My Genealogy Hound

WILLIAM H. RODENBAUGH, for many years chief-of-police in Norristown, has had a varied experience in investigation of a criminal character. He has made several journeys half way across the continent or more to bring back self-confessed murderers and other offenders.

The Rodenbaughs are an old family in Montgomery county. Michael Rodenbaugh was born in 1780 in the vicinity of Plymouth Meeting. On reaching manhood he became a farmer and teamster between Pittsburg and Philadelphia in 1824, hauling produce from one of these cities to the other. He followed this occupation all his life. He was a Friend, as were his wife and family. In politics he was a Whig until the organization of the Republican party when he became a member thereof. He married and had the following children: Nathan (father); Benjamin, who in 1849 went to the gold regions of California, which was the last heard of him; Susan, who married Thomas B. Evans (first husband) and David Bowers (second husband), dying in 1900;William; Mrs. Mary Ambler; Michael, who married Mary Jane Doan, and died at Germantown in 1899, while his widow formerly residing at Chestnut Hill, died in October, 1903; Elizabeth, who married Maland Zearfass, and died in 1863; and Ezra, who died in 1895.

Nathan Rodenbaugh (father) was born in Whitemarsh township, October 29, 1813, in the old Rodenbaugh homestead. He grew to manhood on the farm, receiving a common school education, and following in the footsteps of his father, driving team most of his life. About 1870 he joined the First Baptist church in Norristown and died in that faith. He was a Whig and a Republican in politics though never an office-seeker. He did not miss voting during his long life and always took a deep interest in the primary meetings of the party. He married in 1834, Margaret, daughter of Nathan and Margaret (Wolf) Macolly, her family being of Dutch descent. They had the following children: Elizabeth, who died April 7, 1863; Benjamin, who died April 9, 1863; Charles, who was born March 29, 1841, married Elizabeth Keyser, and his second wife was Eleanor Price, of Philadelphia; Catharine; William H.; Margaret, who was born in 1848, and died in 1850; Sylvester, who married Jennie Hauk, of Phoenixville, who is deceased; Arrabell, who married Nathan Haines Jones, of New Jersey, and now resides in Philadelphia; and Howard, born March 29, 1856, who married Jane Keeler, of Norristown, and lives in Skippack.

Nathan married (second wife) Tamson Macolly in March, 1865, they having one child, Sarah, born in 1866, married Elroy Williams. They have one child, J. Merrill Williams. Nathan Rodenbaugh died June 29, 1899. His first wife died in August, 1864; and his second wife died August 11, 1890.

William H. Rodenbaugh is the oldest chief-of-police in length of service in the state of Pennsylvania, and the second oldest in the United States. He was born December 19, 1847, on the old homestead in Plymouth township. His father removed to Morristown in 1851, where the son has since resided. His education was obtained at the public schools of Norristown, he being one of the first pupils at Sandy street building. When but ten years of age he worked in a brickyard in the summer, going to school in the winter. He continued in this laborious occupation until 1862, when he ran away and went to a recruiting station and tried to enlist but could not get himself accepted. After the severe whipping he received on account of his unappreciated patriotism, he commenced work in the Hooven Rolling Mill. Although the balls weighed more than he did, he earned a dollar and twenty-six cents per day, which was then considered good wages for a boy. He worked at this for two years, when he commenced driving team for his father, who was a teamster at the Hooven Mills. He continued as a teamster for two years and then became an apprentice with Lewis H. Davis at the trade of bricklaying, serving in this capacity for three years, during which time Mr. Davis constructed many of the prominent buildings in Norristown, among them being the Albertson Trust Building, the Acker Building and others. He worked at his trade until 1876, when he entered the Norristown police department as patrolman, serving as such for eighteen months, when, on April 1, 1878, he was appointed chief-of-police and has filled the position from that time to the present without a break. His first case of importance was in conconnection with the detectives Henry Weil and George Jackson, who arrested Tom Taylor, leader of the famous Masked Burglars’ gang. Taylor had been a fugitive from justice for some time. He was in hiding at Port Indian and living with a Mrs. Klinetop as her husband. She was the mother of the famous Klinetop Sisters, variety actresses. Mrs. Klinetop was known to be the owner of a handsome little dog, and as she came to Norristown for her mail, her dog attracted the chief’s attention, he having been notified that the owner of the dog was involved with Tom Taylor. The chief took the steamer with her one day and located her at Port Indian, then in company with the detectives named, all in disguise of other men, they watched in that vicinity ten days and were rewarded on Sunday evening by accomplishing his capture. He was convicted and sentenced to fifteen years.

Chief Rodenbaugh’s next important case was the arrest and conviction, at different times, of the Geiyer gang, who had for some time been operating in and around Norristown. At one time the gang robbed a Norristown summer home of enough furniture to furnish two houses. They were arrested in the courthouse in the act of taking out a marriage license. B. F. Geiyer has at various times been sentenced to terms of imprisonment equaling in the aggregate twenty-three years, all during Chief Rodenbaugh’s term of service, he being his captor on all these occasions. Irwin, who assisted in robbing the country seat, served three years in the penitentiary and is now leading an honest life.

Another of Chief Rodenbaugh’s experiences was the arrest and conviction of the Boemke gang of German burglars, who robbed Landis & Souder’s store, at Souderton, of two thousand five hundred dollars worth of silk and other valuable goods. A week later they held up the Heckler family at the point of a pistol and robbed them. The Chief located them at a tramp boarding- house, kept by a giant German, and arrested them all. Ten burglars were given seven years each in the penitentiary and the lodging-house keeper received one year for harboring thieves and receiving stolen goods. The stock of goods was mostly recovered in Philadelphia and Baltimore and in different places where they had been sent. Many of the valuable silks had been sold and were partly made up into dresses when recovered.

Chief Rodenbaugh has been in every state in the Union on official business connected with the pursuit of criminals, bringing persons accused of crime to Norristown, or obtaining extradition papers for their surrender. He has been in the far west among the mines and arrested criminals there, and has traveled thousands of miles hand-cuffed to a prisoner, the days and nights being passed in this way. In the Kaiser murder case a few years ago, Chief Rodenbaugh took an active part, the mystery being completely unraveled, and Clemmer, who fired the shot which killed Mrs. Kaiser on a lonely road in Upper Merion township, two miles from Norristown, being hanged, while the wretched husband, who assisted in the murder, committed suicide in jail to escape the gallows.

On several occasions Chief Rodenbaugh has exchanged shots with burglars and other criminals, but was never seriously hurt except once, when he was stabbed in the face by a person whom he was trying to arrest. In nearly thirty years of service, Chief Rodenbaugh has been absent from the station house only eight days on account of sickness. Under Democratic and Republican administrations he has continued in office. He has, however, always been a staunch Republican and has never missed election, invariably voting the Republican ticket. He has cast but one vote outside of Norristown.

In February, 1864, he became a member of the Humane Fire Company, and still belongs to it. He is also an Odd Fellow, being a member of Curtis Lodge; a Red Man, being a member of Beaver Tribe, and a Mason, belonging to Charity Lodge, No. 190, of that order. He is a member of Norristown Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and of Hutchinson Commandery, Knights Templar.

On June 6, 1876, Chief Rodenbaugh married Theresa J. Shanks, daughter of William M. and May (Crawford) Shanks. She was born in Columbus, Georgia, where her parents were engaged in manufacturing, and where they resided during the Rebellion. Mrs. Rodenbaugh was born February 26, 1854. Her father was conscripted into the Southern army, but was not allowed to serve as his services as a manufacturer in making cloth for the Confederacy were too valuable. As soon as the war ended the family came north and located in Norristown, where they engaged in manufacturing. The oldest son, ex-Councilman John C. Shanks, is now with Dobsons at Falls of Schuylkill. The youngest brother fills a like position in a Rahway, New Jersey, manufacturing establishment.

Mr. and Mrs. Rodenbaugh have had three children: Sylvester, born June 21, 1878, died October 3, same year; Henry Nathan, born November 20, 1879, graduated from the Norristown high school, and graduated also in the class of 1901 from the University of Pennsylvania, as a Mechanical Engineer, being now located at Roanoke, Virginia, with the Norfolk & Western Railway Company in that capacity; Mary Crawford, born March 1, 1883, graduated from the Norristown high school in the class of 1902, and graduated from Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, in the class of 1903, and is now employed by the Norristown Trust Company.