Whatever the reason, the robbers had what they wanted now: access to a quick and easy score. The robbers forced the bank workers back into Brownlie’s private office, where they demanded to know where all the money in the bank was. Purple repeatedly struck Brownlie, pounding on his head with his fist.
Hamilton and Purple took Brownlie out into the main part of the bank, leaving Marti in the office. Once again, they demanded to know where all the money was. Brownlie gave them the information they desired, and as they were told, Purple would quickly and eagerly stuff the money into his bag. They took everything they could—cash, securities and whatever else was available.
During all this, Hamilton and Purple kept asking the bank workers if they recognized them. Brownlie remembered Hamilton from his previous visit to the bank, when the robber had come in and cashed his twenty-dollar bill. But thinking that it would go over better with the already violent criminal, he lied and gave every assurance that he had never seen Hamilton before in his life.
In contrast to the bank president, Hamilton and Purple treated Marti very well, in light of the circumstances. Although they kept asking her if she recognized them or knew who they were, they also kept reassuring her. The robbers could tell Marti was scared, so they kept telling the young woman that she would be okay, that they were not going to hurt her. They also never struck her, unlike Brownlie.
In addition to asking if the bank workers recognized them, Hamilton and Purple sprinkled their questioning with threats. Brownlie and Marti were warned to never come to Cedar Rapids and told that if they ever told anyone anything about the robbers, then Hamilton’s friends from Oskaloosa would come up and kill them. Marti did not really believe the robbers’ threats and thought that the criminals were just trying to make them think they were from someplace else.
Once they were satisfied they had everything in the main part of the bank, the robbers forced Brownlie into the vault. As they shoved him in, the old man shuffled across one part of the carpet inside. Suddenly, Hamilton was furious. He turned on Brownlie, screaming at him, asking if he had set off a secret alarm. Brownlie told him that he had not and that there was not even such a device in the bank.
Satisfied but still nervous, the robbers picked up speed, eager to take their loot and leave. But in spite of this, they still were not sure if the old man had told them where everything was. Going into the office, they retrieved Marti and brought her into the vault, asking her if there was more money somewhere. Sure enough, there was. Purple quickly swept it into his bag.
Finally, the robbers believed they had stolen everything that the bank had to offer. It was time for them to leave. With the two bank workers in the vault, Hamilton and Purple closed the inner doors. As they tried to close the outer door, however, Brownlie and Marti pleaded with the robbers not to lock them in, as it was a time-lock door. Time-lock doors were specially designed to help prevent robberies. Vaults equipped with these style of doors could only be opened at certain times of the day, and then only with the correct combination. So, if a would-be thief had the combination to the safe, he could not simply sneak into the bank in the middle of the night, open the vault and make off with his ill-gotten gains. Thieves now had to have both the combination and to know the correct time to open the door. Brownlie and Marti knew that if they were locked inside, then it would be several hours until the vault door could be opened. And so they begged Hamilton and Purple not to close the door. Mercifully, the robbers complied, satisfied that the inner doors would be enough.
Turning, they prepared to escape. Purple went first, with Hamilton waiting a moment. He heard Purple fire his pistol before the world exploded with the sound of gunfire answering those first shots. Taking a deep breath, Hamilton ran out the door himself.
The air was alive with bullets as he ran down the steps. Get to the car, he thought. It was only a short distance away. He could make it!
Gunfire filled the air, punctuated by the sounds of bullets striking the buildings around him. He fired his own pistol back randomly, seeking more to distract his attackers and force them back under cover than to actually hit anyone. Hamilton was focused on the car. He had to get to the car!
On some level, Hamilton probably took note of the prone body of his partner, Roy Purple, lying on the sidewalk as he ran, the black bag containing all their money beside him. But there was no time for that now. The only thing that mattered was getting to the waiting car, a welcome shelter from the hail of lead pelting down all around him. At that moment, survival was more important than money.
Suddenly, he felt a pain in his side, and then another. Then another burning pain started in his lower neck and another erupted in his arm. But still Hamilton ran. He was at the car now, running around to the driver’s side door. As he did, he felt something strike him in the stomach, but the adrenaline and alcohol had probably dulled his nerves to some extent, and it did not even slow him down.
Roy Purple fell dead on this spot after being mortally wounded by the Long Grove Vigilance Committee in 1921. Author’s collection.
Jerking open the car door, Hamilton lunged inside. Slamming the door, he hit the accelerator. The car did nothing.
Hamilton was shocked. They had deliberately left the car running so they could just jump in and drive away. He hit the accelerator again, ramming it all the way to the floor. Still nothing!
Before he could react, there were men with guns all around the car. Hamilton looked at them in surprise. How had all of this suddenly gone so wrong?
WHEN HARRY HAMILTON AND Roy Purple had come thundering into the Stockman’s Savings Bank, Al Klindt and E.H. Anschultz had gone out the front door.
The two locals were probably surprised that the robbers had not stopped them, but they did not stop to think about that. They had a job to do. Anschultz went his way, and Klindt went to find another local and vigilance committee member, Dick Tobin. It did not take long. The two men armed themselves and then went into the building that the robbers had parked next to. They climbed the stairs and took up shooting positions in the upstairs windows, looking down at the getaway car and the robbers’ escape route. Klindt wanted the robbers to actually commit the crime so that they were sure of the men’s intentions.
Another man, Elmer Moore, placed himself behind a telephone pole north of the bank, with a direct line of sight to the front door. Other men, like Peter Willer, had also armed themselves and taken up similar firing positions all around the bank.
When Hamilton and Purple had first arrived in town and tried to rob the bank, the president of the Eldridge Savings Bank, M.H. Calderwood, had been notified. He was notified again when they reentered town and then again when they were actually in the bank committing the robbery. Eldridge was the next town over, so the vigilance committee of that town was alerted. Its members quickly armed themselves and made themselves ready, just in case the robbers in Long Grove decided to bring more trouble in their direction. Eight armed men, four in a car and four more at various hidden positions, waited for the robbers along the road between Long Grove and Eldridge.
Archie Henne, who had come to find out what the commotion was around the town earlier, reached the barbershop as the robbers were inside the bank. As he went in, he asked the patrons of the barbershop if there was any truth to the news of a robbery. They confirmed there was, telling Henne that the robbers were still inside the bank. Someone then pointed out Hamilton’s car, still running outside. Henne nodded and then went back outside. He made his way along the street opposite the running car until he was directly across from it. Running, Henne went across to the driver’s side door, opened it and turned off the car. He then ran back to the barbershop to arm himself. As he went inside, Henne grabbed the first thing that he could find: an iron bar leaning in one corner. He probably figured that something was better than nothing and then went back out to face the robbers.
Tension was thick in the air. The vigilance committee knew that the robbers were in the bank right at that moment and that soon
they would try to make their way to the getaway car. The money that they were stealing did not belong to them but, rather, to local men and women whom the committee knew. Families had invested that money in the hopes of building better lives for themselves and had worked hard for it. These would-be bank robbers would not take that away. The vigilance committee would stop them, even if it meant pulling the trigger.
Just about that time, Roy Purple came out of the bank door. As he did, the barber saw something that he did not like. It is very possible that he saw Elmer Moore behind his telephone pole several feet away. Whether out of fear, panic or some other reason that will never be known, Purple began firing his pistol as he moved toward the getaway car.
With those first four shots from Purple, the tension that had been so thick suddenly broke with all the ferocity of a thunderstorm. Return fire came from several vigilance committee members, pouring down a deadly rain of lead at Roy Purple.
The worst of that initial volley hit the barber full on. He fell to the sidewalk just a short distance away from the getaway car, dead. The black bag with all the money that Purple had felt was so important such a short time ago fell beside his lifeless body. The volley lessened a bit but still continued as Hamilton came running out of the bank next.
From his perch in the upstairs window, Al Klindt and Dick Tobin fired several shots. At first, Klindt had been firing a Colt .45 and was able to shoot Purple directly in the face with it. The blacksmith ran out of ammunition and quickly grabbed a .32 pistol from Dick Tobin to continue the assault.
As Hamilton rounded the car to get to the driver’s side door, Archie Henne threw his iron bar at the man, striking him in the stomach. It did not even so much as slow the robber down, and Hamilton opened the door to climb inside. As Hamilton was getting into the car, Al Klindt hit him with his .32. But Hamilton was tough. He kept firing his own pistol at his attackers. Two shots went through the window of a nearby pool hall, nearly hitting one of the men inside. By the time he closed his car door, Hamilton had been shot four times.
This bullet hole was placed in the side of the Stockman’s Savings Bank (now Long Grove City Hall) during the robbery of 1921. Author’s collection.
When it was apparent that Hamilton was not going anywhere in his car, thanks to the efforts of Henne, several locals rushed forward, guns in hand. They jerked open the car door and demanded to know where Hamilton had put his gun. Hamilton immediately told them that he did not have a gun, even though it was still in his hand. The vigilantes disarmed the robber and pulled him from the car. To make sure that the robbers could do no more harm that day, the locals handcuffed Hamilton and hogtied Roy Purple, despite the fact that it was obvious Purple was very, very dead.
The danger now past, the locals moved into the bank to check on the bank workers. Both Brownlie and Marti were a little worse for wear but were all right. By this time, the news of an actual robbery had spread around town, and several people came up to get a look at the scene. Curiously, they looked at the wounded Hamilton and the deceased Purple. They also took note of the various bullet holes in the bank and surrounding buildings.
Soon, the Scott County sheriff, William Brehmer, arrived with a complement of police officers. Word had been sent to them earlier, but it had taken the law enforcement officials some time to reach Long Grove. They were greeted by the vigilance committee members, many of whom had pistols still stuck in their waistbands or shotguns broken over one arm.
Brehmer greeted them in return and then went and examined the robbers. He immediately ordered that Hamilton, who was in a great deal of pain from his wounds, be taken into the nearby pool hall. He also ordered an ambulance be called for the man. For Purple, an undertaker was called to take his body away.
Inside the pool hall, Brehmer began to question Hamilton about the robbery as they waited for the ambulance. The robber would only say that someone had double-crossed him. When asked to elaborate or to identify his dead partner, Hamilton initially would not say a word. As time pressed on, however, he eventually admitted that he and Purple had planned the robbery. As far as being double-crossed, no one present understood what he was talking about, but it was thought at the time that Hamilton was referring to Purple.
Eventually, the ambulance and the undertaker came, and Hamilton and Purple were both returned to Davenport, although not the way either had intended. Reporters from the Daily Times and the Davenport Democrat and Leader came and spoke with the various people involved, including the vigilance committee members.
Later that afternoon, an acquaintance of Edith Purple was passing by the bulletin window of the Daily Times when she saw the announcement of Roy Purple’s death. Stunned, she went into a nearby restaurant to call her old friend.
Called to the phone at her home, Edith was shocked to hear the news of Roy’s demise. She knew that he liked to run with a bad crowd, but Edith had no idea that he had planned to rob a bank. She had begged him to stop associating with criminals and the like, but he would not listen. Roy Purple’s flirtation with crime and wrongdoing had finally caught up with him.
The police began to investigate the crime right away. Witnesses had reported a gray car parked south of town close to the time of the robbery. Inside were a man, a woman and a baby. Possibly because of Hamilton’s statement of being double-crossed, law enforcement thought that the car and its occupants might have had something to do with the robbery.
The next day, the county coroner, J.D. Cantwell, performed an inquest. Traveling to Long Grove, he interviewed many of the vigilance committee members, as well as R.K. Brownlie and Jean Marti. The results were fairly cut and dried—Roy Purple had died from gunshot wounds received during the robbery.
Meanwhile, in Davenport, Harry Hamilton’s life waxed and waned with each passing day. Admitted to Mercy Hospital after the robbery, Hamilton’s condition was touch and go from the very beginning. At first, it seemed as if he was going to die at any moment. Then, he began to grow stronger, and the doctors started to become more positive about his recovery.
One day while Hamilton was recovering, a man tried to gain access to the bandit. A policeman, Jess Lowenthal, who had been ordered to stand watch over Hamilton, stopped the man. Lowenthal had strict orders not to allow access to the wounded bank robber, and he had never seen this visitor before.
At first, the visitor identified himself as Hamilton’s brother. Upon further questioning by Lowenthal, the man said that he was not a relation but was still part of Hamilton’s family. The conflicting stories raised a red flag with the policeman, and the visitor was ejected from the building.
Before long, Hamilton realized that he was dying. He contacted hospital authorities and asked that they summon a priest for him. When the clergyman arrived, Hamilton asked him to please make sure that his wife received all of his worldly property.
Mercy Hospital, where a wounded Harry Hamilton was taken after the robbery. He died here four days later. Courtesy of Davenport Public Library.
On December 17, 1921, Hamilton died of his wounds at Mercy Hospital. Despite being in a great amount of pain, Hamilton maintained a positive attitude until the end, joking with his nurses and with Lowenthal.
William Brehmer’s investigation into the gray car and any possible accomplices associated with Hamilton and Purple did not amount to anything. There was never any evidence to suggest otherwise. There was also no further investigation into the stranger who tried to gain access to Hamilton as he lay dying in Mercy Hospital. His identity would remain unknown.
The body of Roy Purple was held at the funeral home of Fred N. Ruhl until his parents came from Indiana to collect it. His widow, Edith, and their twin sons went back with Purple’s family. After she buried her husband, Edith went to live with her father in Champaign, Illinois.
Hamilton and Purple had stolen around $5,000 from the Stockman’s Savings Bank. Most of it was found in the black bag that fell beside Purple when he was shot and killed. By the next day, bank officials were still missing
nearly $6. As they searched, they found all but ten cents of it. Try as they might, it could not be found.
As the officials thought about where it could be, M.H. Calderwood, who was one of the officials helping count the money, remembered something. On the night of the robbery, he and his son were in the bank when they both heard something hit the floor, roll across the floorboards and then drop into an air register. Everyone was satisfied that what they heard was the missing coin, and they considered all the funds stolen during the robbery accounted for.
The Iowa Banking Association had offered a $1,000 reward to vigilance committees that were able to successfully deter bank robberies and burglaries almost from the time it had come up with the idea of vigilance committees. After the Long Grove bank robbery, a meeting was held by the Scott County Bankers Association to discuss the events of the crime and what things could have been done better during the situation. Also to be discussed was how the reward would be distributed among the various parties involved.
Eventually, it was established how it would be distributed. Not only would the vigilance committee members be given a reward, but even the telephone operators who had placed calls to Eldridge and the police department would have a share. Half of the money would come from the Iowa Bankers Association and the other half from the Scott County Bankers Association.
Harry Hamilton was buried in this section of Oakdale Cemetery in Davenport, Iowa, in an unmarked grave in 1921. Author’s collection.
Murder & Mayhem in Scott County, Iowa Page 10
