16 December 2011

Another "Billy The Kid" Arrested In Detroit And Wanted In Pittsburgh

While searching through extradition papers looking for William Brooks at the Archives of Michigan in RG-44 B209 F1 and F5 (with negative results), a letter caught my eye:

Law Offices of Brooke & Spalding
Detroit

December 17, 1895

Honorable John T. Rich
Lansing, Michigan                              (Answered By Telephone)

                                                         Prosecuting Attorney of the City (Detroit)

My Dear Governor:
Re:  Writ For Extradition in the case of Charles H. Marsh, alias William Burke, alias Billy The Kid.  We are the attorney for this.....

F. L. Brooke


William Burke, alias Billy The Kid, coincidentally, was referenced in an earlier post of mine at "Relatively Fiction." Was he the same "Kid"? Yes. The date was in the right time frame and even Governor Rich is mentioned in the article below.  From "The Daily Inter Ocean," published December 16, 1895 (source: GenealogyBank):

From the "Jewelers Circular and...":
"William Burke alias Billy the Kid alias Murphy alias Petrie was arrested last week in company with the notorious Sophie Lyons and jailed on suspicion. He is a well known bank sneak thief and store robber. Four or five years ago he was arrested in Detroit on suspicion of being concerned in a sneak job at Wright Kay & Co's Store but was finally turned over to the police of Pittsburgh where he got two and a half years for robbery. He was lately released and told to get out of town."
See William Burke's "bio" as a member of the "Grady Gang" of New York and photo here.

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