Edwin M. Henninger
Bootlegger, Con-man, Murderer, and Notorious Bad Man
by Rich Henninger
Copyright 2005-2008

When one begins a close examination of their family history it is generally hoped that you will discover someone who was famous or otherwise exemplary in some way, someone you can be proud of. Perhaps there is a politician, a noted musician, a respected doctor, a war hero, or a wealthy businessman; all of which I have found in my families ancestry. However, one must also be fully cognizant that you may uncover a different kind of notoriety. A notoriety you may be ashamed of, achieved through acts of unspeakable evil. Such was the case regarding Edwin M. Henninger (1870-1922), my great grandfather. In the fall of 1922, Edwin's name and likeness would be on the tongue and in the mind of nearly every Lehigh Valley resident for his crimes including the murder of Harvey Gross. So despised was Edwin that police had little problem gathering 50 local volunteers to take arms and form a posse to hunt him down.

Edwin would elude that posse just as he had eluded me for so many years. Shortly after I began this research in 1995 I discovered Edwin through my grandfather's obituary. The only data I had then was Edwin and his wife's name and a general idea of his age and where he had lived. In my years of subsequent research I encountered brick wall after brick wall in every effort to find out more about him. Over the years little bits of information would be uncovered; where he was living, who his other children were, and when he was born. These were largely meaningless statistics yet I remember commenting to my wife and daughter that my "sense" was this was not a good person. Little did I know how prophetic that statement would turn out to be.

To some extent Edwin's life appears to have been doomed from the beginning. Born in 1870 in Lower Saucon Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. He was probably born out of wedlock to Amanda Arnold and Jos. Henninger. In 1880 Edwin, age 10, is living with his grandparents Henry and Caroline Arnold in Redington, Lower Saucon Township. Four years earlier Edwin's mother Amanda married and began a new family with Hiram Kuhns. Edwin does not appear to have ever lived with his mother and step-father although in each census beginning in 1890 Amanda and her family are always found living within a few doors of Edwin and his family in South Bethlehem and parts of Lower Saucon including the tiny town of Bingen. Edwin would marry Eliza Ann (Annie) Bauder in 1888. Annie already had one child, Sadie, from a previous partner. Annie would have been about 15/16 years old when Sadie was born. Edwin and Annie would go on to have 11 children of which only 7 appear to have reached adulthood.

How Edwin sprang from these humble beginnings to what appears to be a sophisticated con-man, if not a clumsy criminal, and eventual insanity I can only speculate. We know he came from a broken family. There are indications he had no job skills. In census data his employment is typically given as "day laborer". A day laborer went out each day looking for work where ever they could find it. Very likely Edwin's family eeked out an existence on very little income. There are indications that Edwin had problems with alcohol. If Edwin was an alcoholic in 1920, when prohibition began, he very likely would have done just about anything to get his hands on a drink. Perhaps this is how his life of crime began. His social status would have made him more inclined to make contact with the seedier elements of society. If he had a compulsive type personality the temptation and lack of will may have been too much for him to exercise the necessary degree of self control. Indeed, perhaps it was a sense of not being able to control himself that led to suicidal impulses and his eventual acting upon those thoughts. Interestingly I could see similar character flaws in my father and my brother Donald. In fact my brother Donald's life would have some striking similarities to Edwin's. While Donald never did anything as serious as murder he was "well known to the police" as one article about Edwin puts it. He abused alcohol if he was not an alcoholic, and as a teenager he had experienced suicidal tendencies. Coincidentally Edwin and Donald were both left handed. As for our father Raymond what more could be said then he deserted his wife and four children ages 4 to 10. He too had numerous character flaws including being dishonest and abusing alcohol. I suspect he too had his share of encounters with law enforcement but I have no first hand account.

In June of 2005 I would discover that the Easton Library Marx Room had the Easton Express obituaries indexed from the year 1920 to the present. From census data I knew that Edwin died between 1920 and 1930. I had hoped that his obituary would lead me to who his father was. In the obituary index there was a Edwin Henninger published October 17, 1922 on page 1. I immediately thought that this could be my Edwin and I also pondered the fact that it was on page 1. Did he die in some spectacular accident or was he a person of notoriety? You can imagine the anticipation as I was loading that microfilm into the reader. Then I saw the headline, "Henninger a Suicide". After reading the entire story and getting over the initial shock I came to understand that many things about my family history had just been explained. Now it was just a matter of working backwards through time to fill in the rest of Edwin's story. My research on Edwin is by no means complete. All indications are that there are many more stories to be found. Edwin had a lengthy police record and served time in both the Easton (Northampton County) and Lehigh County prisons. In fact Edwin had just been released from the Lehigh County prison a few days prior to the murder. Was Edwin behind the 9 barrels of whiskey valued at $13,000 stolen from the Northampton Drug Company on September 13, 1922? What follows is a series of newspaper articles chronicling Edwin's crimes, his brief time on the run, and his tragic ending in which he would take his own life.

	From the Bethlehem Globe Times published on page 10 - September 13, 1922. It describes Edwin's successful con job of a helpless farmer's wife in Springfield Township. Edwin poses as a revenue officer and serves a fake warrant to search the property. Edwin and his accomplices stole $186 and two barrels of cider. Edwin would be caught on this one and spend some time in jail. Don't be thrown by the name Edward. I have seen him called Edward and Edwin in the same article. Make no mistake this is my families Edwin Henninger. Edwin had this article clipped and in his pocket when he took his own life. An Easton Express article describes a similar crime in neighboring Lehigh County using the same MO. [Actual Image] [Transcribed]
	From the Bethlehem Globe Times published on page 1 - October 16, 1922. A very detailed story that explains how Harvey Gross was murdered by Edwin while attempting to serve warrants for his arrest. Edwin would be on the run and have less than 24 hours to live when this afternoon edition hit the news stands. There appears to be several editing errors in this story probably made in haste to get the story in that days edition. When the story continues on page 4 there does not appear to be continuity. On the page 4 part of the story (below) there is a line "Two automobiles were two barrels of whiskey", which makes no sense at all in the context of the story or any context for that matter. [Actual Image] [Transcribed]
	From the Bethlehem Globe Times published on page 4 - October 16, 1922. A continuation of the above story. [Actual Image] [Transcribed]
	From the Easton Express published on page 1 - October 16, 1922. The Easton Express version of the Harvey Gross murder story which has some variations to the Globe. This one calls Edwin the "Bingen Killer". [Actual Image] [Transcribed]
	From the Bethlehem Globe Times published on page1 - October 17, 1922. It was front page news again this time when Edwin took his own life. This article has some interesting detail including excerpts from suicide notes. While this story starts to get you inside Edwin's head a bit, it also leaves you scratching yours. What is the meaning of the line "I could stand it no longer as I have been in my older sons way for the last 15 years and it is getting worse every day". This story also surprised me with Sadie being a step-daughter. Until now I had thought she was Edwin's daughter. Story continues below... [Actual Image] [Transcribed]
	From the Bethlehem Globe Times published on page 9 - October 17, 1922. The story above continued here. Another hint you get from this story is that there were some unusual dynamics at play within Edwin's nuclear family. Again there are variations between the Globe and Express account of the suicide. The Express claims the chest shot caused his death while the Globe claims it was a shot to the head. [Actual Image] [Transcribed]
	From the Easton Express on page 1 - October 17, 1922. The Easton Express version of Edwin's suicide. This story has much less detail then the Globe. It sensationalizes the gun fight with police on Sunday as "replete with thrills". This was the story referenced as an obituary in the Library index and my first look into the details of Edwin's life. This subsequently led me to all of the other stories. [Actual Image] [Transcribed]
	From the Easton Express on page 5 - October 18, 1922. This was Edwin's funeral notice in the Express and gives some interesting extras. That he was buried at Leithsville had surprised me. I have personally extensively surveyed this cemetery and have never seen a stone for Edwin. It could be that he never had one. My brother, grandparents and great-grandparents are buried here. It also quotes Edwin as saying "they'll never take me alive". This article again varies from the Globe, saying the police waited to enter the house where the Globe says the police immediately rushed the house. I guess where these stories part we will never know the truth. [Actual Image] [Transcribed]

Sources:
The Easton Express - Easton Library Microfilms - various issues in 1922
The Bethlehem Globe Times - Bethlehem Library Microfilms - various issues in 1922
1890 census index for South Bethlelem - http://www.enter.net/~ritar
1900 census for South Bethlehem - http://www.genealogy.com
1920 census for Hellertown - http://www.genealogy.com , page 193b
1930 census for Lower Saucon (South) - http://www.genealogy.com , page 47a
Family Search.org - http://www.familysearch.org/, Northampton County Marriage Records 1888-1889.
Arnold Ancestry - http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~arnoldtree/index.html - Al Arnold researcher
This story was edited October 21, 2008 to include newly discovered information.

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