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Hobart News, Sept. 18, 1924.
Of course one of those names jumped out at me: could it be that John Dillinger? (I wondered.)
The Gazette mentions that this John Dillinger was a Gary resident.
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Hobart News, Sept. 18, 1924.
And indeed, the 1920 Census records a John Dillinger living in Gary: a 31-year-old railroad worker with a wife and child. That's probably our guy. Whether he was convicted of anything in connection with this incident, I don't know. He did not live to see his name become notorious throughout the nation; he died in 1930.
The man who was shot is even more elusive. The only record I can find of Henry Massey is his death certificate, which says he was a married steel worker, born circa 1896 in Tennessee to unknown parents (unknown, that is, to the informant). His burial place is given as Oak Hill Cemetery in Gary, but if that's true, his grave may be unmarked — I can't find it on findagrave.com.
Next question: who on earth was the Patrick Tierney mentioned in the Hobart News account? He is described as Harriet Tierney's son, but my previous research into Harriet turned up only one son, Ernest Woods, from her previous marriage. (Harriet's second husband, Thomas Tierney, had died in August 1923.) The Lake County Times account of this incident[1] says that Harriet was in the restaurant with "the manager, Ernest Woods," which makes more sense. I think the News may have been confused.
We've met the deputy sheriff, Howard Walter, before. He was last seen driving Merrillville school buses.
The Lake County Times gave this description of the restaurant: "Tom Tierney's chicken dinner roadhouse at Merrillville [is] a popular resort on the Lincoln highway, much patronized by motorists and people in the vicinity."
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[1] "Roadhouse Bandit Slain in Holdup," Lake County Times (Hammond, Ind.), Sept. 16, 1924.
1 comment:
You have to think those two Dillingers are related somehow. The famous one was from Indianapolis after all. As for Henry, very likely an unmarked grave.
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