My Moynahan Genealogy Blog: 52 Ancestors #28: Detective Leo William Broderick

Saturday, June 28, 2014

52 Ancestors #28: Detective Leo William Broderick

No Story Too Small has issued a New Year's Challenge: "Have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”

This week's blog post is devoted to my great grand uncle Detective Leo William Broderick of Windsor, Ontario.

As a Detective, Broderick appears in newspapers with a Detective Reid. Through my research, I have had the good fortune of finding one of Detective Reid's descendants through ancestry.ca . Detective William Reid would eventually become the "Inspector of Detectives".

Detective Leo William Broderick was the son of Martin Broderick and Mary Hussey. Leo William Broderick was a brother to my great grandmother Mary (Broderick) Moynahan.

1913

Leo William Broderick (aka "Willie") was selected in 1913 from twelve applicants, to act as patrolmen on the Windsor police force

Source: The Windsor Star (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) 17 Apr 1913, Thu • Page 1

The officer pictured in the middle of the road (below) is William Broderick, recently appointed to the force and it was his job to keep the taxis lined up and "he handled the job to perfection"

Source: Windsor Star; 22 Jul 1913; Page 1

One of the famous trials that Detective Broderick was associated with was that of John Hogue (alias James Steward) accused of murdering Deportation Officer Marshall Jackson on the 25th of January 1917.

Hogue shot Jackson on the train as it was entering Windsor and escaped by jumping off the train while it was moving. Two days later Hogue entered the Essex House and registered for a room as George Emmerson of Chatham. Detective William Reid was made aware of someone matching the description at the Essex House.

Details from The Windsor Evening Record follow:

Windsor Evening Record: March 7, 1917

Crime in Windsor 1912-1920

The Windsor Police have produced an historical book that is available online. Some interesting facts relative to Detective Broderick are:

"The earliest annual chief’s report in existence is from 1917. At this time, the police force consisted of 30 officers. Of these, 20 were constables, two were motorcycle officers riding Harley Davidsons and one was a truant officer. In addition, a patrol wagon had been purchased and was used 1,092 times that year — mostly for the conveyance of prisoners. It was also used 14 times as an ambulance."

By comparison, the Detroit Police established their motorcycle squad 1908 and their first car was purchased in 1909. By 1929, the Detroit Police had radio-dispatched cars, something that wouldn’t happen in Windsor until 1940.

In 1917, there were 20 automobiles stolen — all of which were recovered — and a total of 2,237 charges laid in police court. This was 945 more charges than were prosecuted in 1916. Almost $3,000 in fines was levied for traffic violations. The offences ranged from illegal parking to “furious driving.”

By 1918, the police budget was $44,000 with the chief earning $2,000 and a constable, $1,200. That year, officers received a $10-a -month raise and asked for a pension fund. In addition, each officer received a turkey for Christmas. This practice would end in 1925."

The Roaring Twenties

"By 1920, prohibition had started in the U.S. Our geographic location came into play in a major way. From 1920 to 1934, prohibition would enrich people on both sides of the border from the sale of liquor to the likes of Al Capone and the Purple Gang."