOLMES CALLED BY DEATH

Mrs. Margaret May Holmes, wife of former City Marshal C. H. Holmes, died at Ukiah on Friday, and her remains were brought to this city Saturday morning. Mrs. Holmes had long been a sufferer and death was a happy release to her. She had many friends in Santa Rosa, where she had lived for many years. The funeral will take place this afternoon and the Very Rev. A. L. Burleson will be the officiating priest. The hour of the funeral will be at half past two o’clock this afternoon.

– Press Democrat, June 7 1908

 

Wife of Charles H. Holmes Passes Away

Charles H Holmes received a telegram Friday afternoon informing him of the death of his wife at Ukiah. The sad message stated that Mrs. Holmes had been taken sick on the day before with acute pneumonia and the disease was too much for her for the following day she passed away.

Her maiden name was Margaret May Ward and she was a niece of Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Bumbaugh of this city and a sister of Mrs. Samuel Brittain. She was born 38 years ago in the state of New Jersey and her parents died while she was quite young. Nineteen years ago she was married to Charles H. Holmes. The remains were brought down on the morning express and the funeral services will be announced later.

– Santa Rosa Republican, June 7 1908

 

CHARLES H. HOLMES WAS MARRIED MONDAY

A quiet wedding in this city on Monday was that of Miss Nellie Holmes and Charles H. Holmes, former city marshal of Santa Rosa and a prominent labor union man. The Rev. Geo. T. Baker, rector of the Episcopal church, was the officiating priest. The ceremony was performed at the residence of Mrs. Cox, on Hendley street. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes left for San Francisco in the afternoon. Their friends wish them much happiness.

– Press Democrat, January 11 1910

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THE ONE ABOUT THE GUY WHO STOLE A TRAIN

Jeff Elliott 2 Comments

William Cox was having lunch at home when he heard the whistle of his train. “Toot, toot,” it blew as the locomotive left Sebastopol bound for Santa Rosa.

*
  NB to Gentle Reader: Yes, I am quite aware the whistle of a steam locomotive in 1900 did not sound anything like “toot, toot,” but I am quoting here directly from the Press Democrat coverage which otherwise is a darn good piece to read, so let’s cut the paper some slack on this.

As William was the train’s engineer and he was clearly not aboard it, he assumed Eugene, who kept the engine stoked with wood, had received an urgent order from the California Northwestern railway station in Santa Rosa to bring the train there.

But Eugene Ellison was not in the cab either. The man with his hand on the throttle was Will Thompson, who everybody called “Brick.” He was 31 years old and had never driven a train before. He was also insane.

“Toot, toot,” Brick sounded the whistle at every crossing, just as William always did. Section hands doing track maintenance near Llano Road were having lunch as well. They didn’t look up when engine No. 11 passed by and just assumed Engineer Cox had received an urgent order from the California Northwestern railway station in Santa Rosa to bring the train there.

Witnesses later said Brick was pushing the train up to 50MPH, which was faster than it had ever gone before. He made the trip to Santa Rosa in twenty minutes, and it only took that long because he had to stop near Fulton Road to wait for the steam gauge to come up to pressure after shoving in more wood.

This next bit is fun because the PD almost never printed dialogue in those days, and here we learn our ancestors spoke fluent Victorian-era slang.

A boy on his bicycle rode up to Santa Rosa Station Agent Joe McMullen and said, “Say, Joe, No. 11 is coming in.”

“What’s the josh?” McMullen asked the boy. “Straight goods,” the kid replied. “Here she comes.”

McMullen watched in astonishment as the steam engine pulled into the south end of the railroad yard and a strange man popped out of the cab. “Who brought over the engine?” He asked Brick, apparently thinking Cox or some other trained engineer must be in hiding.

“I did,” answered Brick before strutting away down Fourth Street, “and don’t you let her go.”

Apprised of the unusual hijacking, the sheriff and city marshal were also flummoxed and likely wondered if there was more to the story than it seemed – after all, people don’t take off with trains. A posse was formed, which meant at the time that they spread the word to be on the lookout. From the PD: “Needless to say, the news of the occurrence caused no little stir in this city and ‘the man who stole the engine’ was pretty forcibly talked of.”

Meanwhile, Brick was enjoying a repast at the Chicago saloon on Fourth Street. When he stepped out of the bar Deputy Sheriff Tombs (yes, his real name) arrested him. Brick pulled a carpenter’s hammer from his pocket and tried to whack the officer in the head, but City Marshal Holmes stopped the assault by grabbing his raised arm.

That afternoon a Press Democrat reporter spoke to Brick at the jail. He paced in his cell, ranted about the deputy touching him without a warrant, and insisted he bought the train fourteen years ago. “When [the president of the railroad] knows of it, it will be all right.”

He was examined by the lunacy commission – an agency we certainly should revive, particularly in election years – and sent to the asylum near Ukiah for a time. It’s noteworthy that his father requested his commitment, possibly as a legal maneuver to avoid Brick being sent to prison for stealing the train and/or trying to hammer a deputy.

Details later emerged that Brick’s joyride almost ended in disaster. As he stepped off the train in Santa Rosa he left the throttle open, and, as the PD noted, “When the locomotive arrived here the water was nearly exhausted. Had the man run the engine much further it is very probable that he and it would have been blown to fragments.”

It also came out that he was a “dope” addict at the time, which in his case meant opium. After his release from the asylum he remained in the Ukiah area, where he worked at a livery stable and reportedly began using drugs again. There in 1905 he attacked the owner with a razor and fled to Sacramento, where he shot a policeman in the leg.

Brick was spotted in Santa Rosa a few days later – his family lived in the area – before he returned to Sacramento. There he accidentally shot himself in the hip and died of sepsis.

The only obituary to be found was in the Santa Rosa Republican, and read in part: “He was 36 years of age and was considered somewhat demented, which fact brought him into prominence several times as the principal in a number of escapades.”

California Northwestern Railroad engine #11 at the second Santa Rosa train depot, probably c. 1890. Another photo of this particular engine and details about it can be found here. Image courtesy Sonoma County Library. Title image colorized using Hotpot.
California Northwestern Railroad engine #11 at the second Santa Rosa train depot, probably c. 1890. Another photo of this particular engine and details about it can be found here. Image courtesy Sonoma County Library. Title image colorized using Hotpot.

 

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FROLIC WITH STEAM
A Sebastopol Engine on a Flying Trip
A MAN’S WILD RIDE
While the Engineer Dined Another Took His Place Unasked
“Brick” Thompson’s Escapade on Monday — When Arrested Tries To Assault the Officer – A Charge of Insanity

It is rather an uncommon thing for a man to be able to “steal” a railway locomotive and run it as he desires, especially without harm resulting to himself or some one else, or even to the engine. Yet Will Thompson, or as he is familiarly known, “Brick” Thompson, did this Monday afternoon.

Fate was certainly with him when he coolly stepped into the cab of the locomotive used on the Sebastopol branch of the California Northwestern railway, pulled the lever and opened the throttle and started, monarch of all he surveyed down the track to Santa Rosa. At the first crossing he gave the accustomed “toot, toot,” just as Engineer Cox, the regular hand at the throttle, does. By the way, Mr. Cox was in the act of complimenting his wife on the excellent lunch she had provided for him, when he heard the warning whistle of “No. 11” as she sped down the track. He thought, however, that a hasty call must have come from Santa Rosa for the engine and that Fireman Ellison had “taken her over.” When he and others learned what had really happened their astonishment can readily be imagined.

Acting Engineer Thompson made “No. 11” break several records until he was well out of Sebastopol and when crossings were reached the warning whistle rang out as usual. When near the Llano school house he slowed down for a short distance. The section men, who wore eating their lunch near the LaFranchi place, paid no particular attention to the oncoming locomotive, thinking that Engineer Cox had been summoned to make a special trip. But somehow or other Thompson in the cab paid particular notice of them for he sped “No. 11” at such a terrific rate that they could not see who was in the cab. Once or twice after this the self-constituted engineer slowed down a little and started up again just to see what the engine could do. When Santa Rosa was reached steam began to give out so that his perilous ride had to end.

Mervyn Donahue rode on his wheel hurriedly to the depot. Espying Station Agent Joe McMullen, he accosted him thus;

“Say, Joe, No. 11 is coming in.”

“What’s the josh” inquired the station agent.

“Straight goods,” replied the other, “Here she comes.”

Station Agent McMullen so far recovered his astonishment to be able to ask the strange engineer as he drew up near the depot, “Who brought over the engine?”

“I did, and don’t you let her go,” Thompson replied then walked hurriedly away up town. The marshal’s office and sheriff’s office were instantly apprized of the unheard-of theft of a locomotive and in a twinkling a posse had started to round the man up.

Just as Thompson stepped out of the Chicago saloon on Fourth street near the corner of that street and Exchange avenue, Deputy Sheriff Tombs placed him under arrest. The man ran his hand into his pocket and quick as a flash produced a carpenter’s hammer, swung it aloft and it was about to descend on Mr. Tombs’ cranium when City Marshal Holmes held the uplifted hand in a firm grasp and prevented any damage. Tho man was then taken to the city hall.

Engineer James Donahue was on his way up town just about the time when the engine arrived at the depot. It is true that he was dressed in his Sunday best, but he climbed into the cab and ran the engine back to Sebastopol in time to bring in the afternoon train.

Needless to say, the news of the occurrence caused no little stir in this city and “the man who stole the engine” was pretty forcibly talked of. Such a person had never been heard of in these parts before.

A Press Democrat reporter saw Thompson later in the afternoon at the county jail.

When asked why he took the engine he replied: “I own the engine. I bought it a number of years ago. When Foster (meaning the railroad president) knows of it, it will be all right.”

He then made some strange remarks about having the officers arrested for touching him without a warrant. While he was speaking he moved about all the time, walking hither and thither about his cell. His conduct was such that those present at the interview were led to believe that probably the hand of an insane person held the throttle on that run from Sebastopol to Santa Rosa. The man’s own father, who is a respected citizen of Santa Rosa, says that his son is insane. He was very much grieved when he signed his name to a complaint alleging that he was insane. He told Judge Brown Monday afternoon that up to a month or so ago “Brick” used opium freely. All of a sudden he stopped taking the drug and it is supposed that this resulted in his mind becoming affected. At one time he also used considerable morphine and was under the care of a physician.

That Thompson’s wild ride ended as luckily as it did is a matter for congratulation. When the locomotive arrived here the water was nearly exhausted. Had the man run the engine much further it is very probable that he and it would have been blown to fragments. From a legal standpoint the mere running away with the engine would probably mean prosecution for malicious mischief or trespass. When asked Monday evening whether the man would undergo an examination on the insanity charge District Attorney Webber said that he could not state yet. He may be charged with assault with a deadly weapon for his attempt to hammer Mr. Tombs.

– Press Democrat, February 21 1900


A WILD RIDE ON AN ENGINE
Mad Man Takes a Spin on the Sebastopol Locomotive.
Opened the Throttle and Sent Old No. 11 Across the Valley at a Rapid Rate.

It is only once in a life-time that we hear of the theft of a railway locomotive, and such an occurrence has a natural tendency to stir up a little interest and excitement. For the first time in the history of the California Northwestern Railway one of the Company’s engines was stolen last Monday.

Shortly after twelve o’clock a man about thirty years of age walked into Sebastopol from the direction of Freestone. Near the cemetery, about a mile west of town, he met William Mather, to whom he stated that he was going to make a speedy trip from Sebastopol to Santa Rosa and that only twenty minutes would be consumed in the seven-mile cross-country run. It cannot be denied that the stranger executed his boast according to schedule. He walked down to the depot, boarded the engine which had been left standing near Julliard’s winery, opened the throttle and was soon heading toward Santa Rosa at a mighty clip. Station agent Harvey was in the depot building at the time and the train hands were at home enjoying the noon-day meal. When the locomotive passed over the laguna trestle the noise was distinctly heard up town. Most people thought the train men were going over to Santa Rosa to do some switching before making the regular afternoon run. Engineer Cox, fireman Ellison and conductor Corbaley realized that something was wrong and after holding a brief consultation they decided to wire a “lost, strayed or stolen” message to Agent McMullen at Santa Rosa. In the mean time old No. 11 was speeding over the steel rails at a pace she had never struck before. At every crossing the man in the cab opened the whistle valve to give warning of his approach. People who saw the iron horse crossing the valley say that the trip was made at a fifty-mile rate of speed. Between the Llano school house and Wright’s crossing the steam supply became exhausted and the locomotive came to a stand still. With the familiarity of a veteran fireman the stranger at the throttle applied the brakes, filled the furnace with wood and waited until the steam gauge indicated that the trip could be continued. Then he set the machinery in motion again and a few minutes later the engine and its passenger made a flying entrance into the railway yard at the County Seat. There was a large and appreciative audience at the station to witness the arrival of the lightning special. The locomotive was stopped in front of the depot and the would-be engineer left the cab and walked up town. He carried a large hammer and not one of the spectators seemed inclined to molest the privileged character as he sauntered up Fourth street. Before many hours had passed the entire force of Santa Rosa’s official dignitaries struck the trail of the locomotive excursionist and he was located in the Chicago saloon on Fourth street. The officers experienced considerable difficulty in landing their man in the county jail.

When asked why he took the iron horse without permission, the adventurer stated that he purchased the engine fourteen years ago and had a perfect right to run it as often and as fast as circumstances necessitated.

The man who created such a sensation in railway and police circles is William Thompson, son of a Santa Rosa carpenter. He has been working for some time past on Sam Allen’s farm on Pleasant Hill. It is said that for years the young man has been addicted to the opium habit and he is a mental wreck. The general opinion is that he is insane and he will be examined by the lunacy commissioners. The engine was brought back to Sebastopol Monday afternoon in time for the regular 2:50 trip. No damage was done by the extra run.

LATER.

Thompson was examined by two physicians and they reported that his mind is temporarily deranged.

– Sebastopol Times, February 21 1900


Examined for Insanity

William Thompson, whose sensational ride from Sebastopol to Santa Rosa aboard “No. 11” Tuesday caused such a sensation, was examined yesterday upon a charge of insanity, preferred by his father. The examination took place in the county jail, Drs. J. W. Jesse and S. S. Bogle acting as commissioners. After subjecting the prisoner to a rigid questioning, it was decided to postpone the decision for a few days as it is thought his present condition is but temporary.

– Press Democrat, February 24 1900


SANTA ROSAN IS IN TROUBLE
“Brick” Thompson Who Stole the Sebastopol Engine Five Years Ago Shoots Policeman

R. M. Thompson familiarly known as “Brick” Thompson who according to the dispatches from Sacramento shot Officer Bert Callahan in the thigh last night after he had run amuck is well known in Santa Rosa and in this vicinity.

About five years ago Thompson boarded the engine of the Sebastopol branch of the California Northwestern at Sebastopol and ran it over to the county seat. He knew nothing of the mechanism of the locomotive but managed to start it and once started it kept going until the steam gave out. This happened at the south end of the railroad yards in this city and when the locomotive came to a standstill Thompson alighted without shutting off the throttle. After he stepped from the engine employees of the company who investigated the unexpected entry of the engine into the railroad yards caught him and detained him until he could be placed under arrest.

Thompson was believed to be insane and the freak of stealing the engine was characterized as the result of a disordered mind caused by using “dope” He was sent to the hospital at Ukiah and afterward was discharged as cured.

At Ukiah he made a vicious and unwarranted attack on Henry Smith proprietor of a livery stable there where he was employed and attempted to carve Smith with a razor. This was the result of his craze from using dope. Smith entered the barn and without a word of warning or any provocation Thompson jumped at him with an uplifted razor. That Smith escaped instant death is regarded as miraculous as he was unprepared for the onslaught.

Thompson passed through this city a couple of days ago and was recognized by Oscar Smyth at the local depot. After the episode of stealing the engine Thompson dropped from sight here by reason of his incarceration in the asylum. He was not heard from again until his attempt on the life of Smith at that place. His latest escapade will probably result in his being incarcerated again.

– Santa Rosa Republican, February 10, 1905


Will Go to a State Hospital

Contrary to the faintest hope, about half-past 4 o’clock yesterday morning, William Thompson, who took morphine the previous evening to end his life, began to revive, and continued to improve. His mind, weak at the time he took what nearly proved a fatal dose, was worse yesterday, and last evening two of the lunacy commissioners held a consultation. Probably today or tomorrow Mr. Thompson will be removed to the state hospital at Napa.

– Press Democrat, March 11 1899

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wyattvirgil

NOT THE SAME WYATT EARP

Jeff Elliott 1 Comment

Yes, Wyatt Earp was in Santa Rosa! His brother, Virgil Earp, was too! But, uh, not the ones you think – they were the nephews of the famous lawman and gunslinger. Yet it’s also true their legendary uncle Wyatt passed through town at times.

On one of those occasions the Santa Rosa Democrat interviewed the famed man in 1889 and wrote, “Wyatt Earp is little given to talking about himself. And yet he has a reputation as wide as the continent — a fame made by deeds rather than words.” Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (let’s call him “Wyatt B.” for short) may have been modest, but since his death in 1929 there have been hundreds of books, movies and TV shows about him, Tombstone Arizona and the iconic gunfight at the O.K. Corral. A simple Google search on his name currently returns almost eight million hits.

(Above: Lawmen Wyatt Earp and Virgil Earp, uncles to the Earp men with the same names who lived in and around Santa Rosa)

Just scratch the surface of that enormous canon of work and you’ll find there’s lots of misinformation – a common theme includes authors insisting other authors are lazy, liars, if not bonafide idiots – and one of those false claims is that he owned or managed a stable in Santa Rosa, which you’ll even find in his biographical Wikipedia entry. It’s conceivable one of the nephews did so, although there’s no evidence of that either. Here’s what we know of Wyatt B. Earp in Santa Rosa from the newspapers of the time:

While San Francisco was homebase during most of the 1890s, Wyatt B. and his wife, Josie, were traveling and racing his horses. There are several articles available in the 1895 San Francisco Call that mention Earp then had a stable of trotters. Josie described Santa Rosa being on “the California circuit.” She explicitly mentioned winning in Santa Rosa because Wyatt B. was driving his primary racing horse, “Jim Leach,” and they had expected another of their horses in the same race would win instead.

Besides competing in Santa Rosa, Wyatt Earp had another reason to be here: Buying horseflesh. While Jim Leach came from the huge Rancho Del Paso stud farm near Sacramento, Wyatt was at the Santa Rosa racetrack in August 1889 to watch the races because he was “interested in the ownership of several horses,” as he told the Sonoma Democrat.

In an article in the Dec. 9 1896 Call over a lawsuit against him, Wyatt B. told the judge “he had some race horses, but they were leased by him for three years from a woman who lives in Santa Rosa.” That followed his claim of being penniless and owned only the clothes on his back. (If he thought it might work, I’ll bet he would have plead hardship because his poor wife was a widow.)

That’s the limit of what we know for a fact about Wyatt B. in Sonoma county. So what about those nephews who lived in or around Santa Rosa?

The eldest brother of Wyatt B. Earp was Newton Jasper Earp. He had two sons who he named after his famous siblings: Wyatt Clyde Earp (“Wyatt C.”) and Virgil Edwin Earp. As Newton was a half-brother to Wyatt B. the boys were really half-nephews to the lawman.

Wyatt C. (1872-1937) first appeared in local history living in “Mendocino Township, Sonoma” (Skaggs Springs/Dry Creek) in the 1900 census. He and his new bride were staying with her father and aunt. (The census taker mistakenly identifies Wyatt C. and wife Virginia as the farmer’s nephew and niece.)

In the 1903 county directory, Wyatt C. was a Healdsburg laborer, as he was similarly listed in Geyserville, 1905. (UPDATE: In 1904 he applied for a liquor license to open a saloon on Geyserville Road, next to the Petray Brothers’ Stable. h/t Katherine Rinehart.) As Wyatt C. was in his mid twenties in the years while Wyatt B. was racing, that guy could well have operated a livery stable in Santa Rosa. How he felt about his renowned namesake is unknown, but he usually dropped the Wyatt part of his name and went by Clyde. Make of that what you will.

The 1910 census found Wyatt C. farming in Snake River Wyoming (near Jackson Hole), but from the 1920s onward he was a carpenter living mainly around Sacramento. His was apparently a quiet life.

Not so his brother, Virgil Edwin Earp (1879-1959). He was known as Eddie at times but later embraced his “Virgil Earp-ness” with gusto.

earpadulteryHe seemed unable to settle down and had at least five wives 1902-1946. And that’s not counting the incident in 1905, when he ran off with his cousin’s wife.

Virgil took the Santa Rosa woman and her two daughters to San Francisco – although they left her son behind with his father. As he was still married to someone else, an arrest warrant for adultery was issued by our local constable. The papers in the city had a field day with the scandalous story, but the Santa Rosa papers wrote little. The woman reconciled with her husband a week later and returned, but there was no word of what transpired between Virgil and his wife, or even if he ever returned to Santa Rosa.

After that episode Virgil can be traced to Napa, Fairfield, Vacaville, Cloverdale, Washington state and Nevada. Like his older brother Wyatt C. he hovered mostly around Sacramento, although they did not live together.

Because he was in the Army Quartermaster Corps around the turn of the century, Virgil applied for a military pension in 1932 as an invalid and for Social Security in 1941. He seemed on track to end his days as a forgotten, impoverished, and probably friendless old man feeding pigeons on a park bench.

But then in 1958, fate came calling for Virgil Edwin Earp.

What launched this chain of events is unknown, but in March of that year Virgil and his daughter, Alice, found themselves on an airplane for New York City. He was invited to be a contestant on “The $64,000 Question.”

That was the most popular TV quiz show of them all, and there was plenty of competition. According to its Wikipedia entry it even beat I Love Lucy in the ratings; crime rates dropped when the show was on. And for five Tuesday nights Virgil Earp was the star, winning $32,000 for answering questions about the Wild West. One of those appearances can be viewed below.


Those shows turned Virgil into a celebrity – a real, live, rootin’ tootin’ relic of the Old West, and the press swarmed around him. The Sacramento Bee showed him cradling a .38 Colt that supposedly was the last one owned by uncle Wyatt. He talked some about his life (“I was raised right at the knee of Bat Masterson and poor old Doc Holliday”) and how he was gonna write a book someday.

A news service offered a three-part feature series “The Real Wild West” about his life – “a story of fighting men, of liquor and sporting women, stud poker and revenge.” He said he was born in Tombstone, Arizona inside a covered wagon, that he was named sheriff of Paradise Valley Nevada at 18 and killed three men before he reached age 21. He was part of the posse uncle Wyatt B. formed to ride down to Mexico and avenge the death of Morgan Earp. He operated two gambling halls in Sacramento.

It was all complete bullshit.

In truth, he wasted his life bouncing between nondescript jobs – a laborer when he was young, a carpenter, grocer, salesman (both retail and door-to-door selling sewing machines) and collector for the San Francisco Chronicle. He was born at the family home in Kansas, as were his brothers and sisters. Virgil knew about Paradise Valley because his parents lived there when he was a quartermaster; he wasn’t a sheriff or law enforcement officer there or anywhere else. A researcher has put together more details debunking other lies.

No one questioned his fable then (and very few do now, for that matter) and when he died a year after his quiz show glory, newspapers nationwide ran the Associated Press obituary repeating his tall tales and glorifying him as “the last of the fighting Earps.”

Now almost completely forgotten personally, he happened to die when there was enormous interest in the Old West. It’s doubtless some of the widely-printed nonsense he spewed in 1958 about his uncles, their friends and the Genteel Art of Gunfighting seeped into resources about the Frontier West accepted as fact.

The $64,000 Question was cancelled months after his appearance when it was discovered some of the other quiz shows were rigged. Virgil was asked if he had been coached on the answers and he snorted indignantly: “Who could tell me anything about the West?”

Actually, Virgil, you were really no closer to the West than any other salesman or store clerk who read popular cowboy or “historical” magazines and dreamed of being Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill Hickock or that great lawman, Wyatt Earp. Unfortunately, people believed everything you said because of that famous name.

 

sources

ELOPES WITH COUSIN’S WIFE

Virgil Earp Runs Away From Santa Rosa With Mrs. W. F. McCombs and Her Children

Special Dispatch to The Call.

SANTA ROSA, Oct. 2. — W. F. McCombs returned here from Sacramento last night to find that his wife, Mrs. Maude McCombs, had left the family home on Thursday with his two daughters in company with his cousin, Virgil E. Earp. Earp left a wife here. The couple went to San Francisco, from where Earp sent back $100 of his wife’s money, which he took with him when he left. In the same letter he said he would send later for her clothing.

This afternoon McCombs and Mrs. Earp appeared before Justice A. J. Atchinson and told their story, after which McCombs swore to a warrant for the arrest of the couple. In speaking of the matter McCombs said:

“I am done with my wife and will never take her back, but I want the children, and will fight for them to the last ditch. She took the two girls and left the boy. One of the girls is 2 years old and the other between 6 and 8.”

Mrs. Earp, who is a slender, delicate looking little blonde, said:

“We have found that Mrs. McCombs and my husband left for Petaluma last Thursday and stayed there all night. They then went to San Francisco. From there my husband sent me the $100 of my money which he took away with him when he left. I would not turn my hand over to stop him, but am willing to do what I can to help Mr. McCombs to get his children. I am done with Earp.”

The warrant was placed in the hands of Constable S. J. Gilliam and he will make every effort to capture the runaway couple.

– San Francisco Call, October 3 1905

 

Has Returned Home

Mrs. Mande McCombs, who eloped from this city last week with Virgil Earp, taking her two children with her, returned home yesterday. Earp is still absent.

– Santa Rosa Republican, October 7 1905

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