Tom Allen Shoots Patron

british-prizefighter-tom-allen-in-his-later-years-circa-1897

Tom Allen was born in Birmingham, England on April 23, 1840 but he became famous as a heavyweight bare knuckle prizefighter in America.  Settling in St. Louis around 1867, Allen won the American Heavyweight Championship in 1873 and held the title until 1876.  He returned to England for a year before returning to St. Louis for good in 1878. Back

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Union MO Bank Robbery Book Signing

union-mo-bank-robbery-signing

On Saturday, April 9, 2022, the Franklin County Missouri Historical Society invited me to give a PowerPoint presentation on the Union Missouri Bank Robbery of 1902. The book covers the robbery, the investigation, two nationwide hunts for the fugitive and a daring break from the St. Louis City Jail. Two daring robbers, not yet 23 years of age, pulled off

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Intro to Union, MO Bank Robbery

st-louis-republic-march-15-1903

On Christmas Night 1902, two small town, small-time, holdup men blew open the safe of the Union, Missouri Bank.  After threatening a few citizens, they made off with over $15,000. The men were relatively safe for a few months until the Pinkerton Detective Agency was called in.  The Pinkertons had a nationwide agency, which was the closest thing the United

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Archbishop Kenrick Celebrates 50 Years

archbishop-peter-richard-kenrick

On August 17, 1891, St. Louis Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick celebrated his 85th birthday and fifty years as head of the St. Louis Catholic Church.  In 1841, Kenrick was appointed as Coadjutor Bishop of St. Louis.  When St. Louis Bishop Joseph Rosati died in Rome during 1843, Bishop Kenrick was appointed Bishop of the St. Louis Diocese. In 1847, the

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Girlfriend Kills St. Louis Officer

petring-from-post-dispatch

On Monday evening, July 16, 1917, St. Louis Police Officer Julius H. Petring assigned to the North Market Division entered a rooming house at 2301 N. Market Street.  Petring asked the proprietor William Dietrich to rent a room for him and his wife.  His “wife” was his recently divorced girlfriend Freda Hagenmeyer.  Officer Petring had been seeing Freda Hagenmeyer, who

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Preston Anslyn’s Early Exploits

anslyn-moller-pd

Before he was promoted to Special Officer, St. Louis Police Officer Preston Anslyn responded to calls for service like any other patrolman.  On the morning of February 28, 1916, Anslyn was patrolling the area of Franklin and Jefferson Avenues. A citizen notified Anslyn that 30-year-old Albert Kivet was celebrating after his birthday on February 27th.  During his revelry, Kivet assaulted

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