Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-10-02
A FORMIDABLE f0RGER.
Record og the Life and Operations Of
notorious Counterfcltcr.

] Tor some lllS past engaged VA Nunt.
| ing up the record of The man John
Holcombe. arrested Aug. To in this
| city for attempting to sell to Van
/ Raalte, the pawpbrOkCr, some bogus
metal plated with gold. Hocom0e
was possessed when arrested of three
! counterfeit $50 bills, PRINTED from the
| plates made by the Brockway gang,
| 1t was q matter that puzzled the ofi
GERS 1, know where he obtained these
bills, as ina 1889 al the bills OF that
issue National Broadway bank OF
New York; and the plates we're sup
posed TO have been turned over 10 the
secret service officers, and the chief OF
the gang, who became the government
witness, WAS released Tue enigma
is still uusolved, but Holcombels
record, as the detectives tell it, is very
complete lie is one of the shire WIDEST
and most uucompromising scoundrels
in the country. II 10 were moi that he
possesses a passion amounting 20 a
mania for gambling scarcely any cap
italiSt i'm the cOautry could show more
money than he, for al various periods
ia his career Holcombe, or rather
I
inal name, has possessed by iilegiti-
mate methods immense sums Sheri
dan, atias Carter Charles Riisslon,
John H0lcombe, etc, was born IN
New Orleans about 1882 lu 1866 he
was a horse thief in Missouri, and was
run cut 81 t0e state lie went tO
Chicago, and here, with Joe Moran,
q noted horse thief, was arrested for
working q hotel and sent 10 tbe
| penileuGary fofs6ve years After thc
expiration OF has sentence be engag-
| ed with Charles Hicks ia robbug the
| First National. bank of Springfield,
Ill. They secured $50, GOO aud we're
4 arrested. OF this sum Sheridan GOT
/ So, COO: secured TWO trials and ou
/ the second trial. having packed the
! Jury, was cleared. HICKS was sem
/ teuced for ten years. Early ina the
/ 1O's Sheridan was again heard of in
connections with the bold and success
/ full robbery OF Judge BmLchford In
! broad daylight, on the conner of Mas
sau and Liberty streets ID New York.
of Sl50O0O In bonds. THE robbery
/ was the most celebrated of chat time.
] Judge Blatchford had Che bonds ,n
"a tin box and was carrvine them 10
his banker. Hes.opped nd lie corner
/ mentioned 10 b9y ana apple Sheridan
! engaged him In conversation; his pal
grabbed the box aud ran with ID.
| sheridan disappeared during inc ex-
element ONLY portion of the
1 bonds were ever recovered His next
| ven n,re of prominence WAS tbe bur
! glary of the Office safes of the Mary
/ land Hire Insurance company at Bal
| tmore. ia which he ana his pals
1 secured 1920 GOO. hsulev's bank. nc
/ Scranton. Pa. was soon afterward
touched by the same party, aud
1 s31 600 was secured. This sum was
| divided between Sheridan and Geo.
1 Carson. another notorious crook. La
1873 Sheridan rented an Office AT No.
so Broadway, New YORK. for Tie sale
of fancy stonework, under the name
Of Charles Ralstou. lie became q
member of the produce exchange. and
there formed tile acduaintance OF the
president OF the National Trust com
! pauv. Of New York. from whom he
subseOuentlv borrowed $50. 600 on
counterfeit New York. Erie and Buff
falo Railroad bonds. He secured a
loan from the president OF the New
! York Guardian aud Indemnity com
pany, whose acquaintance he had
/ gained on change, on the same kind
OF collateral Before the bogus char
acter of the securities were learned,
Ralston became somebody else, and
the Office al No. 60 Broadway was
vacated. Between 1876 and 1878 he
became connected with q gang COM
posed of Gleason. Roberts. Mcdonald
and two Bidwells, All notorious crooks
and counterfeiters. The object of
their combination was 30 make ESQ
Bank Of England notes: but before
the work had proceeded very far
I Mcdonald and the Bidwells cut Glea-
SON. Roberts, ana Sheridan out of the
scheme. and removed their base Of
operations from Detroit, Mich. to
some other point. The reason was
that Sheridan had become involved
with woman, and the crooks
with their sharpened knowledge OF