We Is Got Him

by Carrie Hagen

  Many people volunteered their areas of expertise to advise my research endeavors. I wish to remember three of them here. Bill Fleisher of the Vicdoq Society commented on the psychology of criminals, the police, and private investigators during a particularly busy week. His words confirmed my instincts and encouraged my confidence. Dr. Morris Vogel guided early stages of my reading on Reconstruction America and offered a helpful critique of my bibliography. I also thank Jean Walker, chair of archives, First United Methodist Church of Germantown, whose thoroughness saved me hours of research.

  This project began as a series of interviews with people who grew up in Germantown at different times in the twentieth century: Bill Alexander, Terry Alexander, Joe Beal, Rosemary Morris, Margaret Smith, and Rick LeFevre. Their memories furthered my interest in this neighborhood, and through a series of coincidences, led me to the Germantown Historical Society, where I first read about Charley Ross.

  And to my writing friends, Jill Sisson Quinn, Brian Spadora, Lori Lichtman, Patrick Walters, Kelly Christ, Sharyl Covey, Diana Morris-Baver, Colleen Clemens, Denise Loock, and Kitty Chism—I am most at home during our late-night talks, gossip, bizarre bets, bottles of Talese wine, and long letters. You are gently yet painfully honest, and because of this, I appreciate your encouragement, friendship, and feedback all the more.

  illustration credits

  1. Christian Ross: Courtesy of Germantown Historical Society, Philadelphia, PA

  2. Washington Lane: From Ross, Christian. Charley Ross, the Kidnapped Child: The Father’s Story. Philadelphia: John E. Potter and Company, 1876.

  3 and 4. The first ransom letter: From Ross, Charley Ross, the Kidnapped Child.

  5. The first ransom envelope: From Ross, Charley Ross, the Kidnapped Child.

  6. Pinkerton pamphlet: Courtesy of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

  7. Pinkerton flyer: Courtesy of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

  8. Pinkerton pamphlet: Courtesy of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

  9. Superintendent Walling: From Walling, George W. Recollections of a New York Chief of Police. New York, N.Y.: Caxton Book Concern, Ltd., 1888, c1887.

  10. Main Street (Germantown Avenue) at Rittenhouse: Courtesy of La Salle University’s Connelly Library. Plate 12 of Richards, John. Quaint Old Germantown in Pennsylvania: A Series of Sixty Former Landmarks of Germantown and Vicinity Drawn on Zinc During the Years 1863-1888. Philadelphia: 1913.

  11. Main Street (Germantown Avenue) at Manheim: Courtesy of La Salle University’s Connelly Library. Plate 27 of Richards, Quaint Old Germantown in Pennsylvania.

  12. Main Street (Germantown Avenue) Life: Courtesy of La Salle University’s Connelly Library. Plate 31 of Richards, Quaint Old Germantown in Pennsylvania.

  appendix

  Letter 1

  July 3 – Mr. Ros: be not uneasy you son charley bruster be all writ we is got him and no powers on earth can deliver out of our hand. you wil have two pay us before you git him from us, and pay us a big cent to. if you put the cops hunting for him you is only defeetin yu own end. we is got him put so no living power can gets him from us a live. If any approch is maid to his hidin place that is the signil for his instant anihilation. if you regard his lif puts no one to search for him yu mony can fech him out alive an no other existin powers. dont deceve yuself an think the detectives can git him from us for that is imposebel. You here from us in few day.

  Letter 2

  PHILADELPHIA, July 6 – Mr. Ros: We supos you got the other leter that teld yu we had yu child all saf and sond.

  Yu mite ofer one $100,000 it woud avale yu nothing. to be plaen with yu yu mite invok al the powers of the universe and that cold not get yu child from us. we set god—man and devel at defiance to rest him ot of our hands. This is the lever that moved the rock that hides him from yu $20,000. not one doler les—impossible—impossible— you cannot get him without it. if yu love money more than child yu be its murderer not us for the money we will have if we dont from yu we be sure to git it from some one els for we will mak examples of yure child that others may be wiser. We give yu al the tim yu want to consider wel wat yu be duing. Yu money or his lif we wil hav— dont flater yu self yu wil trap us under pretens of paying the ransom that be imposible—d’ont let the detectives mislede yu thay tel yu thay can git him and arest us to—if yu set the detectives in search for him as we teld yu before they only serch for his lif. for if any aproch be made to his hidin place by detective his lif wil be instant sacrificed. you wil see yu child dead or alive if we get yu money yu get him live if no money yu get him ded. wen you get ready to bisnes with us advertise the folering in Ledger personals (Ros. we be ready to negociate). we look for yu answer in Ledger.

  Letter 3

  PHILADELPHIA, July 7 – Mr. Ros: We se yu anser in Leger the question with yu is be yu wilin to pay for thosand ponds for the ransom of yu child. without it yu can never get him alive if yu be ready to come to terms say so. if not say so. and we wil act acordinly. We take yu anser either way as granted and wil act on it. we care nothin bout yu schemin and plotin to detect us. that is only childrens play with us. this thing is wel understod with us and is taken out of the power every humin bein to detect us. yu wil find it so at the end of this bisines. the only answer we want from yu now is, be yu wilin to pay $20,000 to save Charley. if yu love yu mony more than him his blood be upon yu and not us fo wil show him up to yu either dead or a live (it is left with yu) anser the folering in evnin herald or star. Ros.—wil come to terms. Ros.—wil not come to terms. omit either line yu pleas try the experiment. offer $100,000 reward se if it avales any thing. use the detectives as yu pleas but don’t let them mislede yu to the sacrifice of Charley. dont concent to any thing only in good faith. we wil act upon yu word, if yu prove faithles we will prove to yu heart’s sorow that wil keep our word to the very letter.

  Letter 4

  PHILADELPHIA, July 9 – Ros. we is set your price. We ask no more. we takes no les we no the extent yu bility. how mucht time yu want to obtain this money. yu is only in part answered our question. the only question for yu to answer is is u got it and be wilin to pay it then we wil proceed to bisiness at once. is it necessary to repeat the fatle consequences of delayin to give time to detectives to find his hidin place. we teld yu it be posible to find his place, but imposible to find him. no aproch can be made to it without a known signal and any stranger forcibly comin to it wold be the signal for his instant anihilation were he wold never be herd of. this makes our party safe and shows yu that if it come to extremes we wil spare not the child. thus yu se al the detectives in the country could avale yu nothing only Jeopodisin his life Ros this undertaken cost us $1000 to prepare the machenery to perform the work therefor consider wel befor yu consent to pay it. for pay it you have to or sacrifice yu child. we want no other anser but this and on the fath of yu word his lif hang. Ros i is got it and be wilin to pay it. this anser or omition it satifies us.

  Letter 5

  PHILADELPHIA, July 13 – Ros: Yu say yu be redy to comply. we presume yu have wel considered be for yu maid this promis we take yu at yu word and we hold the lif of yu son to the strictest performanc of yu word. we want yu mony. yu want yu child. the question between us is do yu mean to give the mony or do yu think by holdin out a fals promis to ensnare us into the hands of the authority. i want to explane this mater to yu so yu wil not deceve yu self for it is imposible for the wole detective force combind to put even one of us in the power of the law. in transfering yu mony to us be for yu get yu child yu have got to rely entirely on our word. we ask no more money. we wil take no les. if we wanted more we wold ask it now. in 5 ours after we receve the mony and find it corect, yu wil se yu child home saf. Aft we gets the mony we has no further use for the child, an it is our interest then to restor him home unharmed, so that others will rely on our word. if we don’t get the mony from yu the child’s life wil an shall be sacrificed. consider wel, then, wat yu be doin, for any promis yu mak us we hold the life yu
child to bind you to it. Ros, it would be more satisfact to yu to give this mony to the detectives than us, but if we git it yu git yu child—if not yu child must die, that we can sho others that we mak no threths wich we don’t kepe. Ros, it is our place to dictate, yues to comply. be you redy to pay it as we dictate. if so, have the $20,000 in United States notes. in denomination not excedin “tens.” have yu money were yu can git it any moment wen cal for, the detectives, wen they read this, wil tel yu they have now got the key that opens the secret, but don’t be misled by them (we alone hold the lock wich is yu child, if they open the dor for yu it wil only revele his (ded body) if yu regard his life let a fatherly love be yu gide. Ros, yu have inevitably got to part with yu mony or yu child, wich is certain as death itself. any fals act on yu part seals the fate of yu child an closes any further bisiness with us. consider wel, an if these terms agre with yu anser the folerin. Ros, it is redy, yu have my word for it. we look for the answer in the Evenin Star.

  Letter 72

  PHILADELPHIA, July 16 – Ros: The reason we did not respond to yu answer was we had to go a bit out in the country an the blasted old orse give out so we could not get back in time. We went as much as anything to se how Charley was. Yu have our word that he is yet safe—in health an no harm done him thoug he is uneasy to get home with Walter. he is afraid he won’t get home in time to go to Atlantic City with his mother when Saly comes back. Ros, yu understand the condition the money was to be given us. We wold gladly give yu Charley befor we got the mony but that wold be imposible under the existing circumstances. Yu must satisfy yuself that yu wil git him after we git the mony an find it corect and no sly marks put on the notes. We told yu we wold place him in yu hands in 5 ours after we fond the mony corect but that we can not do but our word for it that yu shall have him insid of 10 ours an may our blasted sols be eternaly damed if we do not keep our word with yu—as we said befor after we gits the mony we have no further use for the child but we have a big object in restoring him to yu safe and sound. We shall be redy we think by Saturday to efect a change with yu (the child for the mony). Ros— we want to impres upon yu mind the grate danger in efecting this change —the danger lies intirely with yuself if yu wish to make a change an absolute certainty yu most comply in every particular as we instruct yu then a failure is imposible. the first place, yu must not let the detectives no how yu are to setle this bisiness (not that we fear them at all) in aresting one of us for as we told yu that is imposible—but they wil secretly interfear in this bisines in some underhanded way to prevent the mony from findin its way to us—we were going to deal with yu alone an yu only, an if yu call in any others to give you a counter advice from ours then yu mistake wil be yu own misfortune. let yu friends advise yu and not the detectives they study their own interest an the interest of society. yu have a duty to perform to yuself that stands paramount to all else in the world an if yu ever expect to regain yu child a live, yu alone with the advice of yu friends must perform it. we wil give you this much incite into our bisiness—that if any arest is made it wil be an inocent person who wil be ignorant of the part he is actin. but it is imaterial with us wether it be an inocent person or one of our own party the moment any arest is made or any clandestine movements in tramsiting this mony to us it will be conclusive evidence with us that yu have broken yu faith with us an that our we pledge our selves befor all the gods in the universe if there be an god exist that yu child shal die an we wil give yu an oculd prof of it an then all further business with us ceases. (yu have answered al that is necessary at present. we have yu word for it.) we want yu to nail this mony up in a smal strong ruf box an have it were yu can git it at a minutes notice. mark on it (Drugs for H H H.

  Letter 8

  PHILADELPHIA, July 18—Ros: we be at a los to understand yu a week ago yu used yu had the amont an was wilin to pay it the editorials seme to speak as if the mony wus yet to be contributed befor yu could pay it. this wold be a terable mistake for yu to have it caled for an yu had it not to hand out for it wold never be solicited the second time. if yu mean square bsiness with us we wil do al we promis yu. if yu mean stratigem it is imaterial wether yu hav the mony or not yu can try the game as wel without the mony as with it. if yu trap any one it wil be some one we care nothin abot aonly we lose the mony (yu lose the child) we be redy to test it soon as you say mony is redy. we se the pealers has coped a lad an grate prase is given them for their efficiency but we care nothin for him but if it was one of our chums they had, yu child wold have dide within an our after it, an al further negotiations wold cease at once. yu wil find in the end that the cops can do nothn for yu in this case, thay are as far of the track now as the day they started in persuit of the game. we cautioned yu against setin the peelers or cops as som here cal them lookin for the chilld. don’t yu believe us when we tel yu that they only search for the child’s life. The blasted editorials have got the city in such a feve bout the child that we can hardly do anything. i tel yu they endanger the child’s life at every stroke of the pen. one editor wants to kno why we dont give yu some prof that we ever had the child by sendin some of his close or a lock of hair we have our reason for not sending them. to satisfy yu we have him yu remember his striped stockins are darned in two or three places were they had holes in. ask Walter if we did not put the blanket up in front of him an Charley in behind to hide them. ask Walter if we did not say we wold go down to aunt Susans befor we went out on the mane street to buy torpedos. Ros—-if yu ever want yu child restored to yu a live yu have got to act with us alone yu and yu friends only. we tel yu positivly if yu love yu child the detectives are yu worst enemies. if yu have them in yu service they will be the means of yu losin yu child forever. if yu interfea in our bisines we can never efect the change an death inevitably will be the result. we can not keep the child forever. we don’t want to keep him any longer than to give yu time to procure the mony we thought yu were better fixt for money or we would never took yu child but since we hav him we shal cary out our plan with him. tis corosponence with us must stop short we wil not keep it up longer. befor yu git this we shal join our friends at a distance but we wil notice al yu have to say either in ledger star or herald or sunday dispatch anything you wish to communicate to us head it C R R instead of Ros. dont let yu wife be foolishly led by the Spiritualist to think they can tel her anything bout Charley, there is but one thing on earth outside of us that has the power to tel yu an that is the money. yu wil find in the end that we speak truth for once, This man Woster is innocent he has nothing to do with us, do as yu please with him an make the most out of him yu can. our advice to yu is an we hope yu will take it for once that is dont yu state in personals that yu have the mony until yu have it naled up in the box we described to you an redy to give wen caled for. the brokers we se have had a metin an think they can restor yu child an bring us to justice—they mean wel to yu but they be actin under a great delusion—if they be friends to yu let them make the mony up which is the only thing can restor the child—if they will not do that yu drop them unless yu want to cut yu child’s throat—if they want revenge let them git it after yu get yu child. this is a friendly advice do as yu think best—yu hear no more from us til we no yu mind—we have told yu that yu will se yu child again but it depends with yu an yu only in what condition you se him. We thought we would be ready to setle this bisines to-day but it must be delayed.

  Letter 9

  BURLINGTON, July 21. –Ros. yu statement in Monday Star is so conflictin with yu statement in this morning personals that we are yet unable to comprehend yu nevertheless we wil act upon yu promise as if it was made by an angle. in monday Star yu say yu can have no faith in us neither do we have any faith in yu from the nature of this bisines it is to be presumed neither can have implicit confidence. the way this bisiness stands is this yu pay us the money yu are left without anything to bind us to our promis but our own word which yu say yu do not believe. then on what ground can we efect the change. we have seen yu own statement that yu would not compl
y with our terms an yet yu say (the money is redy how shal I no yu agent) the fact of us having yu child and you having paid us every dollar we demanded what further use could we have for him? He has answered the end for which we took him; this is one reason why we should give him up. The next reason is, if we should ever play the same game in any other part of the country, who would have any confidence in getin their child after they had paid the ransom if you should lose yu child we don’t say we shal ever play this trick in this country again, for the popular outcry is a most to great. It has been stated that since the great outcry of the people that we would gladly surrender the child without a ransom. Do not deceive yuself on that, for we could set the child at liberty at any moment, but we never wil alive without the money, no never, never, never! Ros, in order to ever get yu child alive there is but one way left yu an that is the way we point out to yu. Yu must comply with our terms in every particular, and met our agent step by step as we instruct yu. If yu mean to act in faith to us yu can have no objection to this course. The fair an the faulce part is left with yu to chose, for it is with yu alone we shal presume to act an the life of Charley shal bind yu to yu word. do not deceive yuself an think this is only to frighten yu. we appeal to the highest power exist on high to bear us witness. (we solomly swear befor the twelve houses of heaven so sure as the sun rises in the east an sets in the west, so sure shall Charly die if yu brake yu promis with us an may the same curse fal upon us if we do not keep our promis with yu. Ros we want to caution yu stil more for this is a question involves the life or death of yu child. do yu desire to make a change of yu money for the child if yu are sincere take advice from us who yu think are yu worst enemies but in the end yu wil find we were yu best advisers the advice is that if yu want to regain yu child drop the police entirely have nothing to do with them while yu are transacting this bisines with us or the whole thing wil prove a failure an yu child must died if yu mean to ensare us then our advice is enlist al the power yu can invoke but be sure yu prove successful for one false step seals the fate of yu child. We have told yu it is impossible to ensnare one of our friends. Do yu not believe us, or are yu wilin tu put the life of yu child at issue an test it with us. In all of our letters we have told yu the life of yu child shal be the bond that bind yu tu yu promise; any stratagem or false promise on yu part must an shall seal the fate of your child and you have none to blame for yu be his murderer an not us—for one reason from yu we shal stop at nothing until we haveing given yu a prof that we can keep our word even unto blood. i repeat if yu want yu child yu comply with our terms in every particular. One false step on yu part will make yu and yu family weep tears of blood but if yu act in faith with us al wil go wel with yu. What have the authorities done towards findin yu child. They have done nothing yet and they are as far from his hidin place to-day as they were on the 6th day of July (yu money alone can find him) if these terms suit yu answer the followin in the Ledger personals. C R R. i will agree to the terms in every particular. P. S. –have the money ready as we described we wil send prof with him so yu can no him when he comes.