The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-03-12
POLICE ARE HUNTING FOR
FRANK WOODARD, BANDIT,
WHO WAS CAPTURED HERE
Desperate Who Got Thirty four
Year Sentence, Wanted for
Breaking Parole.
MURDERER AND BURGLAR
Caught at Gambling Table in
CIafkSburg Saloon Four
teen Years AGO.

Il
is being sent ont by authorities OF
/ Crawford county. Pa, for the nppre-
hension of Frank Woodland, alias
! Frederick Adams and several other
names. murderer and burglar whose
capture was cifc,led in Clarksburg
more than fourteen years ago.
The notice from Crawford county
I states that Woodland Is wanted there
! for breaking his parole by failing to
J report ut the time and place required.
He was received there March "a.
1902. sentenced to serve thIrty-four
! years for murder. burglary and rob
berry and paroled November &c.
1913.
Woodland. alias Frederick Adams.
| alias George Williams, was one Of
the four men implicated In the muir
. der of Chief OF Police McGrath. ut
Titusville. Pa. in November. 1899.
Z One of his pals, whose identity has
never been discovered. was killed In
running fight with the Titusville
chief and some Of his patrolmen.
Another of the bandits was convicted
Of the murder of the chief and paid
the extreme penalty of hanging.
Rob Express Safe.
The bandits had robbed the safe Of
| an express Office ut railroad station
ut TItusville. after binding and gag
ginE the man in charge of the place.
While the robbers were engaged in
sorting and dividing the booty taken
from the safe. they planned to go to
certain resort in the red-llght dis
trict. hold up the entire place and
make quick getaway. The express
man overheard this plan.
As fate would have 1t. Il freight en-
CINE pulled up in front OF the station
Immediately after the bandits depart
ed and the engineer from his cab
looked into the express office and saw
the eXpressman lying there bound
and gagged. The engineer went to
his rescue and released him. Then,
with commendable presence of mind.
the expressman jumped to tele-
phone, called up Police Chief Nc
Grath and notified him of what had
occurred and of the plans to hold up
the resort in the red-light district.
Whole House Held Up.
Police Chief McGrath at once or
ganized a squad of patrolmen and
started TO the resort on a run. In the
meantime the bandits had arrived
there and carried out their plans. 1t
was busy night and the place was
full. but the bandits held up the en-
tire crowd, going from room to room
and taking all the money and valua-
bles in the place, even making the
women pull rings from their fingers.
Police Chief McGrath and his squad
arrived at the door OF the resort just
as the four bandits were taking their
leave and a running fight ensued, in
which the police chief and one OF
the bandits were killed outright,
Woodland and one of his pals escaped.
It afterward deyeioped that he
came to Clarksburg about year ar
terward and paid this city visits at
intervals during the next two years,
spending most OF his time gambling
in the booming oil camps In this sec
ton of the state.
Wide Open Place.
He would spend two or three
months In. the oil camps, gather n
wav Of money and then come to
Clarksburg. which, In those days, was
wide open town, with gambling
Joints flourishing on all sides and q
little bit of everything going on. IL
appeared that Woodland was too SICK
for the men in the oil fields. but not
slick enough for the professional
gamblers that hung around Clarks-
burg. It didn't take the latter more
than three or four days to clean him
out. Then back again he would go
to the oil well driiiers. tool dressers,
engineers and roustabouts for anoth-
er killing. 800
It wasn't until the winter of 1902
that local police got a tip that Wood
ard was making Clarksburg a visiting
point. Michael Connel. powerful
" built man, then a member OF the
Clarksburg police force, VINO
died here eight or ten years
ago was the officer who
originally worked up che case. Be-
cause OF Woodlands reputation as
bad man who would shoot at the
drop of hat. Cornell knew that 1t
would be a dangerout undertaking
to effect his capture alone and he en-
listed the aid OF y. Thad Boggess and
George Isenheart, who were also
members of the police force.
Carefully Planned.
1t didn't take the trio OF oticers
very long to spot Woodland and then
the arrangements for his capture
were very carefully made. The ban
diff was Swallowed into a West PIKE
street saloon. In those days, tne
gamblers of Clarksburg didn't take
tho trouble to go into upstairs back
rooms with their roulette. chuek-a-
luck, keno, klondyke and other gam.
hing devices. The outfits were set
around ON the ground floors, where
thew were OF easy access to the
crowds Of men drawn here by the Oil
field boom as they passed along the
street.
Woodard was standing az Q gam
bling roulette wheel with his back To-
ward the front door when the ON
GERS entered the place after him. is-
enhart and Borgess. were In police
uniforms and each had a loaded Colt
revolver in his right hand Side coat
noeket with his finger on the trig-
ger. Cornell. In plain clothes. fol-
lowed. He. too, had his hand on
the trigger Of a Colt in his side coat
pocket. It was planned to have Isen-
hart and Boggess crap Woodland by
each arm, while Connell stood o few
feet in the rear with his revolver
pointed straight at Woodlands back.