Joseph Shreeve
Joseph Shreeve
Joseph Shreeve was the son of Isaac Shreeve, who worked as a firefighter and policeman for over 42 years.
Joseph Shreeve was born in Camden, New Jersey on February 7, 1888. He married Laura Boulton around 1914. Her uncle, Edgar Boulton, was then serving with the Camden Police Department. Her brother, Lawrence Boulton, would later be appointed to the Camden Fire Department.
Joseph Shreeve had already served three years as a private in the New Jersey National Guard prior to registering for the draft on June 5, 1917. He was then working as a motorman, driving a trolley car for the Public Service Company. Despite his prior military service, Joseph Shreeve was not called up. By December of 1919 he had followed his father into the police department.
The 1930 Census shows Joseph and Laura Shreeve living at 21 Terrace Avenue in East Camden, with Laura’s parents, Charles S. & Annie Boulton. Joseph Shreeve died in 1935 at the Terrace Avenue home after an illness of four months. He was survived by his wife Laura and a brother. There had been no children. Joseph Shreeve was buried at Arlington Cemetery in Pennsauken.
World War 1 Draft Card
Joseph Shreeve — World War 1 Draft Registration Card
Take Sergeant Examination
Camden Post-Telegram —
District Detective Raymond H. Stark, Acting Sergeant John Potter and Mounted Officer Clarence Thorne, of the Third District, were among those who took the examination for appointment as sergeant for the district to fill a vacancy which exists there.
Lewis Brill, of the Eleventh ward, had also been summoned, but he with two others were not given the examination, but told to report on Tuesday of next week.
Acting Sergeant Boettcher was also slated to take the examination, but for some reason his name was dropped from the list and was not called.
Mounted Officer Joseph Shreve, whose name has been mentioned for the appointment, also was not summoned to take the examination.
The candidates who did appear are all now on the anxious bench awaiting the decision.
East Camden Notes
Camden Post-Telegram —
The Cramer Hill Building and Loan Association meets this evening in St. Josephs Hall, 25th and Howell streets.
Matthew H. Vance and family, of 2839 Hayes avenue, were week-end visitors at Wildwood.
Mrs. John Frea and daughter, Doris, of 413 North 27th street, are visiting friends at Bridgeton.
There will be a meeting of the carnival committee of St. Joseph’s Church this evening in St. Joseph’s Hall, 25th and Howell streets. Further arrangements will be made for the carnival next week.
Joseph Shreeves, of the auto crew, Third district police station, is on his vacation, and expects to spend a few days at the shore.
Mr. and Mrs. William J. Kelley, of 2827 Pleasant street, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kelley, are on a motor tour which will take in Niagara Falls and Canada.
Roland Kelley, of the Third district auto crew, is back on the job after a two weeks’ vacation.
Policeman Harry Newton, of the Third district, has started on his vacation and will spend the time at Seaside Heights.
Motorcycle Policeman William Boettcher is acting driver of the police auto while Joseph Shreeves is on his vacation.
Isaac Shreve Dies, Veteran Policeman
Camden Courier-Post —
Fatally Stricken With Apoplexy in Responding to ‘False Alarm’
Nearly forty years a policeman, Isaac M. Shreve died last night “with his boots on.” He was fatally stricken while on duty. He was 68 years old.
The veteran bluecoat was stricken with apoplexy as he was about to step into the Third District auto patrol after a false-alarm call to Thirty-sixth and Federal streets, a short distance from his home.
With Policeman George Clark, driver of the machine, Shreve answered the call. When the officers arrived with the “wagon” they were informed that their services were not needed because the complainant had decided not to make a charge.
Shreve started to walk back to the machine when he suddenly toppled over unconscious. He was placed in the police auto and taken to Cooper Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Coroner Charles T. Murray issued a death certificate.
Shreve is survived by his wife, Jennie, and a son, Joseph, who is a policeman attached to the Third District. He lived at 17 South Thirty-sixth street.
Previous to being appointed a policeman Shreve served three years in the fire department. He was appointed a policeman by Mayor Pratt in 1886. In a political shakeup in 1886 he resigned from the force but was reappointed by the late Cooper B. Hatch in the “Committee of One Hundred” campaign days.
Although small in size, Shreve had a reputation for having “nerve.” He patrolled “beats” in South Camden for many years, but for the last eighteen years he was on duty in East Camden.
Twelve years ago he engaged in a pistol battle with a robber and was shot in the abdomen. For weeks he hovered between life and death but finally recovered.
Many years ago Shreve drove the old horse-drawn “ding-ding” in the First District. Previous to being assigned to the Third District auto patrol he served for several years as acting house sergeant at the East Camden station house.
Camden Cops Hard Hit by Illness and Mishap
Camden Daily Courier —
Joseph Shreeve, Camden policeman and son of the late Isaac Shreeve, is recovering from a severe bilious attack. He is convalescing in the police and firemen’s ward of the West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital. In the same ward is Wright Cox, a special officer at the city hall, who is being treated for stomach trouble and sciatic rheumatism.
Harry Stahl, city jail turnkey, who recently broke a bone in his right wrist while wrestling with an unruly prisoner, will be able to report for duty soon. William Brower, an operator in the electrical bureau at the city hall, will also return to his post November 1. Brower was stricken with kidney trouble last spring.
Two Suspects Held in Fatal Fight at Store
Camden Courier-Post —
Detective Robert Ashenfelter in Serious Condition at Hospital
NO WARNING IS GIVEN AS SLEUTH IS FELLED
‘Tip’ on Robbery at Thirty-Second and Pierce Given By Telephone
A burglar was shot and killed by policemen armed with a machine gun after he critically wounded a city detective during a gun duel in the rear of an East Camden store early this morning. The slain man was Charles Rettberg, 21, 1189 North Thirty-sixth street.
In grave condition at the West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital is City Detective Robert Ashenfelter, 39, of 119 Manheim avenue, Oaklyn. Ashenfelter, who is married, was shot three times, one bullet lodging over his heart, another in his right shoulder and another went through the right hand.
Two men are under arrest on suspicion of being Rettberg’s accomplices in the fatal attempt to rob the American Store on the southeast corner of Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue. They are Theodore Rettberg, 24, brother of the dead man, and a man who gave his name as Melvin James, 38, of Pottstown, Pa.
Theodore Rettberg was arrested at his home after the shooting when detectives found his clothing soaked by rain. James, who is believed to be a Camden man despite the address he gave, was found lying on the front step of the store prior to the shooting, ostensibly intoxicated. He was armed.
Police believe that James was feigning intoxication and actually was the lookout. Clothing worn by a third man seen running across a vacant lot immediately after the shooting tallied with that found in Theodore Rettberg’s room, according to the police.
A truck said by the police to be owned by Theodore Rettberg was found parked within half a block from the store.
Both James and Theodore Rettberg denied any implication in the attempted robbery, although they were subjected to questioning for several hours by Captain John Golden, of the city detectives, and Chief Lawrence T. Doran, of the county detectives.
Police was unable to determine how many times Charles Rettberg had been shot, or who had killed him. Detective Ashenfelter emptied his revolver at the trapped men, while Policeman Frank Evans manned the machine gun.
The fatality occurred at about 2.15 a. m. Desk Sergeant Gus Koerner received an anonymous telephone call at police headquarters shortly after 3 a. m. The caller declared that burglars were breaking into the American Store at “Thirty-second Bergen avenue.”
“You meaned Thirty-second and Pierce?” quizzed Koerner.
The caller mumbled something and hung up without giving his name. His mistake in the address — Thirty-second street and Bergen avenue run parallel to each other — led police to believe the caller was a stranger in that section of the city, if not in the city itself.
Koerner dispatched Policemen Evans and Charles Wainwright to the scene in a bandit chaser, which is equipped with a portable machine gun. Koerner also notified the detective bureau, and Ashenfelter and Benjamin Simon started out in another car. A third call was made to the Third district police station by Koerner, and the patrol crew, Joseph Shreeve and Elwood Humphreys, hastened to the store.
Evans and Wainwright arrived first, parking their car when they saw James sprawled on the front step. They questioned him, but he talked normally. Ashenfelter and Simon arrived in their car. Believing James was a lookout and that the burglar or burglars might still be in the place, the two detectives ran toward the rear to cut off escape from that exit.
Ashenfelter was about two feet ahead of Simon. With his gun in hand, Ashenfelter reached the rear of the building and started to turn the corner.
Burglar Opens Fire
Without warning a shot rang out from the interior of the shed at the rear. The bullet struck Ashenfelter in the right hand, tearing the butt off his revolver before entering his chest. The revolver dropped from his hand.
Ashenfelter sank to his knees, crying, “They got me!” Nevertheless, he grasped his revolver in his uninjured left hand and emptied it into the shed, as a rain of fire came through the door from the inside at the already wounded detective. One bullet struck Ashenfelter in the right shoulder, but the other three missed him.
Unable to reload, Ashenfelter drew himself to his feet and staggered out of line of fire. He fell into the arms of Simon, who pulled him out of danger.
Meanwhile Evans, hearing the shots, left Wainwright in front of the building with the wounded man and Simon. Seizing the machine gun, Evans ran to the rear. He pointed it at the door and shouted.
“Come out or I’ll shoot.”
There was no answer. Evans waited a moment, again shouted his warning, then fired a long burst from the machine gun. Seven bullets crashed through the door and wall of the shed.
The Third district patrol arrived and Ashenfelter was placed in it. He had attempted to rise three times, but on each occasion he slumped to the ground.
Hearing no sound from inside, police tore the door off its remaining hinge. They found Rettberg lying on the floor in a line with the door. He was dead. In his right hand was a 25-calibre pistol. All its cartridges had been discharged. Near his body also were a brace, bit and jimmy.
Patrolman Humphreys then saw a man running east across the vacant lots in the rear of the store. Humphreys shouted to him to stop but when his command was not heeded, fired a shot at the fleeing figure. The fugitive disappeared on Bergen avenue, but not before Humphreys ascertained that he wore a yellow shirt.
Gun Found on Suspect
James was searched, and a .38-calibre revolver was found in his possession. He denied knowledge of the attempted robbery, and was taken to police headquarters.
A short time later, District Detectives Louis Schlam and Richard Donnelly, and Policemen Charles Johnson and Lewis Smith, all of the Third District, went to Rettberg’s home. There they found Theodore Rettberg clad only in underwear. He denied he had been at the store or with his brother, but the officers declared they found a bright yellow shirt and a pair of duck trousers in his room. The two articles of clothing were wet. As it had been raining at the time of the robbery, Theodore Rettberg was arrested on suspicion.
The manager of the store, Charles Schultz, 1618 Pierce avenue, stated it was the second time burglars had visited the establishment. About a month ago robbers stole $100 worth of goods, entering the place by forcing the shed door and then drilling a number of holes around the lock of the inner rear door.
This leads police to believe that Rettberg was implicated in the first robbery, as the same method of entrance was tried this morning. The thieves took off one hinge of the rear shed door and in that manner, opened that door this morning. Then the thieves attacked the door leading from the shed to the rear room of the store. A number of holes had been drilled around the bolt and a hole large enough to admit a man’s hand had been punched through the door.
However, Schultz had barricaded the inside door to prevent a second burglary. He had braced a heavy timber against the door, nailing the other end to the floor.
Hospital physicians at first feared that Ashenfelter had no chance for recovery. This forenoon, they said his condition had become fair, although it was too serious to permit them to remove the bullets.
The wounded detective was conscious this afternoon, and when Simon visited him, asked,
“Did they get him?”
“Yes, he’s dead,” Simon informed him.
“That makes me feel better,” sighed Ashenfelter. “That does me more good than medicine, and now I’ll get better quick. I’m glad they got him, for he tried to kill me and almost did.”
Cops and Firemen Will Elect Today
Camden Courier-Post —
Herbert Bott Is Unopposed for Presidency of Camden Association
The Camden Police and Firemen’s Association will hold election of officers today at its headquarters, 1175 Whitman Avenue, from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
Herbert Bott is unopposed for re-election as president. William Thorn is unopposed to replace Richard Middleton for financial secretary and Walter Vecander is unopposed for the new post of assistant financial secretary. All these are police officers.
The police trustees will be named from the following nine candidates: William Marter, George Ward, William Britner, Joseph Shreeve, William Schriver, Joseph Mardino, Joseph Dunnett, Leon Feltz and Russell Young. Two police sergeant-at-arms will be chosen from among Stanley Wirtz, Harry Cattell, Joseph Schultz and George Clayton.
Three candidates are seeking the post of vice president, which goes to a fireman. They are William Spencer, Charles Edwards and Albert Dukes. Warren Rich, a fireman, is slated to succeed himself as recording secretary and Winfield Leviseur is unopposed for the new post of assistant recording secretary, which goes to a fireman.
Four fireman trustees will be chosen from ten candidates. They are Charles Cook, Henry Baumgartel, Walter Eastlack, Arthur Batten, William Getner, William Toy, Lawrence Newton, James Young, Russell Anderson and William Taylor. Three firemen are seeking two posts as sergeants-at-arms. They are William Judge, John Mulligan and Furman Price.
‘Joe’ Shreeve Dies; Well Known as Cop
Camden Courier-Post —
Four-Months Illness Fatal to Son of Former Camden Patrolman
Joseph Shreeve, 44, of 21 Terrace avenue, one of Camden’s most widely known policemen, died yesterday afternoon at his home after an illness of more than four months.
Shreeve was a son of Isaac “Ike” Shreeve, who died several years ago after spending 25 years in the police department.
Shreeve was stricken early last November and had been confined to West Jersey Hospital up to March 1, when he was returned to his home. Physicians believed he had been recuperating and held high hopes for complete recovery. During the last few days, however, he suffered a decline. He died at 1.30 p. m. Death was due to pneumonia.
Shreeve was a member of the Third district patrol crew prior to removal of the bus from East Camden. Before his illness he also patrolled a beat in the vicinity of his home. He had been a member of the department for 16 years, nearly all of which was spent in East Camden.
Shreeve is survived by his widow, Mrs. Laura Shreeve, and a brother.
Friends may call Friday night at his home. Services and burial will be private in Arlington cemetery.