Introduction
Cullis B. Errickson was a long-time police officer in Camden. He was born in February of 1870 to Fuller B. Errickson and his wife, the former Susan M. Davis in Plumstead, Ocean County NJ. His father had served during the Civil War, but saw no action, having enlisted in March of 1865, shortly before the war ended. There were three older children, Charles, Harry and Susan, as well as a younger brother, Alward. Cullis B. Errickson was still living in Plumstead as late as 1895.
Cullis B. Errickson married around 1898. The 1900 Census reveals that he and wife Jennie were living at 528 Bailey Street in North Camden. He was by then working as a police officer in Camden. Cullis Errickson and his wife Jeannette had moved to 824 North 5th Street as early as 1906 and were still there when the 1914 City Directory was compiled. By 1910 he had been promoted to Sergeant by then-Chief of Police Elisha A. Gravenor. The Erricksons were renting an apartment at 624 State Street at the time of the Census in January of 1920. Chief Gravenor lived across the way at 629 State Street.
Sergeant Errickson retired around 1923 and moved from the city shortly thereafter. By 1930 he had bought a farm in Pemberton NJ, residing at 38 Arney’s Mount Road in that municipality. Jeannette Errickson passed away sometime after the 1930 Census was enumerated. Sergeant Errickson remarried in 1936. Sadly, the second Mrs. Errickson passed away in September of 1938. Cullis B. Errickson suffered a fatal heart attack four days later.
Bandits Raid Camden
Philadelphia Inquirer —
ARMED DESPERADOES SWOOP DOWN ON EAST CAMDEN
First Hold Up Bridge Watchman, Compelling Him to Place Mask on Face of One of the Bandits
Battle With Policeman After Blowing Up Safe in Pavonia Station—Shoot at Tower Operator Who Telegraphs for Help
In true Wild West fashion five heavily armed desperadoes swooped down upon East Camden yesterday morning, and within two hours they had emptied their revolvers several times over, held up a bridge tender, cut telephone wires, blew up a safe, ordered a train crew to move on, perforated a tower house with bullets and finally made their escape. It was all done between 12.15 o’clock, when the bandits began operations at the State street bridge over Cooper Creek, and 1.50, when they gave final battle to policemen and citizens out Federal street, and disappeared in the darkness.
Never in Camden county’s history was there such a bold intrusion. The bandits are supposed to be a part of the gang which murdered Operator Clendenen, near Jersey Shore, Pa., and which has been terrorizing railroad operators and tower men in all parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey recently.
First Appearance
It was shortly after 12 o’clock when the bandits appeared at the State street bridge at Cooper’s Creek. David Loughead and Oscar Till, bridge tenders, had just prepared to retire for the night. Loughead left Till to go to a boat house nearby. He had been gone but a short time when Till heard voices in the rear of the bridge house.
Bridgeman Till observed several men standing at the end of the bridge, and believing that they anticipated attacking him he locked the doors and laid his revolver on the bunk. Suddenly the door was forced open and in tumbled five men. Four of the bandits were masked. Instantly the frightened bridge tender was looking into the barrels of five revolvers.
“I surrender,” said Till.
“That’s all right, old pal,” replied one of the robbers, “but we want your money. You see we are a little short of funds, and it’s getting along about Christmas time.”
Masked by Their Victim
The men were about to go through Till’s pockets when the unmasked bandit said: “Hold up, I want my face covered and I want Mr. Bridgetender to do it.” Till complied. While a revolver was held at each temple Till took out his handkerchief and attempted to tie it about the robber’s face. He got the handkerchief over the fellow’s eyes. When ordered to try again he adjusted it to the satisfaction of the bandit, who expressed regret that the visit was causing the bridgetender so much trouble. The man Till masked went through his pockets. He failed to find any money, as Till had hidden what bills he had early in the night.
Ordered to Bed
Till was ordered to bed, and after he lay down on his back the bandits covered him over completely and cautioned him not to move under penalty of death. The desperadoes then disappeared. Fearing that one of the gang had remained behind to keep him from sounding an alarm, Till remained in bed until he heard a car approaching. Then he ventured out and summoned his partner, David Longhead [sic], from the boat house.
When an effort was made to use the telephone the bridgetenders found that the bandits had cut the wires.
The men hurried on State street, passed around the old Cox farm, struck into the river road, then headed for Pavonia.
Blew Up Safe
After passing guardedly through the freight yards of the Pennsylvania Railroad the bandits came up to the Pavonia Station. The thieves entered the little office by removing a heavy wire screen from a window in the rear of the ticket compartment, which is a room 8x10 feet in size. Three men had just about entered the station when two, who were left on guard, saw a train approaching. When Engineer Truax stopped the drill engine near the tower house the two men who were watching on the outside approached
Engineer Truax and his fireman, Allen Stewart, with drawn revolvers and commanded them to uncouple the engine and proceed on up the road.
Truax lost no time in obeying. He opened the throttle of his locomotive and did not stop until he reached Fish House.
In the meantime the trio in the station had inserted a charge of nitro-glycerine in the safe, attached a fuse and climbed out the window to await the explosion. It came in a few minutes.
Shot at Operator
Operator Ralph Haines, of Eighth and Line streets, Camden, heard the noise and raised the window of the tower house. He had hardly placed his head out when, with an oath, he was ordered to put his head in. The operator hesitated, until several shots were fired, followed by a general bombardment on the tower. One bullet whizzed by Haines’ head and buried itself in the window frame. Another lodged in the overhanging roof of the station waiting room.
This was too much for Haines and he fell back on the floor. Evidently believing they had murdered the tower man, the robbers discontinued bombarding the tower house with bullets and walked to the wrecked office. Operator Haines crawled on his knees to the ticker and sent word to the main office that he was being attacked by a gang of desperadoes, who were bombarding the tower in an effort to kill him. The two bandits who were on guard were noticed to run to the station office and the five suddenly left together.
Duel With Bandits
In the meantime all was activity at police headquarters. The railroad officials had communicated Operator Haines’ message to the City Hall and Sergeant Schregler and Officer Tatem sent word to a dozen officers, who started for the scene under the direction of Sergeant Reeder.
The detail was divided up to cover the various roads. Policemen Thomas Reed and Errickson were assigned to State street and at the bridge met Policemen Sell and Schmidt and Bridgeman Till. After a wait with no developments Sell and Schmidt decided to go to River road. They had only been gone a few minutes when they came upon the bandits hurrying in State street, near Cox’s farm.
When fifty yards away Sell ordered the robbers to throw up their hands. They did so, but each man flashed a pistol in his hand and opened fire on the officers. The latter returned the fire, but were compelled to retreat, as the odds were largely against them.
Bullet Through Officer’s Coat
Reed, Errickson and Till could see the flash of the pistols and hurried up the road, guns in hand. Then the shooting ceased and a minute later Sell and
Schmidt came up. Neither man was hurt, but one of the bullets fired by the robbers had passed through the shoulder of Sell’s coat. An effort was made to catch up with the men again. They ran out State street to the railroad, back towards Cooper’s Creek, where they broke open the bridge tender’s house, then struck into Federal street and headed for the open country. Out Federal street they met more policemen and several armed citizens. The bandits were some distance away, but there was another lively exchange of shots. No one was injured. The bandits kept on the run and were soon lost in the darkness.
About $10 at the Pavonia station was secured by the robbers. They left more than a dollar in change in a drawer in the ticket office.
Cullis B. Errickson
(Mt. Holly) New Jersey Mirror —
Four days after the death of his wife, Emma, Cullis B. Errickson, of Pemberton, a retired police sergeant of the Camden force, collapsed in the office of Miss Virginia Kelsey, on Main street, Pemberton, died soon afterward. Shock occasioned by the death of his wife, to whom he had been married 2 years, is believed to have been responsible for the fatal heart attack. Mrs. Errickson, before her second marriage was Mrs. Emma DeCou. She is survived by seven grown daughters. The retired former sergeant retired from active duty about 15 years ago. He is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Susie Chambers, of Toms River, and two brothers.
Police Shakeups of Today Mild Compared to Years Ago
Camden Courier-Post —
Force Changed Every Time Political Regime of City Shifted; Larry Doran Fired for Crossing Street to Get Cinnamon Bun; Old Patrol Recalled
By BEN COURTER
(Another in a series of articles on municipal affairs and personalities of yesteryear.)
Ben Courter
In “the good old days” when Camden’s police department was just about getting under way in accordance with the amended charter of 1872, the men in the ranks were the football of politics. Even if the phrase “to the victor belongs the spoils” had not yet been coined, it was in active force. A change of administration always meant a violent shakeup in the personnel of the department.
It has been so many years since Camden has had a real political shakeup, aside from the nonpartisan movement of seven years ago, that the younger element can have no personal recollection of upheavals marking the aftermath of Democrats succeeding Republicans or vice versa. Many of the men resigned on principle, but others stood their ground and with the faithful hungry for place on the police force it was necessary to take drastic measures.
Sometimes it did not require a party turnover, for bitter factional scraps resulted in reprisals. It then fell the lot of the police committee of city council to conduct hearings. They were usually acrimonious affairs with partisans of the G. O. P. often showing more spleen than in a strict party fight. These hearings were as a rule public, attracting big crowds of opponents and advocates of the accused. The charges ranged from conduct unbecoming an officer to neglect of duty and everything between.
Sometimes the charges were altogether ridiculous, as for instance when Larry Doran, now chief of the county detectives, was accused of going out of his beat to buy a cinnamon bun. He happened to be an appointee of Mayor Joseph E. Mowrey and no one questioned Doran’s ability as a cop or of his sincerity in patrolling his beat. But the Republicans had come back into the fold some 25 years ago and it was determined Larry should get out. Thus came the charge based on someone’s discovery he had crossed the street early one morning to get a bun. No one imagined it a very heinous offense at best, but it was all in the game of politics and the finding of the police committee was a foregone conclusion.
Findings, Usually Sustained
In some instances appeals were made to higher courts, but very little came of it since the committee was considered within its power to dismiss an officer if it saw fit. All necessary was to have the report accepted by council and since that was overwhelmingly Republican the work of the committee was a mere formality. Politics continues to play an important part in the appointments of cops or firemen, but for the past six years they have been under civil service, thus affording at least a measure of protection unless there actually has been some dereliction of duty.
Even though there were the changes wrought by political and factional wars, many men withstood the storms through the years. As a matter of fact it is evident that most of the men who have been accepted as representative of the force have had little difficulty in holding down their beats.
Mention has occasionally been made of one of Camden’s most spectacular police chiefs, Samuel Dodd. When he was first appointed by Mayor Pratt in the 80’s he was in the prime of life and certainly not inclined to give quarter to anyone. But he met with his first difficulties in the race track regime with the dual police departments, when the Democratic commission appointed William A. Davis in his stead. He was reinstated in 1893 after the Republicans had gained control of the state and had abolished the commissions.
Dodd then went along without further trouble until the advent of Hatch who appointed John Foster in 1898. Dodd was born in Burlington in 1841, but came to Camden as a young shoemaker and made himself vitally important to his fellow workers. In the 80’s Camden was a shoemaking and leather center. There were over 100 factories and hundreds of persons were employed. Thus it became an important factor in politics. Dodd loomed as a mayoralty candidate. Everything was cut and dried for him to enter the field when Pratt ran in 1885, but Dodd was prevailed upon to get out of the fight with the promise of being made police chief. That was later carried into effect.
Many years Chief Dodd has been dead, but old-timers around the city hall still have a very vivid recollection of him and his long coal black whiskers, which he had a habit of yanking when under some excitement.
First Patrol Wagon
It was during Dodd’s regime Camden sported its first patrol wagon, in May of 1893. It was something of an epochal event for Camden. Men nearing middle life who then were boys vividly recall the sensation created by the appearance of the little red wagon with “Camden Patrol” painted in gold on the red sides, not forgetting the big gong near the driver’s seat. And as the high steppers speeded through the city streets with a drunk or victim of an accident that gong was everlastingly sounded until the whole populace was brought to the doors. Chief Stehr’s father, Lewis H. Stehr; Oscar Weaver, “Si” Sage and “Nitchie” Golden were the first in the department who operated that famous wagon. It was the forerunner of the automobile police patrol and ambulance put in service July 14, 19[?].
When the first patrol went into service Camden’s streets were veritable “rocky roads to Dublin.” They were paved with cobble, even Broadway, Federal street and Kaighn avenue. Only Cooper street and a part of Benson sported asphalt blocks. Hence it was the object of the driver to pick out the best route possible by using horse car or trolley tracks if possible.
It certainly was no pleasure trip to the hall for a drunk and a road of torture to any unfortunate being toted to the hospital. But even at that it was an improvement over the archaic method of taking prisoners to jail by way of a pushcart. I have already mentioned in these annals the Roman holiday such an incident furnished the kids of the generation. If John Painter or Charlie Fitzsimmons pushed a cussin’ drunk from Kaighn Point to the hall they were sure to have a yelling mob of kids at their heels. Unfortunates who were ill or injured were usually taken to the hospital in horse-drawn cabs. But of course the conveniences of today were not even dreamed about.
Lieutenant Tommie Cunningham is among the veterans on the force who recalls those days of long ago, for last Tuesday marked the thirty-sixth anniversary of his appointment to the department. Tommie has seen the department grow from less than half a hundred men to five times that number. In all that time he has pounded a beat in South Camden or had charge of a detail of men or a district as at present.
“Jake” Woodside
In recalling some of the old-timers mention must also be made of Jacob Woodside, who was appointed October 1, 1898. He hailed from the Sixth ward and was among the valiant crew who sported luxurious mustaches. He was in his later years a sergeant in the Third district. Woodside, who had many staunch friends throughout the city, died several years ago.
Then there is “Cul” Errickson who was made a cop September 15, 1898, by Mayor Hatch. He was for many years sergeant at headquarters; a big, good-natured cop, too. He has been enjoying life these several years as a pensioner up around New Egypt.
Certainly one of the most substantial members of the force was Capt. Arthur A. Stanley, who was in charge of the downtown district for many years. He was appointed by Mayor Hatch July 15, 1898. Captain Stanley was a Civil war veteran and prominently identified with the G. A. R. He has been dead for many years. His son, Milton Stanley, was a detective in the department and also at the prosecutor’s office, but for several years has been living on a farm in South Jersey.
There is another veteran of the force still in harness, George Nowrey, brother of former Mayor Nowrey, appointed by Mayor Hatch August 1, 1898. He has been a sergeant in the department for many years.
On the same day Nowrey was appointed, John Reader was made a member of the force. He, too, was a sergeant when he died several years ago. He was father of Dr. A. B. Reader and Attorney Lawrence Reader, the latter one of the most prominent young men of the city when he died during the flu epidemic in 1918. “Larry” also was a member of council from the Thirteenth ward.