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When Roger Palmer published the following Brooklyn Citizen article, it was clear that Assistant Commissioner CID Robert Anderson actively solicited information on Francis Tumblety specific to the Whitechapel murders case on November 22, 1888,
Brooklyn Citizen, November 23, 1888
“Is He The Ripper?” A Brooklynite Charged With the Whitechapel Murders Superintendent Campbell Asked by the London Police to Hunt Up the Record of Francis Tumblety — Captain Eason Supplies the Information and It Is Interesting
Police Superintendent Campbell received a cable dispatch yesterday from Mr. Anderson, the deputy chief of the London Police, asking him to make some inquiries about Francis Tumblety, who is under arrest in England on the charge of indecent assault. Tumblety is referred to in the dispatch in the following manner: “He says he is known to you, Chief, as Brooklyn’s Beauty.”
Tumblety was arrested in London some weeks ago as the supposed Whitechapel murderer. Since his incarceration in prison he has boasted of how he had succeeded in baffling the police. He also claimed that he was a resident of Brooklyn, and this was what caused the Deputy Chief of Police to communicate with Superintendent Campbell. The superintendent gave the dispatch immediate attention, and through Captain Eason, of the Second Precinct, has learned all about Tumblety. He came to this city in 1863 from Sherbrook, Canada, where he said he had been a practicing physician. He opened a store on the southeast corner of Fulton and Nassau streets, and sold herb preparations. He did a tremendous business and deposited in the Brooklyn Savings Bank at least $100 a day. He was a very eccentric character, six feet high, dark complexion, large and long flowing mustache, and well built.
An argument that has been raised rejecting the idea that Anderson initiated contact with the US Chiefs of Police states that it seems illogical for Scotland Yard to be asking these city top cops for just handwriting samples. They could easily get handwriting samples from Tumblety himself, since they had him in custody. Correspondence between Anderson and San Francisco’s Chief of Police, Patrick Crowley, did indeed involve handwriting samples, but this was not the type of information Anderson was soliciting from Brooklyn’s Chief of Police, Patrick Campbell. Our first hint comes from the Brooklyn Standard-Union, which was reported near the same time as the Brooklyn Citizen reported the same story,
…the London Police are evidently doing their level best to fasten the Whitechapel murders upon Dr. F. T. Tumblety.
Today Police Superintendent Campbell received a telegram from Assistant Police Commissioner Anderson, acting Chief since the resignation of Police Commissioner Warren, in reference to Tumblety. Mr. Anderson wants some information as to his life in Brooklyn, and says he is accused of indecent assault in London, where some say he was known as “Brooklyn’s Beauty.” Chief Campbell has investigated, and will send a complete report by mail. He says he was born in Sherbrooke, Canada, of Irish parents, but professes to be a Southerner. He was last seen here about eighteen months ago. The Chief is also looking for a pamphlet that Tumblety prepared, and which purported to be a history of himself.”
San Francisco’s Chief of Police Crowley gave a clue to a specific type of information Scotland Yard was looking for from New York,
The San Francisco Examiner, November 23, 1888
Talking of the affair yesterday [Chief Crowley] said: “There may be more in the arrest that was at first supposed. This man Tumblety is evidently a crank. His course with the bank here does not indicate that he was a man of good business instincts, and in New York his behavior was that of a man who had no liking for women.”
Not only does this make the handwriting sample argument tenuous, but it also reinforces Chief Inspector Littlechild’s comments that his bitter hatred of women was one of the reasons why Tumblety was a significant subject of interest in the Whitechapel murders investigation, significant enough for Anderson to personally get involved.
Sincerely,
Mike
Brooklyn Citizen, November 23, 1888
“Is He The Ripper?” A Brooklynite Charged With the Whitechapel Murders Superintendent Campbell Asked by the London Police to Hunt Up the Record of Francis Tumblety — Captain Eason Supplies the Information and It Is Interesting
Police Superintendent Campbell received a cable dispatch yesterday from Mr. Anderson, the deputy chief of the London Police, asking him to make some inquiries about Francis Tumblety, who is under arrest in England on the charge of indecent assault. Tumblety is referred to in the dispatch in the following manner: “He says he is known to you, Chief, as Brooklyn’s Beauty.”
Tumblety was arrested in London some weeks ago as the supposed Whitechapel murderer. Since his incarceration in prison he has boasted of how he had succeeded in baffling the police. He also claimed that he was a resident of Brooklyn, and this was what caused the Deputy Chief of Police to communicate with Superintendent Campbell. The superintendent gave the dispatch immediate attention, and through Captain Eason, of the Second Precinct, has learned all about Tumblety. He came to this city in 1863 from Sherbrook, Canada, where he said he had been a practicing physician. He opened a store on the southeast corner of Fulton and Nassau streets, and sold herb preparations. He did a tremendous business and deposited in the Brooklyn Savings Bank at least $100 a day. He was a very eccentric character, six feet high, dark complexion, large and long flowing mustache, and well built.
An argument that has been raised rejecting the idea that Anderson initiated contact with the US Chiefs of Police states that it seems illogical for Scotland Yard to be asking these city top cops for just handwriting samples. They could easily get handwriting samples from Tumblety himself, since they had him in custody. Correspondence between Anderson and San Francisco’s Chief of Police, Patrick Crowley, did indeed involve handwriting samples, but this was not the type of information Anderson was soliciting from Brooklyn’s Chief of Police, Patrick Campbell. Our first hint comes from the Brooklyn Standard-Union, which was reported near the same time as the Brooklyn Citizen reported the same story,
…the London Police are evidently doing their level best to fasten the Whitechapel murders upon Dr. F. T. Tumblety.
Today Police Superintendent Campbell received a telegram from Assistant Police Commissioner Anderson, acting Chief since the resignation of Police Commissioner Warren, in reference to Tumblety. Mr. Anderson wants some information as to his life in Brooklyn, and says he is accused of indecent assault in London, where some say he was known as “Brooklyn’s Beauty.” Chief Campbell has investigated, and will send a complete report by mail. He says he was born in Sherbrooke, Canada, of Irish parents, but professes to be a Southerner. He was last seen here about eighteen months ago. The Chief is also looking for a pamphlet that Tumblety prepared, and which purported to be a history of himself.”
San Francisco’s Chief of Police Crowley gave a clue to a specific type of information Scotland Yard was looking for from New York,
The San Francisco Examiner, November 23, 1888
Talking of the affair yesterday [Chief Crowley] said: “There may be more in the arrest that was at first supposed. This man Tumblety is evidently a crank. His course with the bank here does not indicate that he was a man of good business instincts, and in New York his behavior was that of a man who had no liking for women.”
Not only does this make the handwriting sample argument tenuous, but it also reinforces Chief Inspector Littlechild’s comments that his bitter hatred of women was one of the reasons why Tumblety was a significant subject of interest in the Whitechapel murders investigation, significant enough for Anderson to personally get involved.
Sincerely,
Mike
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