The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1900-03-21
Partial Confession of Frank Major.

story of the partial confession of one of
the men soon to be tried at Meadville for |
the killing Chief McGrath of Titusville:
."Joe Kennedy, alias Frank Major"
now confined in the Jail at Meadville !
awaiting trial on dual charge of bur-
glary and murder, committed in this
city on the morning of Nov. IL, when the |
Davanp depot Office safe was blown open !
and robbed and Chief of Police McGrath |
fatally shot and William Sheehy danger
ously wounded by the men who did the !
job, has made partial confess. on. The |
details of the statement are carefully
guarded by the police authorities but
some interesting facts hitherto unpub-
lished in connection with Majors history,
his connection with the rest of the gang
and their movements prior to the robbery
have leaked out.
Frank Major was sentenced to the
Riverside penitentiary under the name
Joe Kennedy, which he asserts is his
right name, on May %, 1894, on convic-
ton of having feloneOusly entered tae
postotlices of Alden and Wanamie, Lu
zerne county, and committing larceny.
He was 81 years of age when he began
his sentence of six years and three
months in the peniientiary. On Sept. 2,
1899, he was released from confinement
ana was given a railroad ticket to Brook
lyn, N. Y, which he claimed as his
home.
"Major says that he used the ticket as
far as Harrisburg, where he stopped off,
and finally landed in Kane, Mexican
county. Here he was thrown in with the
two men, one of whom met death on the
morning of Nov. IL, and the other still
remains fugitive from justic-.
"Major first met Woodard, whom he
knew only by the name OF William Sny-
der, and never as Woodland, and by him
was introduced to the man now dead who
has never been identified, but who was
called Maloney. The three men travelled
| together to Sheffield, where they stopped
at the Shaw house and had breakfast
there on the morning of election day,
Now. While at Sheffield, Major says,
| Woedard, or Snyder, as he calls him, re-
ceived letter from a man named Joe
Sullivan and one from his "girl" at
Smethport.
"From Sheffield Major refuses to give
an account Of the trio for the day and a
half intervening previous to their arrival
in Titusville, bu' it has been learned that
Sullivan joined the party alter they left
Sheffield. The men, instead of travelling
together, paired off. Woodard and the
dead man passing through Tidioute, Sui
livan and Major skipping that town and
coming direct to Pleasantville. The par
ty met as agreed upon in Peasantville at
the Schaffner hotel, and took the trolly
into Titusvile on Wednesday afternoon,
Nov. s. By mutual egreement Sullivan
did not appear to know the other three
while on the electric car and did not join
them when Titusville was reached,
Woodland, Major and Maloney went to
the United states hotel, but Sullivan,
Major says, stopped at the house of a
friend, where he was visited by Wood
ard.
"Major does not commit himself in
talking of the events which transpiret
after the arrival of the men in this city
either leading up to or including thu
tragedy, but the facts of the latter arr
quite generally known. 1t appears tina
the three, Woodard, Major and Maloney
f drank considerably after their arriva
here, in which they were not joined b.
Sullivan. He was the recognized leade
l of the gang for the proposed burglary il
, Titusvile, but their heavy drinking
scared him off and he left town on one o
3 the early morning trains of Nov. 1,wEil
the comrades were proceeding with thei
t dastardly work oI blowing up the safe a
t the d. A. V. d p. local station and loot
r ing the disorderly house on East Sprinl
S street, At this latter place they were ap
!. pretended by Chief of police Daniel Nc
, Grath and in the fight that followed on,
Q of the trio, Maloney, was killed anC
Chief McGrath received bullet wounds
e which resulted few days later in hi
Q death, and officer William Sheehy wa
9 seriously wounded.
"The foregoing statements of Majo
. were found to be correct by the detectiv
= agency which had charge of the case fo
g the city of Titusvile. They traced th
e men through the different places name
v and in Sheffield secured the leaf from th
: register of the Hotel Shaw on whic
e Woodland had registerel the names of tn
triOp