Getting to the Goals On Philip Troutfetter

Philip Troutfetter has the potential to be one of those genealogical "rabbit holes" from which one can never escape. There seems to be a never-ending amount of information on him.

There's not really an infinite amount of information on Philip Troutfetter, but reading the very end of the letter a post office inspector wrote about him in 1900 reminded me a of sources I have not tried:

• the Pinkerton private investigation company's records (I've actually contacted them once, but heard no reply)
• the records of the U. S. Consul in Columbia (which should be at the National Archives)

Letter from W. T. Sullivan to Chief Post Office Inspector, 6 July 1900,
investigation of Philip A Troutfetter (aka P A Taylor), W. T. Sullivan files,
Kansas Historical Society

The potential exists for some really neat records with some potentially "neat" discoveries to be made.

But...

The questions are "what is my goal?" and "will that goal be served by locating these records?" The records of the consul may be expensive to obtain and I'm still working on even making initial contact with Pinkertons. Finding out everything about Philip Troutfetter is interesting and provides some fascinating insight into the very late 19th and early 20th centuries. But is worth the cost to obtain this insight? What do I really want to know about Philip?

I already have pretty good information on where Philip was born, who his parents were, when and where he married, and when and where he died. If the items the investigator mentions can be located, they will likely only provide secondary information on those events in his life and I already have more reliable sources for those items.

I may get some details on Troutfetter's time in Cuba and South America and that may be interesting. There is the chance that the investigations may provide some details about his family or his lifestyle. The key word here is "chance." I need to remember that the investigation is only concerned with finding Troutfetter and documenting his crimes. Investigators of this type are not interested in compiling family histories of their charges. They would only be interested in his background if it was determined that it would help their case. And, as already mentioned, information on his origins and early life would be secondary at best.

Some of the information could be interesting and some may even be a bit scandalous. But it all still depends upon how much I'm willing to pay for "interesting."

And that's something I should think about before I spend too much time and money accessing these records (unless blog readers start sending me massive amounts of email wanting to know more...).

Obtaining Post Office Investigations into Philip Troutfetter

It has been some time since I've written about Philip Troutfetter, so for those who are new readers, here is a quick summary:

• He owned and ran a newspaper in Thomas County, Kansas, in the 1890s

  

  undated photo of Philip Troutfetter,
  courtesy Kansas State Historical Society

• He homesteaded in Colorado and also had a timber claim there in the 1890s
• He married in Colorado in the late-1890s and later had two girlfriends at the same time that he was married
• He borrowed money from his mother-in-law in the late 1890s (at least $5000) and never paid it back
• He worked in Cuba as a newspaper reporter for a short time
• His associate C. F. W. Neely was involved, along with Estes G. Rathbone,  in a Cuban stamp fraud scandal of over $100,000. Troutfetter was cleared of any involvement in this scandal.
• He spent time in Columbia investigating gold mining operations for C. F. W. Neely
• He was arrested in a Boston, Massachusetts restaurant in 1902 based upon charges filed by his former mother-in-law. He was eventually cleared.
• Troutfetter used the alias P. A. Taylor

Troutfetter was investigated by the United States Postal Service around the turn of the 20th century for his peripheral involvement in the Cuban stamp scandal. One of my current goals is to see what records of the investigation remain at the National Archives and I have someone working on accessing those records. I'm hoping they mention something of his time in Cuba and South America.

And yes, he's related to me as he's a member of the Hancock County, Illinois, Trautvetter family from which I descend as well.

Stay Tuned.

Monitoring the Mails in 1900

It has been a while since I've mentioned Philip Troutfetter on this blog, comments on another post reminded me of this letter I have from 1900 that discusses the investigation of Troutfetter by the United States Post Office.

W. T. Sullivan's papers are in the possession of the Kansas Historical Society, which is where they were obtained. He was an the inspector in charge of the Denver division of the Office of Post Office Inspector. This letter is dated 6 July 1900 and summarizes his investigation into Philip Troutfetter

The letter is fairly long, but the part of it that addresses the surveillance of the mail received by Troutfetter's sister, Mrs. A. J. Senter (of North Platte, Nebraska), is addressed here:

I don't know how common it was to supply post masters with copies of handwriting for individuals who were being investigated. Apparently the "P.M." (postmaster) at North Platte was not originally furnished with a handwriting sample of Philip Troutfetter when the investigation was started, but the letter seems to indicate that providing such handwriting was a regular practice. But apparently the post office in North Platte, Nebraska, was monitoring her mail even before they had the handwriting based upon comments the investigator mentions in his letter. I'm a little curious about the practice of "mail monitoring" during this time period, but it may be something that simply has to wait.

Sullivan goes on to mention that the Pinkerton Investigative Agency was also investigating Troutfetter. Attempts to locate those records have not brought forth any information.

Barranquilla Communications Regarding Troutfetter

This is the very end of the Troutfetter report written by Denver postal investigator Wm. T. Sullivan on 6 July 1900 which was referenced in an earlier blog post.

I was so focused on Pinkerton's that I neglected a clue in the very last line of the letter where it is indicated that the agent was in communication with the U. S. Consul at Barranquilla. I realized that the National Archives may have records of the consul which may reference that correspondence.

That's on my list and I've already contacted a researcher to see what they can ascertain. Hopefully I'll either hear from Pinkerton's or be able to locate these records.

Lesson--actually a reminder

Don't get so focused on one aspect of something that you neglect other clues that could be just as helpful.

Stay tuned...

Pinkerton Investigations and Post Masters Monitoring Mail in 1900

One encounters a variety of references in manuscript records. 

This image is part of a letter written on 6 July 1900 by W. T. Sullivan, Inspector in Charge, Denver Division to the United States Chief Post Office Inspector. The letter summarized the current state of Sullivan's investigation in Philip A. Troutfetter and was obtained from the files of the Kansas State Historical Society.

Apparently Sullivan had been in communication with someone from the Pinkerton Agency in regards to Troutfetter. It appears that the Pinkerton Agency had already been investigating Troutfetter when Sullivan began his investigation. I've contacted the archives of the Pinkerton Agency and we'll see if they have any materials from this time period and what those material might entail.

It's also interesting to note that the Post Master in North Platte, Nebraska, had been given a copy of Troutfetter's handwriting. Troutfetter's sister, Mrs. A. J. Senter, lived in North Platte during the time Troutfetter was being investigated and her mail was being monitored for communication from her brother. The Post Master did not open her mail, but the report by Sullivan indicated that the Post Master from North Platte was keeping track of the dates she received mail from Troutfetter, the return addresses on that mail and the dates the mail was received in North Platte.

We'll have an update about the Pinkerton records when there is one. The monitoring of Senter's mail is interesting, to say the least.

Phil Troutfetter Heads to New Mexico in Search of Gold

A fan on Genealogy Tip of the Day mentioned Elephind, which allows searches across numerous free sites containing digital images of newspapers.

Thomas County Cat., August 23, 1888, page 5

Documenting trips and other "short-term" migration can be difficult. Newspapers are one way in which some of these items can be evidenced, especially for those of us who do not have family letters and diaries containing such clues.

I have information on Philip's exploits to other locations, but this is the first to reference him being in New Mexico. Just goes to also show you that no matter how "done" you think you are, you are never done.

In October of 1888, the same paper indicated that Philip was in Cimilario, New Mexico.

Philip Troutfetter--A Wife and Two Girlfriends

We've discussed Philip Troutfetter in this blog before. The Illinois native migrated with his parents to western Kansas in the late 1800s. Philip travelled throughout the Americas and was involved in several exploits.  Most of my work on Philip has centered on his time in Cuba and South America. Philip's legal troubles actually centered on his time in Colorado and on money that his mother-in-law loaned to him during his marriage. Philip was cleared of those fraud charges brought against him by his mother-in-law, but after reading this item from the Rocky Mountain News, it is easy to see why his in-laws might have been none too happy with him.

According to the newspaper account, Troutfetter's wife remained in Colorado Springs after their 1896 marriage and he was living in Denver where he passed himself off as a single man and "was supporting two women." It is unknown how accurate the newspaper account is, but there may have been a grain of truth to the accusations.

Date: Friday, May 6, 1898  

Paper: Denver Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)  

 

Page: 5--obtained on  Genealogybank 

A reporter apparently went the residence but was unable to obtain further information. The phrase "all the people in the house" makes me wonder who else might have been living there and what sort of dwelling it was.

Date: Friday, May 6, 1898  

Paper: Denver Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)  

 

Page: 5 --obtained on  Genealogybank  

The newspaper account does not name the in-laws of Troutfetter. Their names are known to me, but newspapers are not known for providing all the details we'd like to have and the information they do provide may or may not be reliable. Troutfetter's divorce record may provide details of his Denver exploits. The newspaper account does not imply he was divorced--that is known from other records. One cannot assume simply based upon the newspaper account that there was a divorce, although it would appear to have been likely.

Moving Forward

City directories may also be helpful in this case (as the parents may be listed there before they apparently moved) and all the relevant individuals should be located in the 1900 census. Even if the family is not at the 1343 St. Charles address in 1900, viewing the household entry in 1900 may allow me to determine if it was a multiple family dwelling or not.

You never know what you will find when you search for your own family on  Genealogybank.

A Boston Account of the 1902 Troutfetter Arrest

It has been a while since we've written about Philip Troutfetter the member of the Trautvetter clan who got himself in a little trouble while on his jetsetting ways.

undated photo of Philip Troutfetter, courtesy Kansas State Historical Society

But it is not often I find mention of my relatives in the pages of the Boston Globe, so we thought we'd share this item from 1902. This is the first reference to his arrest that I have located in a Boston newspaper. Previous items have been from papers further removed from the actual location of his arrest.

The transcript that follows comes from the Boston Globe, 10 April 1902

Caught at last.

Troutfetter arrested in this city today.

Was wanted as a witness in Cuban postal fraud cases.

Charge is larceny from Western woman.

Sheriff is coming from Colorado Springs.

Much-wanted man was cashier of a Federal-St. restaurant.

                Phillip A. Troutfetter, whom the war department was at one time very anxious to secure as a witness against Rathbone and Neeley in the Cuban postal frauds, was arrested this noon on a charge of larceny preferred by a woman of Colorado Springs. Troutfetter has been for nearly a year acting as the cashier of a Federal-st restaurant, and he was arrested at the desk by Inspector Abbott and Supt. Leith of the local Pinkerton agency.

                For over a week Chief Watts and Supt. Leith have been gathering information to confirm their suspicions that the man known here as A.P. Taylor was the Troutfetter for whom the sheriff of Colorado Springs has been searching since the summer of 1898. This morning Sheriff A. B. gilbert telegraphed the necessary proof and requested the arrest, stating that an indictment had been found and that he would come to Boston at once for the prisoner.

                Troutfetter is 36 years old, and, according to what is written by the authorities of Colorado, he was for several years acting as a broker in Colorado Springs, doing a general mining business. Among his customers was Emeline Baker, who had $5000 to invest.

                She gave Troutfetter the money in a lump sum on April 3, 1898, authorizing him to invest it in whatever securities he considered the most desirable.

                It is alleged that Troutfetter did not make the investment as instructed, but kept the money. A short time afterward he placed his business in the hands of his brother and left. By the time Mrs. Baker appreciated that her money was gone it was impossible to find the missing broker.

                He was supposed to be in the west, but it seems that immediately after the United States took control of Havana, Jan 1, 1899, he went there. He became acquainted with Neeley before he went to Cuba, and they were very close friends.

                When Neeley secured the position in the postal department under Rathbone be placed Troutfetter in a subordinate position. The two were companions, and it is said that Troutfetter was so closely associated with Neeley that he knew all about the latter’s fraudulent transactions in the Cuban Stamps that were being redeemed.

                When discovery was threatened Troutfetter is said to have been with neeley when the latter attempted to destrou, and did succeed in burning much of the evidence against him. In the publicity following the arrest of neeley, Troutfetter became prominent, and then the Colorado authorities endeavored to obtain his arrest.

                The war department was equally desirous of having him where he could be summoned to testify against Rathbone and Neeley at the trial, but when they wanted him he could not be found. He was later traced to South America.

                He returned to this country a little over a year ago, and his presence in several cities of the middle west and in New York was known to the Pinkerton men, but before they could get the authority to make the arrest Troutfetter disappeared.

                Although it is said that $5000 was given to Troutfetter by Emeline Baker he has been indicted for the lareeny of only $1500.

                When arrested this afternoon he said that he had transacted some business for Mrs. Baker, but that the matter was an old one.

                “I thought it was settled long ago,” said he.

                He was arraigned in the municipal court and held in $2000 for examination April 17, in order to give Sheriff Gilbert time to reach here with the requisition papers.

Troutfetter is unmarried, and said that he only intended to remain in Boston a short time. 

----------------------------

Long-time readers of the blog will know that Philip was eventually exonerated of the charges brought against him by Baker. Troutfetter was born in Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois, and is a first cousin to the author's great-great-grandfather.

Maybe there are some records in Boston of his arrest, but that will have to wait. It is not often one encounters a relative quite as colorful as Philip.

Wanted by Two Women

I have always loved this headline from the Denver Post which I obtained on Genealogybank. Headlines are meant to sell papers and generate attention. This one certainly does that.

The headline comes from a 6 May 1898 in the Denver Post (page 6--obtained on Genealogybank's website).  article on Philip A. Troutfetter, whom I've written about before. Trautvetter was something of a world traveler--he was in Cuba and Columbia during the 1890-1900 time frame. This headline only refers to his romantic entanglements. He was also involved in a few other activities which nearly resulted in jail time.

Philip was arrested in Boston. We've posted on him before as I've located things, but I've never written a chronology of his exploits and newspaper references.

We'll work up a few more references to Philip from Genealogybank and post them here in a more organized form than we've done before. He was also investigated by the United States Post Office and a report of that investigation was used for a Casefile Clues article a year or so ago.