The thief made his appearance again after suspending operations in his line for a few weeks. This time he made his appearance at the home of Mr. and Mrs. F. D. Glazier, which he entered Saturday evening, Dec. 9, 1903, while the occupants were at the Glazier store.
The thief boldly unlocked the front door of the residence and walked through the lighted sitting room into the bedroom, where he turned on an electric light and proceeded to rifle through bureau drawers at his pleasure. This time he was not looking for jewelry, as Mrs. Glazier’s gold watch laid on the bureau in a plush case and it was not taken. For his trouble, the thief secured a few old coins which it would be hard work for him to dispose of.
When the first snow arrived that winter, the Glaziers noticed several footprints leading across their yard and when they arrived at the front door, they found that someone had been there and then walked around to the back door, but the person did not secure entrance to the house that evening.
The tracks gave indication that the person making them wore about a No. 8 shoe of the Douglas make and style. The footprints left by the Saturday night visitor appeared to be of the same size and shape.
There were several strange features in the thievery that took place in Whitehall around that time. Every home entered was well-lit by electric lights. On every occasion the thief made sure no one was at home before he made his visit. This proved he was not fond of unexpected company while at work and that he was lacking in nerve. It also appeared that all the thefts were committed in the early evening, that is, about train time. This proved that the thief was someone who had the whole evening to himself but must be home early.
His mania was for ready cash, and on only one occasion did he take jewelry, although at nearly every home visited, he could have taken a quantity of silverware and jewelry.
On March 22, 1906 the local paper reported that at last Whitehall’s sneak thief, who had been plying his nefarious trade so successfully the past several months, had been captured, but not until after becoming so bold that he fearlessly climbed onto the roof of A. T. Linderman’s residence at 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, March 21. After walking over 30 feet on the peak of the roof, he entered an upstairs window. This window faced the alley and during the thief’s trip across the roof he could have been seen from many points, but by mere chance he entered unseen and later told the officers he had become so accustomed to the work that he didn’t even feel afraid of being discovered.
As soon as he entered the house, he began looking for souvenirs of the occasion - at least it looked that way, as he took nothing of any particular value. He secured a small bag from an upstairs room for the convenience of carrying away his plunder. He then went downstairs and raised the curtains on the north side of the house and this very act gave him away. If he had been a trifle bolder, he probably would have started a fire and assumed complete proprietorship. In his search, he found an album containing European souvenir postal cards and from these he selected a half dozen that struck his fancy and deposited them in the bag, along with two old pipes, a gold thimble and some other articles hardly worth stealing.
After dinner, when Miss Nina Nelson was returning to the Nelson store, she noticed the curtains in the Linderman house had been raised since morning and went at once to pass this information to Miss Winnifred Linderman, who happened to be in town for the day. Miss Linderman at once decided someone must have entered the house, but thinking the thief had left, the two young ladies started out on their detective work. Before reaching the house, their nerves vanished and Mr. Nelson’s clerk, John Keller, consented to accompany them. John took the key and opened the door and at first glance saw the thief sitting on the floor in the billiard room. He started, in a confused and hurried manner, to make his exit but by the time he had unlocked the back door and rushed out the young ladies were on the spot and could have caught him as he ran past them. It was found that he was taking things out of a darning bag. The marshal was at once notified and the chase began.
The thief headed up the marsh and when the marshal and others were following on his trail, he passed them in the bushes and returned home about 4 p.m. A strange feature is the fact that he was not seen returning home.
After due deliberation and an interview with the boy’s mother, and after it was proved that the boy was lazy, had a poor reputation and kept the poorest of company, Miss Linderman swore out a warrant for his arrest and the deputy sheriff and marshalmade plans which caused the boy’s capture.
At about 9 p.m., Hazeltine surmised no one would remain out on so wild a night, so he visited the boy’s home and found the thief in bed. He was taken to the city jail where he confessed to having robbed W. E. Pierce’s last fall, to entering J. J. Gee’s residence and stealing watches, and also to entering the Linderman residence several times, but he denied the other thefts that had been committed in this village in the past several months and also denied having an accomplice. He said he could not refrain from entering the houses although he stole little and that it is probably a good thing he was caught. He was taken to the Muskegon jail.
The lad, who was about 18 years old, had been living in the saloons and in the pool and gambling rooms in Montague all winter. People here were afraid to leave their houses in the evening as they thought the burglar might appear in their absence, and now all felt relieved.
Gabriel Gabrielson, the Whitehall housebreaker, was brought before the court and pleaded guilty to the charge of entering A. T. Linderman’s house in this village March 21, with the intent to steal. He was set to be sentenced before the end of the term. He made a full confession to the sheriff o and admitted breaking into the Pierce, Linderman, Gee and George Covell residences. The question was then raised of who visited F. D. Glazier’s residence. The job had the same earmarks as the others. Before that Tuesday, Gabriel denied he had entered the Covell residence but later admitted that he entered the house through the basement by removing one of the furnace air pipes and crawling through a register. He thoroughly ransacked the house and took clothing, pictures, coins, a watch and a pair of suspenders, but all that he confessed taking was the old coins, which he threw in the lake thinking they were of no value; the suspenders, which he threw away on Covell’s dock; and the watch, which he told the officers they could find at his home in his overcoat. He seemed to be cheerful.
Whitehall seemed to be free from thieves now as the housebreaker is away on an extended vacation.
On Friday, May 4, 1906, Gabrielson was sentenced to the state reformatory in Ionia for not more than five or less than two years, with recommendation of three years maximum.
On Thursday night, Sept. 3, 1908, a traveling man at the Franklin House noticed a suspicious light in Ferrenbach’s jewelry store in Montague and the officers were notified. Upon their arrival they found that the store had been entered by burglars and about $60 worth of silverware and jewelry was taken. The burglars had broken into Jensen’s blacksmith shop and stole some tools and had bored holes around the lock on the front door of the store. Failing in this effort, they went to a rear window and gained entrance. One of the culprits was traced by the track of a wheel which he had stolen until it was certain he had headed for Muskegon, and the sheriff was notified by phone. When Mr. Thief was crossing the bridge into Muskegon, he was met by two officers,who commanded him to halt. He made a leap from his machine into the river and attempted to swim to the marshy banks of the stream, hoping to escape into the marsh. A few shots into the air had no effect on bringing him back, so the deputy took careful aim and succeeded in wounding him in the leg. The shot dampened his courage, and he turned about, came to shore and surrendered himself.
It was then learned that he was in fact Gabrielson, who was only recently released on parole from Ionia.
It later developed that Gabrielson had been guilty of several other burglaries in Whitehall, chief among which was Aug. 26, when he entered F. D. Glazier’s house and, after appropriating several articles of value, set fire to the house. The watch, and other jewelry which he stole from Mr. Glazier’s house, he gave to a woman in Muskegon of the demi-monde type who upon hearing of his arrest decamped to parts unknown. Most of the stolen property was recovered and returned after the arrest.
It seemed that Gabrielson was a degenerate and Whitehall people against whom his depredations were chiefly aimed breathed a sigh of relief under the realization that he was safely behind bars and likely to remain there for some time.
He had been employed in A. T. Linderman’s factory in Muskegon and had evidently reformed, but his craze for crime proved too strong for him.
The other party to the burglary had not as yet been apprehended.
On Thursday, Oct. 8, 1908, it was reported that Gabrielson, who was convicted of burglary the previous week and who had been confined in the county jail awaiting sentencing, made a sensational getaway the previous Tuesday afternoon about four o’clock. Attorney F. W. Cook had been to the jail to consult his client, Charles Rutledge, and on his concluding his visit the deputy unlocked the door to let him out. No sooner was the door opened then Gabe, who was standing near the door, made a leap through. The deputy was taken by surprise but briefly grappled with the fleeing man. Breaking free, he slammed the door shut and started in pursuit. Gabrielson rushed through the corridors into the sheriff’s office and into the alley with Dodge close at his heels. The desire for liberty and the knowledge that a long prison sentence awaited him lent wings to the feet of the escaping burglar, and after a chase of 4-5 blocks through the alleys, he managed to evade his pursuer and was lost from sight.
Gabrielson kept his liberty until the next Wednesday evening around 7:45, when he boarded an interurban car at Spring Lake bound for Grand Haven, where he expected to take a boat to Milwaukee. The conductor of the car happened also to be a deputy sheriff of Ottawa County and, recognizing Gabrielson from his description, took him in charge. He offered little or no resistance, and the deputy, upon being notified, came in the next car and escorted the prisoner back to the county jail.
The 1910 and 1920 Census both showed Gabe as an inmate of the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia. No other information about him seems to be available after that time.
Gabriel Severin Gabrielson was born in Whitehall June 2, 1888 to Gabriel and Matilda (nee Halgren) Gabrielson and was baptized in the Lebanon Lutheran Church July 1, 1888.
Gabriel’s father was a sailor on the Schooner Ida. He had been sailing for a number of years and was a trusty man. The big three-mast schooner had left Chicago with freight for A. Mears and other merchants in town but encountered a terrible gale in mid-lake. She held her course, and when this shore was reached, she sailed up and down before the harbor, vainly attempting an entrance. Finally, the captain headed back to Chicago and after weathering a fearful sea, Gabrielson was swept overboard and drowned Saturday, Nov. 19, 1887. He left a pregnant wife and year-old daughter, Gertrude (1886-1958), who were residing in Swedentown.
The 1900 Census indicated that Gabe’s widowed mother Matilda was working as a laundress.
On June 5, 1906, Matilda married Carl August Johnson in the Lebanon Lutheran Church, and they had two children: Irene Eveline (1909-1964) and Carl Aleck (1912-2000). Carl August died Sept. 10, 1930 and Matilda died Nov. 20, 1934. They are both buried in Oakhurst Cemetery.
