New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-03-16
s8e,r 0rltaas Republican.
sfftclAl JOURNAL Of THE UNITED STAES
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS
HUNTING AN ASSASSIN.
Gn~idenss in Billy FOrrester's Life-l;ivin&
the Nathan Murderer no Rest-Pursutt
of the Supposed Villain.

Iaridenss in Billy Forrester's Life-l;ivins
the Nathan Murderer no Rest-Purs"tt
of the Supposed Villain.
From the New York World
The name of William Forester having
yoeen brought before the public quite fire.
.auently of late in connection with the Ma
, than murder, it may be that the following
facts will answer the query as to who Will
, lam Forester, alias Billy Forrest, alias
Billy and Frank Campbell. alias Frank
: Livingston, alias Frank Harding, alias
Frank Howard, alias William Dunbar, alias
= William Brown, alias johnson. really is.
This man is native OF New Orleans and
! first made his debut before the public in the
: character of an escaped convict from the
Joliet, Illinois, penitentiary, to which insti'
tuition he had been sentenced to thirteen
years imprisonment.
Forester came East, and one of his ear
HEST adventures was robbery near BOs-
ton, Massachusetts,, in November. 1869.
For this he was arrested, but escaped, and
on November 26. 1869, was again ''collared''
by Detective Dearborn, of Boston. who
concluded to bring him to New York and
turn him over to Pinkerton. who still re-
tained the requisition for his return to Hi
snOis. Dearborn telegraphed to Superin
stendent Davies Of PinkertOn's New York
agency, to meet him at the New Haven
depot for the arrival of the evening train,
prepared to receive Forester. Prepare
lions were accordingly made for the recep-
.,tion of the man; but in about two hours a
second dispatch was received from Dear
born stating that Forester had made his
d escape at New Haven by jumping from the
train after it had started. Dearborn fired
at him, but without effect, and Forester
was once more out Of the clutches OF the
!. law. He was next heard of at Wilkesbarre,
Pennsylvania, where, on February 7, 1870,
!, IN company with James Elliott, alias Cock
eye Elliott (who first appeared before the
public as a six-foot prize-fghterl, Walter
alias Riley, aud last, but not least, George
Ellis, alias George Wilson, alias Pretty
George, he directed his attention to the
bank of F. v. Rockefeller, but before they
had commenced operations upon the safe,
in which about four hundred thousand dol
lars awaited them, they were surprised and
beat retreat. For this affair Forester
was again arrested by Pinkertons men ut
Pttsburg, but escaped at Philadelphia while
en- route to Wilkesbarre.
He then turned up in the Crescent
City, where. on June Is, 1870, he
was arrested by Chief of Police
Badger, who. cognizant of the fact OF
his being an escaped convict from Illinois,
and knowing that he was wanted for the
Wlkesbarre robbery, telegraphed to Pink
ertons agency, in Chicago and New York,
THE fact of FOrresters arrest. and stating
that he would be held until the papers
t. could be forwarded for his return North.
Mr.. w. A. Pinkerton at once left for New
= Orleans, from Chicago, and an agent was at
once dispatched from New York to Harris
sburg to procure arequisitiOn from Governor
sGeary upon the Governor Of Louisiana, for
E0rrester.
Forester had only been about ten days in
New Orleans when he was arrested, and
public attention was at first directed to him
6y his riOtOus conduct and fast living. He
sHDOnt $40, OOO-all his ready money, except
about $500. At the time Of his arrest he
was driving buggy out of a livery stable.
and upon the horse being stopped by the
, officers, he took in the situation at glance.
threw back sOmersaulu out OF the rear of
the buggy, struck on his feet, and started to
run away. He was, however. seized by the
i. officers, and, after showing a pretty good
Sight, succumbed to superior force.
On being taken to the stationhouse he
acknowledged his identity, but intimated
that he would prefer to shuttle off the
mortal COLI to venturing to Illinois. He
rEndeavOred to convince the chief that
"a 900 of his money was better than $500
of PinkertOn's money, and intimated that If
tthe chief would allow him to go he 1.-THE
> chief would have "fOrty centuries and
~1tno questions asked" etc. That official,
however, was memorable, and FOrresters
bail was fixed at $1,000, which he at once
produced, and was released by the magis-
frate. He was. however. at once arrested
:and taken to the parish prison. On the way
thither he jumped from the cab and ran two
shlOcks before he was recaptured by the chief.
He was soon after brought up on writ OF
habeas corpus and discharged. and again
rsarrested for the burglary in Pennsylvania.
On the following day second writ of habeas
corpus was granted, and Forester was
parties appearing against him, he was dis
charged. The keeper of the prison had
: promised to notify the Chief OF Police should
any further writs be granted, but failed to
keep his word.
Upon being discharged the last time,
Forester at once made himself scarce, and
when the agents from Pennsylvania and
Illinois arrived on the day following, they
were very much chagrined by the announce
ment that Forester had been released on
lhabeas corpus, and that his present where
:. abOuts were profound mystery to the Off
: Gals of the Crescent City. The city was
thoroughly secured by the police, but with
out result, and the places that formerly
knew Forester knew him no more. His wife,
who is said to come from a very respectable
family, was living with him i'll New Orleans
at the time of his arrest.
The suspicion that Forester was the
murderer of Mr.. Nathan was first created
in the minds Of the New York city police
about the first of September, and it is prob
able that the first intimation of this came
from a notorious man in this city, who. it
lis said, has for some time past been endeav-
f.. oring to atone for his misdeeds by "giving
away" thieves b hepolice.
Forester has several lives, and was born
IN several places. So was his wife. The
New York San writes them up in this man
ner, which differs materially from the
World:
Three weeks ago last Sunday the notorious
Forester was living in the Fourteenth
; Ward of this city. He arrived here ON
Saturday evening from Cleveland, with
gaunt companion of his own class. They
:, had been but few days away from the
city, and returned with plethOric purses,
evidently the gains of their illegal traffic
On the Sunday evening following their ar
rival they visited several liquor saloons in
Elizabeth street, and seemed in the most
cheerful spirits. Forester passed on these
visits as Frank Howard" aname by which
q he is known to large circle in the Four
teenth Ward. Later in the evening he and
his companion witnessed the arrest of a
noted scamp in BrOome street, and quietly
walked away.
Lizzie Forester, nee Thomas the wife of
the notorious Billy FORESTER, and his CO.
partner in crime, is the eldest of two
daughters Of Old Bill Thomas, of Balti-
more, one Of the most expert burglars and
cracksmen in the United States. She was
born in Baltimore on the twenty-fitth of
Senfemher. 1850 Her father win h1- his