The FBI Case Files on Fold3.com are not just about “un-American” activity during World War I. They are about a lot more than that and include references to a variety of illegal (or potentially illegal) activities during the World War era. This is not just a database for those with German immigrants to the United States. It’s a database with those who might have:
- tried to avoid the draft
- ran a house of ill-repute
- sold illegal hooch
- killed someone
That group includes more than just German immigrants.
Distribution of Booze
In May of 1919, W. C. Hatton of Ft. Worth, Texas, wrote a letter to report that a man named Dick Ferris had been importing whiskey into Texas and selling it out of his trunks at the Westbrook Hotel. According to Hatton, Ferris also stored the whiskey in the “old bank vault” nearest the door of a clearing house at 7th and Main Streets.
Distribution of Booze
Josephine Tinsley (alias Josephine Evans) was running a house of ill-fame within five miles of a Florida naval station in 1918. This was a violation of Section 13 of the Selective-draft Act and she was arrested.
Killing a Mexican
In 1917, Texas residents Charles and Marshall Saathoff were involved in the shooting of Vincente Perez over a monkey wrench that the Saathoffs claimed Perez had stolen.
Failing to Register
William Tinsley was questioned on 23 July 1917 regarding his failure to register for the draft. I’ve seen other cases of this type where, in an attempt to prove their age, family bibles were brought in. Those bibles were found to have been altered to make the man ineligible for the draft. Tinsley was not so lucky.
There’s a great deal more to these records than just cases involving “un-American” activity during the World War I era. These are not full name indexed but are indexed by the name of the principle person involved.
Readers can search the “FBI Case Files” on Fold3.com.
