Did John Dillinger die in 1934? Popular consensus says yes. However, more recent events (such as the lawsuit involving a proposed exhumation of Dillinger's body in Indianapolis) have stoked interest in an investigative report published in 1970 suggesting that Dillinger survived into the 1960s. It's speculative, of course, but makes for an interesting read.
Click the video below to play our book trailer.
Dillinger: Dead or Alive? by Jay Robert Nash & Ron Offen
In 1888, John Allen Taggart and Lena Taggart started their bakery/restaurant at 15 West Main Street in downtown Mooresville. In 1896 they replaced their wood-frame structure with a two-story brick building that still stands today. Our video below summarizes the history of restaurants that served the public at this location for well over half a century.
Taggart Bakery (Mooresville Moments #24)
by Mooresville Public Library
We had some leftover images that didn't make the cut for the video, which we'd like to share here. This 1919 photo (below) shows Lena Taggart with her brother-in-law and his wife, Joseph and Florence Taggart, who lived in Pasadena, California, according to the 1920 U.S. Census. The front and back of the photo are shown below. (Click images to enlarge.)
The enlarged portion of J. A. Taggart's obituary appeared in the video, but here's the part of the front page in which the article appeared.
Mooresville Times, January 3, 1908
John Allen Taggart's headstone at
Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis
At the turn of the 20th century, John and Lena Taggart lived in a fine home on the northeast corner of the intersection of North Monroe Street and West Morgan Street, across from the Academy School (which added, in 1909, Mooresville High School; in 1921, the high school gymnasium; and, in 1937, Newby Memorial Elementary School). Four decades later, this home was owned by Butch Brown's parents, who operated Brown's Rexall Drugstore at 13 East Main Street in downtown Mooresville.
Here's a summary of owners of Taggarts' Bakery/Restaurant over the years:
Under the name Taggarts' Bakery and Restaurant
1888-1907: John A. & Lena Taggart
1907-1913: Lena Taggart
1913-1918: Ross C. "Dinty" Moore
1918-1928: Frank Hadley & Pete Culbertson
1928-1930: William Tincher
Under the name "Dinty" Moore's Cafe:
1930-1936: Ross C. "Dinty" Moore
Under the name Hadley Restaurant:
1936-1944: Frank Hadley
Under the name Head Inn Restaurant:
1944-circa 1950: Mr. & Mrs. Clayr (?) Ward
Under the name Taylor's Restaurant:
Circa 1950-circa 1959
Under the name Clark's Restaurant"
Circa 1959-circa 1966
During the 1990s and 2000s, I recall that Pat's Tavern was located in the Taggart building at 15 West Main Street. Since 2016, it has been the site of Bran N Shorts Coffee House.
Just before 1900, John
Dillinger’s father, John Wilson Dillinger, opened a grocery store in
Indianapolis. Young Johnny was born in
1903, and his mother, Mary Ellen “Mollie” Lancaster Dillinger, was hospitalized
and died in 1906. In 1912 John senior married
his second wife, Elizabeth Fields, who was from Mooresville. (Click the images below to enlarge.)
John Wilson Dillinger (left) with his son, Hubert Dillinger,
waiting to identify John Dillinger's body (1934)
(courtesy of APA/Getty Images)
Young Johnny’s
childhood was average and unexceptional.
Although some biographers have painted young Johnny as a juvenile
delinquent, those who knew him best recalled a friendly, good-natured,
energetic, high-spirited child. His
youthful misdeeds were limited to relatively mild boyish pranks. Young Johnny left
school after 8th grade to work in a variety of jobs, including
messenger, machinist, upholsterer, and factory worker.
John Dillinger (circa 1922) (courtesy of Getty Images)
In 1920 John senior
sold his grocery business and purchased a farm just north of Mooresville, his
second wife’s hometown. Young Johnny was
17 years old. The Dillinger farm was
located along Old State Road 267 (today’s North Monroe Street at Northridge
Drive), northwest of where Paul Hadley Middle School is now situated. The farmhouse was later owned by one of John
Dillinger’s great nephews.
If you happen to drive by the Dillinger farmhouse, please don't disturb the occupants or owners. The home is a private residence. Also, you should probably ask permission before taking any photographs or videos.
Dillinger Farmhouse in 2007
(courtesy of Google Maps)
Dillinger farmhouse in 1934 (photo by Walter
Ranzini/N.Y. Daily News) (courtesy of Getty Images)
Did you know that notorious bank robber John Dillinger played semi-professional baseball in Mooresville and Martinsville? Our video (below) elaborates.
Mooresville Moments #22, by Mooresville Public Library
In her history of Mooresville, Clara Richardson wrote that Chester E. Lawrence, when he owned Bradley Brick Company (later, the Wooley Company), Lawrence sold a parcel of land to the Town of Mooresville to be used as the Town Baseball Park. Bradley Brick (Wooley Co.) was located on the south side of South Street, just east of the railroad tracks, and it was on this land tract that the baseball park was built. (Click images below to enlarge)
Bradley Brick Company was founded in 1904
(Mooresville Times, March 11, 1904)
Office of Bradley Brick Company (constructed circa 1904)(undated photos)
(William "Tommy" McElwain stands in front of office)
Bradley Brick Company was located just west (to the right, in the photo)
Town Baseball Park was home to the Mooresville Walkovers, a semi-professional baseball team that won 26 straight games in 1919. The Walkovers were hardly walked-over by their opponents; their won-loss record was quite respectable.
1919 Mooresville Walkovers won 26 straight games, a team record
(Mooresville Times, October 8, 1964)
1914 Mooresville Walkovers Team Photo
In 1924, John Dillinger played shortstop and second base, both for the Mooresville Walkovers and the Martinsville Athletics, another semi-professional baseball team.
Mockup Baseball Card for John Dillinger
1924 Martinsville Athletics Team Photo
(John Dillinger indicated by arrow)
One of the teams' umpires was Mooresville resident Ed Singleton, Dillinger's drinking buddy and accomplice in Dillinger's attempted holdup of Mooresville's West End Grocery owner Frank Morgan. Some say that it was Singleton that talked Dillinger into committing this attempted robbery. Regardless, Dillinger's conviction and severe punishment were directly responsible for turning his life toward crime.
What would have happened had Dillinger and Singleton not tried to rob Morgan? Baseball would probably never have been more than a pastime for Dillinger. Few baseball players have sufficient skills to make it to the major league, or even the minor leagues. Mooresville and Martinsville's semi-pro teams were "minor minors," and Dillinger's athletic abilities were such that he likely would have risen no higher. If not for his imprisonment, he might have pursued an ordinary, honest life. But "what ifs" are better suited for alternative history novelists. John Dillinger's history is what it is, and we're forced to accept its lessons as given.
Take a walking (or driving) tour around Mooresville, Indiana to see John Dillinger-related points-of-interest around town. Click the images (throughout this article) to enlarge.
Can't make the walk/drive? Watch this video slideshow below.
John Dillinger's Mooresville Footprint
by Mooresville (Indiana) Public Library
DILLINGER’S HOMETOWN HOLDUP
(SELF-GUIDED WALKING TOUR)
Starting from Mooresville Public Library, follow famous bank robber and Mooresville resident John Dillinger’s footsteps during and after his botched attempted robbery of Frank Morgan, owner of the West End Grocery on West High Street, on Saturday, September 6, 1924. (Watch this video to learn more about this robbery attempt.)
Stop #1: Behind the First Christian Church on South Jefferson Street (between Harrison & High Streets)
Between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Saturday, September 6, 1924, Frank Morgan, proprietor of the West End Grocery (at 135 West High Street, where Morz/Pedigo Plumbing is located today) was walking home after closing the store. Suddenly, John Dillinger jumped from the shadows behind the First Christian Church holding a pistol and demanded money from Morgan. Unbeknownst to Dillinger, Morgan had taken the day’s proceeds to his house earlier in the evening and was not carrying much money at the time of the robbery attempt. Morgan and Dillinger scuffled, causing Dillinger to drop his firearm, which discharged harmlessly into the air. Dillinger then struck Morgan with a metal bar (something like a “blackjack” criminals sometimes used in muggings), opening a gash on Morgan’s head. Morgan, who was a Freemason, shouted a Masonry call of distress, to which fellow Masons throughout the neighborhood promptly responded. Dillinger panicked and fled east down Broad Alley. Dillinger’s accomplice, Ed Singleton, who was awaiting Dillinger in an automobile down the street (on South Jefferson close to High Street), raced off when he heard the errant gunshot.
Stop #2: Lindley Block, 1 West Main Street, Downtown Mooresville
Dillinger escaped along Broad Alley and made his way to Moore & Pearce, a pool hall in the basement of the Lindley Block (1 West Main Street, on the southwest corner of Main and Indiana Streets in downtown Mooresville). There, he asked customers and employees if “Mr. Morgan was all right” after being attacked. No one there had heard about Morgan’s injuries, since news of the event had not yet travelled downtown. Subsequently, several persons present wondered how Dillinger had known Morgan was hurt.
Lindley Block (first building on left) as it appeared in the Nineteen-Teens.
The building burnt to the ground on December 27, 1925
(Photo courtesy of the Mooresville Times, December 10, 1981, page 10a)
Moore & Pearce advertisement from the 1923 White Lick Review
(Mooresville High School Yearbook)
Dillinger went home to the family farm on Old State Road 267 (North Monroe Street at Northridge Drive) and confessed to his crime. His father recommended that his son turn himself in to Mooresville town marshal Greeson, which John voluntarily did. Frank Morgan required eleven stitches to sew-up his head wound, and at Dillinger’s trial, the judge rendered a harsh sentence (2-12 years on the first count, and 10-20 years on the second count, with $100 fines for each count) because John had severely injured Morgan and had carried a firearm during the robbery attempt. Dillinger’s accomplice, Ed Singleton, who retained an attorney (Dillinger did not), received a much lighter sentence in a separate trial. Dillinger was remanded to the Indiana state reformatory at Pendleton. During his incarceration, Dillinger, embittered by the severity of his sentencing, mingled with hardcore criminals who taught him tricks of the criminal trade and shaped his unlawful ambitions.
John Dillinger Mug Shot (ca. 1924)
DILLINGER AROUND TOWN
(MOORESVILLE, INDIANA)
There are three other locations in Mooresville significant to John Dillinger’s story: His family’s farm, Harvey Funeral Home, and the town ball park.
Drive-By #1: The Dillinger Family Farm
John Dillinger’s family farm was located on Old State Road 267 (North Monroe Street at Northridge Drive), as shown on the map (above). PLEASE NOTE: The Dillinger family farmhouse is a private residence. Please DO NOT DISTURB the residents or owners, and please do NOT take any photographs of the premises without express permission from the residents or owners.
(Above) Dillinger Farm (image courtesy of Evelyn Frechette)
(Below) John Dillinger outside the family farmhouse, holding a
Thompson submachine gun and, purportedly, the wooden gun he carved
to escape from Crown Point jail (photo 1934)
Drive-By #2: Harvey Funeral Home
Harvey Funeral Home was located on the southeast corner of Indiana and Harrison Streets in downtown Mooresville, where Marco's Pizza is now situated (as of 2024) and where Family Video used to be located. After John Dillinger was shot by FBI agents in Chicago in July, 1934, his remains were returned to Mooresville before burial at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. Hundreds braved the 103° F. heat wave to see Dillinger’s body at Harvey Funeral Home on July 25, 1934 (see photo below). The line of onlookers circled the block twice.
(Above) John Dillinger’s Body at Harvey Funeral Home, July 25, 1934
(Below) Unloading John Dillinger’s remains at Harvey Funeral Home
Mooresville historian Clara Richardson wrote in her History of Mooresville, 1824-1974 that the Bradley Brick Company, which was located south of East South Street (east of the railroad tracks), was purchased by the Wooley Company. When Chester E. Lawrence owned the business, he sold a parcel of land to the Town of Mooresville to be used as the Town Baseball Park. It was there that Mooresville’s semi-professional baseball team, the Walkovers, played their home games. In 1924 John Dillinger was a member of the Walkovers’ team roster, playing shortstop and second base. Dillinger also played the same positions on the Martinsville Athletics (see images below), another semi-professional baseball team. (Dillinger is indicated by the arrow.)
John Dillinger as a Player on the Martinsville Athletics Baseball Team (1924)
The 1919 Mooresville Walkovers Baseball Team Won 26 Straight Games
(Post last updated December 5, 2019) Although John Dillinger was born in Indianapolis (at 2053 Cooper Street), he moved with his family to Mooresville when he was young and spent his formative years here. (There's a self-guided walking--or driving--tour of significant Dillinger points-of-interest around town.) After a harsh criminal sentence for a botched local holdup sent him to prison (shaping his unlawful ambitions), he became a hardened criminal, robbing banks and entering American folk legend.
John Dillinger's Funeral
(Mooresville Moments #17)
(Click Above to Play Video)
After Dillinger was shot by FBI agents in Chicago in July, 1934, his
remains were returned to Mooresville before burial at Crown Hill
Cemetery in Indianapolis. Hundreds braved the 103° F. heat wave to see Dillinger’s body
at Harvey Funeral Home on July 25, 1934. The line of onlookers circled
the block twice (Harvey Funeral Home was located on the southeast corner
of Indiana and Harrison Streets).
Hundreds stood in line to see John Dillinger's body at Harvey Funeral Home
(July 25, 1934) (click image to enlarge)
The Indianapolis Star (July 31, 2019) reported that Dillinger's body was scheduled to be exhumed for a documentary on the History Channel, presumably to extract DNA to compare with that of known Dillinger descendants to establish conclusively that the individual buried in the Crown Hill grave is (or isn't) actually John. Crown Hill Cemetery, however, balked at the plan, the History Channel bailed on the project, and a lawsuit ensued (no pun intended). The Indianapolis Star (December 4, 2019) reported that the trial judge ruled Dillinger's body could not be exhumed without Crown Hill's consent. So we may never know for certain whether Dillinger is actually buried in his family's plot at Crown Hill.
File photo from The Indianapolis Star
Some have questioned whether or not John Dillinger was actually shot near Chicago's Biograph Theater in July, 1934. When John's father saw the body, he said it was not his son, but John was said to have had plastic surgery, which might have changed his facial appearance. The FBI stated definitively that Dillinger's body was identified at the time. Not everyone was convinced, however. Investigators Jay Robert Nash and Ron Offen popularized a theory that another person was shot, and that Dillinger escaped and lived into the 1960s. In their book, Dillinger: Dead or Alive? (Chicago: Henry Regnery Co., 1970), Nash and Offen reprinted letters purportedly written by John Dillinger from 1959 and 1963, along with photographs alleging to be Dillinger from that time. Admittedly, there's a strong resemblance in the 1959/1963 photos with Dillinger photos from the early 1930s. The '59/'63 pictures show a sixty-something man whose face (particularly the ears) resembles a younger Johnny D.
Of course, it's possible to find lookalikes for many famous people, so the '59/'63 claimant could simply have been an opportunist attempting to cash-in on a criminal's infamous past. For example, William T. Phillips, a Washington resident who served in prison along with Butch Cassidy, later convinced some of Cassidy's Utah family that he was Cassidy. Butch reportedly died in Bolivia in 1908, and Phillips died in Spokane in 1937. Perhaps Dillinger, too, had an imposter who claimed survival; perhaps Dillinger survived after all. If DNA tests were made of Dillinger's remains, that mystery might be put to rest, but, as it now stands, exhumation seems unlikely.
In the 1920s, Moore & Pearce operated a pool hall in the basement of the Lindley Block at One West Main Street in downtown Mooresville, Indiana. (The Lindley Block burned down on December 27, 1925.) It was there that John Dillinger appeared following his aborted holdup of Frank Morgan, owner of the West End Grocery on West High Street. During the robbery attempt, Dillinger had struck Morgan with an iron rod, severely injuring him. Later, at Moore & Pearce's pool hall, Dillinger asked about Morgan's condition, before news of the assault had reached there. This made listeners suspicious, some of whom repeated Dillinger's comments to Mooresville Town Marshall Greeson. This lead to Dillinger's arrest.
Some sources suggest that, prior to the robbery attempt, Dillinger was at Moore & Pearce's drinking with his cousin, Edgar Singleton, with whom he hatched the robbery plot. According to some researchers, it was Singleton who persuaded Dillinger to commit the crime.
Watch the video below to learn more about Dillinger's attempted holdup.
