Genealogy Chat

G'day all,

I am wondering whether an event in California in 1929 or 1930, and the subsequent trial and sentence, might have made it to the papers and whether any reports are accessible. It was probably in Los Angeles.

In the 1930 census, Paul STANLEY (Paul Francis STANLEY) was an inmate at San Quentin Prison (the one of Johnny Cash fame):

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCDZ-YVX

I know all about his birth and family and his and his wife's later life (he was on the outside and remarried by 1940). It's just the crime and punishment I'm curious about.

The story I have is that he had tried to kill his wife with an axe. I met the wife late in her life, but this was not the sort of thing one asked an 80-year-old woman at a wedding reception. (Actually, they seem not to have married; she remarried under her birth name, and he seems to have been estranged from a first wife at the time of the event in question. But that's all by the bye.)

If anybody is at a loose end and wants to see whether anything turns up in newspaper archives, you would satisfy my decades-long curiosity!

This is what happens when you run out of records to search, for your own kin ... you start looking for stuff about the families of people you once knew ...

I can't find anything in the newspapers on Findmypast. There is a piece mentioning a marriage of a Mr. Paul Francis Stanley to a Miss Leora Winifred Warn on 23rd March 1940 in Los Angeles, but that is all I can find.

Kath. x

I don't know if this is him?

Altoona Mirror 05 April 1927

Altoona Man Faces California Charge
Paul F Stanley was arrested at his home 2608 Union Ave yesterday afternoon by Lieutenant R N Ickes and Detective J W Hauser on a warrent sent here from Long Beach Cal. and is held pending the arrangement of extradition.
Stanley arrived in the city yesterday after an absence of 3 years and a telegram was received after his arrest....
The young man has been in the revenue service of the government and has been stationed along the pacific coast. According to his story he became very home sick and desiring to come home hired an automobile and drove to Altoona. The charge against him grew out of this offense. He had enlisted in the Untied State Marines when but 16 years of age.

the one from Altoona free trial needed to see article

Page 29 article text (OCR)
THE ALTOONA MIRROR—FRIDAY, NOV. 28, 1924 Altoonan on Board U. S. S. ' Marblehead Tells of Storm Within Shadow Of Picturesque Isle. Paul F. Stanley, 0. S. N., a former AJtoonuu,

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/19881707/

This link is for Ancestry, but appears to be a free search. I couldn't do the search, because I don't have enough detail, but I'm sure you do. I hope it helps.

https://tinyurl.com/y7bfbgz9

Thanks Kathleen, yes, that was his second marriage. There was a divorce and yet a third marriage, 30+ years later! Not counting the relationship from which my friend is descended.

AustinQ, that is the man, and that's an interesting tidbit. He had married the year before in Los Angeles. Altoona is where he was from originally and his parents were still living there elsewhere on that street. I can't find the first wife or her parents in the next census, but she remarried herself after that census, so evidently he had deserted her; there was a divorce and my friend's parent was probably the reason. ;-)

Thanks both for your help, it adds to the picture. My friend died himself, 17 years ago although of course it feels like yesterday. I sometimes think of contacting his son, a troubled young man himself, as his father was. Such dysfunctional families, and so hard to escape the effects. The son, whom I met once when he was a child, may be interested in all this one day.

Nyx and Andysmum, we crossed in the post :-)

If anyone has access to newspapers.com, that would be an interesting tidbit too. Before Paul embarked on his twisty trail, I guess. He was first in the Navy, and then in the Army in WWII.

Andysmum, that would be excellent to see. Unfortunately, I only have UK access at the moment and it doesn't let me see those records.

A search for Paul Stanley born 1906 +/- two years turns up several records in Los Angeles and Kings Counties. If someone with a worldwide sub can see them, they might have details at least of what the charge was.

Thanks!!

Paul Stanley
in the California, Prison and Correctional Records, 1851-1950
Name: Paul Stanley
Birth Date: abt 1906
Birth Place: Pennsylvania
Record Date: 9 Jan 1929
Place of Crime: San Francisco, California, USA
Institution Place: San Quentin, Marin, California, USA
Age: 23
Prisoner Number: 46440
Crime: Robbery 2nd
Sentence: 1 yr - life
Occupation: salesman
Height 5ft 6"; fair complexion, brown eyes, brown hair.
Tattoo right forearm, anchor, "USN", "Disch Oct 6 1925".
[Scar ??] Right hand.
Opr [operation ?] right groin.


Paroled 19 Dec 1929; discharged 21 June 1941

There's a photo of him. (Police/prison mug shot.)

Paul Francis Stanley
in the Web: Obituary Daily Times Index, 1995-2012
Name: Paul Francis Stanley
Age at Death: 90
Birth Date: Abt 1906
Birth Place: Altoona PA
Death Date: abt 1996
Death Place: San Luis Obispo CA
Publication or Record Date: 24 Feb 1996
Publication or Record Place: United States


This is on Rootsweb, but can't open the record , as Rootsweb is down long-term pending site improvements.

I don't suppose an obituary would mention his criminal past, anyway!

First marriage, for our reference - or is this a different Paul ??:

Paul Stanley
in the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records and Indexes, 1810-1973
Name: Paul Stanley
Marriage Date: 28 Mar 1928
Form Type: Marriage
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Birth Year: abt 1905
Birth Place: Altoona, Pennsylvania
Father: Andrew
Mother: Sarah Hippo
Spouse: Florence Wester
Spouse Age: 21
Spouse Birth Year: abt 1907
Spouse Father: Alfred
Spouse Mother: Matilda Hendrickson


EDIT -

No, he must be a different Paul Stanley:

Florence Stanley
in the 1940 United States Federal Census
Name: Florence Stanley
Respondent: Yes
Age: 31
Estimated birth year: abt 1909
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Home in 1940: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Map of Home in 1940: View Map
Street: Belgrade Street
House Number: 2821
Inferred Residence in 1935: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Residence in 1935: Same Place
Sheet Number: 14A
Attended School or College: No
Highest Grade Completed: Elementary school, 8th grade
Weeks Worked in 1939: 0
Income: 0
Income Other Sources: No
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Paul Stanley 31
Florence Stanley 31
Paul Stanley 4
Florence Stanley 3
Richard Stanley 7/12


Florence is with her parents in Ohio in 1930.

Hi Argyllgran, yes, he's the one from Altoona who died in San Luis Obispo. I will keep an eye on Rootsweb for developments, thanks!

(It's part of the Ancestry octopus, and now that they have acquired and "improved" :-| Findagrave, which is now horrible, I guess they've turned their sights to Rootsweb.)

Oh -- is there a Rootsweb link? I don't know whether a cached version might be findable with that.

So he was sentenced for robbery in Jan 1929. I wonder whether the violence against his (not) wife was just treated as one of those "domestic" things, or never came to police attention at all, maybe.

And paroled in Dec 1929. But hm -- back in San Quentin by the time of the 1930 census. Parole violation maybe ... maybe that was when the spousal assault happened.

I'm going to get my worldwide Ancestry back before long, after I give my Visa card a bit of a rest. :-) So I'll look at the prison records you found then.

Thank you very much again!

What is robbery in the second degree?
A person is guilty of second degree robbery if he commits the act with an accomplice present. Second degree robbery may also occur if the perpetrator causes injury to a person not involved in the crime or uses a gun, knife or other deadly weapon while committing the robbery.

https://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/violent_crimes/robbery-degrees.htm

Yes, I did wonder whether the robbery might have involved family, for instance robbing the spouse's parents, but I suspect the spousal violence incident was something separate and occurred after he was released on parole.