George Earl "The Kid" Northern (1903–1936) was a Prohibition-era bank robber and early associate of Harry Pierpont. He was the older brother of Pierpont's girlfriend, Mary Kinder.
Early life He was born in 1903 in Morgan County, Indiana, the son of Lewis W. and Viola J. (Tansey) Northern.
By the 1910 census, the family was residing in Washington Township, Morgan County, Indiana, where Earl's father's occupation was not listed.Lewis W. Northern household, 1910 U.S. census, population schedule, Washington Township, Morgan County, Indiana, USA, ED 68, SD 5, sheet 6A, dwelling 116, family 116; National Archives micropublication T624, roll 372.
By the 1920 census, the family was living at 1060 West McCarty Street in Indianapolis, Indiana.Lewis Northern household, 1920 U.S. census, population schedule, Ward 14, Center Township, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, USA, ED 241, SD 7, sheet 9B, dwelling 185, family 188; National Archives micropublication T625, roll 455. Earl was not listed as living with the family.
Criminal career
Pierpont-Bridgewater-Northern gang, 1924–1925 Northern was associated with a group of Jeffersonville ex-cons, led by Harry Pierpont, who were staying at a Kokomo, Indiana boarding house run by Pearl Elliott.
Pierpont was implicated as the ringleader of the gang who struck several Indiana banks. Newspaper reports indicated there were seven members in all, and all identified Pierpont as their leader.Robbery Suspects Arrested article, Wabash Plain-Dealer, Wabash, Indiana, April 2, 1925, p. 1.
Most members of the gang were arrested and convicted before Pierpont was arrested in Detroit in the spring. Mrs. Everett Bridgewater was arrested at her home in Indianapolis and sentenced to two to fourteen years; James Robbins arrested at Lebanon, Indiana; Marion “Red” Smith arrested at Indianapolis; George Frazer arrested at Marion; and Robert Morse arrested at Indianapolis were all given sentences of between ten and twenty years; and Mrs. Emily Morse pleaded guilty and was given a sentence from two to fourteen years.Alleged Bank Bandit Leader Held article, Marion Leader-Tribune, Marion, Indiana, April 3, 1925, p.1. The round up of these bandits was reported as one of the biggest roundups of any gang of robbers in the state.Bandit Trio Leave Today For Prison article, Marion Leader-Tribune, Marion, Indiana, January 4, 1925, p. 2.
South Marion State Bank, Marion, Indiana, November 26, 1924 At 2:45 in the afternoon of November 26, 1924, seven young, unmasked, well-dressed bandits held up the officers and two customers of the South Marion State Bank at Thirty-first and Washington streets in Marion, Indiana, robbing the bank of approximately $4,000.00 in cash.Police Keep On Trail Of The Bandits article, Marion Leader-Tribune, Marion, Indiana, November 27, 1924, p. 1. No one was injured, and not a shot was fired. Five men went inside, two stayed outside.
The leader of the gang walked in ahead of the others and ordered "hands up", forcing the cashier and bookkeeper into the vault. According to newspaper accounts, the gang had evidently studied the situation, knew the surroundings, and carried out their job with clockwork precision and uncanny accuracy.
After the robbery, the bandits jumped into a purring Nash motor car and sped off south. Sixteen towns in a fifty-mile radius of Marion were notified of the robbery, and to be on the lookout for a Nash car with yellow license plates. One report had them heading west on State Route 35, another report had them travelling east through Bluffton, Indiana at a high speed. A couple from Fairmount, Indiana reported seeing a car matching that of the robbers at three o'clock, traveling west through Hackelman, Indiana in the direction of Elwood, Indiana.No New Clue Of Value On The Robbery article, Marion Leader-Tribune, Marion, Indiana, November 28, 1924, p. 1 Grant County Sheriff Bert Renbarger and his deputies stopped a Nash car matching the description at Sweetser, Indiana but the occupants were found to be out of town businessmen.
Initial reports indicated that based on the description of the bandits, they were believed to be the same gang who had robbed the Farmers National Bank at Converse, Indiana the week before. Sheriff Renbarger speculated the robbers might be from South Bend, Terre Haute, Chicago, or Logansport.
Citizens State Bank, Noblesville, Indiana, December 16, 1924 Just before closing time on December 16, 1924, seven unmasked bandits made an unsuccessful attempt to rob the Citizens State Bank. The bandit's car drove up to the side of the bank and six men leaped to the sidewalk and ran into the building, brandishing revolvers.Attempt Made To Rob Noblesville Bank Frustrated article, Marion Leader-Tribune, Marion, Indiana, December 17, 1924, p. 1
While three robbers rushed to the rear of the bank to cover officials, the other three ordered several customers and the cashier to hold up their hands. The leader of the bandits cautioned his associates to listen for an alarm repeatedly. With a revolver near his head, bank President Dunn touched a button on the floor which started a burglar alarm. The bandits immediately ran out the door and sped away with nothing for their effort. The bandits headed north in a Cadillac bearing Indiana license plate 11829 at a high speed.Bandits Fail In Attempt To Rob Noblesville Bank article, Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, Indiana, December 17, 1924, p. 1
Shelby Hardware Store, Lebanon, Indiana, December 22, 1924 On December 22, 1924, the John D. Shelby Hardware Store of Lebanon, Indiana was robbed of two rifles, two double barreled shot guns, one hammerless double barrel shot gun, two single shot rifles, one Marlin rifle, repeater, two Remington repeating rifles, eight pocket knives, one six inch barrel pistol, one 32 German automatic revolver, about fifty boxes of ammunition, four flashlights, several batteries, and other articles.Auto Used By Bank Bandits Is Found article, Marion Leader-Tribune, Marion, Indiana, December 28, 1924, p. 1
Boone County, Indiana Sheriff Joe C. Cain notified Grant County, Indiana Sheriff Renbarger of the list of items stolen from the Lebanon store and stated that the robbers were driving a Moon sedan, with the license 443-554, which was stolen from Indianapolis the night of the Lebanon robbery. The automobile belonged to George W. Killinger Jr. of 1922 North Pennsylvania Street in Indianapolis and was reported stolen on December 22.
Upland State Bank, Upland, Indiana, December 23, 1924 At 3:45 in the afternoon of December 23, 1924, six armed bandits entered the Upland State Bank within fifteen minutes of closing time and robbed the bank of approximately $2500.00Upland State Bank Robbed of $2500 article, Marion Leader-Tribune, Marion, Indiana, December 24, 1924, p. 1
The bandits attempted to lock the cashier and a female employee in the bank vault. Finding that the safe would not work, they began scooping all of the money in sight as well as all the money in sight in the safe, consisting of paper and silver. One of the bandits cautioned bank officials against making false moves under pain of having "hell shot out of them".
After getting all the money in sight, they quickly left the bank and hoped into a waiting automobile, in which the sixth bandit sat, and departed north out of Upland, where it was reported they turned west.
A good description of the men was secured by Deputy Sheriffs John Schell and Woody Smith, who conversed with the six men at a filling station at Highland avenue and Washington streets in Marion at about 2:30 in the afternoon that day. The men had been asking about the road to Hartford City and that they desired to find State Road 35.
The men were first noticed in Marion driving a Moon car, bearing the license plate number 443-554, which was seen driving the wrong way around the public square. The license number matched one that had been in town about a week before, when it ran a stop sign at Fourth and Nebraska streets and failed to stop when called on by the police.
Reports indicated that Sherriff Renbarger notified many surrounding cities and Indianapolis, as it was believed that the gang had a headquarters in that city and was the same crowd who attempted to hold up a bank at Noblesville, Indiana the week before.
The automobile used by the bandits of the Upland State Bank and the Lebanon hardware store was found abandoned in the mud at Kempton, Indiana on December 27, 1924. Authorities learned at the car became mired in the mud around 7:30 in the evening of December 23. The men walked to a local home and called a garage at Kempton. The garage worker started to take the men to Frankfort, Indiana at their request. Carrying shotguns, rifles, revolvers and satchels, the men changed their minds and asked to be dropped off at the edge of town at Lebanon, Indiana. The men told the garage mechanic they had been out hunting and were from Louisville, Kentucky and wished to get home for Christmas.
No one ever came back for the car, and authorities were notified.
Capture and confessions of Bandit Gang members Late Saturday evening, December 27, 1924, James Robbins, 22, of Lebanon, Indiana, was arrested by local police after being seen flashing a large amount of cash.Bank Bandits Confess to Sheriff Article, Marion Leader-Tribune, Marion, Indiana, December 30, 1924, p. 1 Robbins confessed to his involvement in the Upland State Bank robbery, the attempted robbery at Noblesville, and the robbery of the Lebanon hardware store.
Robbins' confession led to the arrest on December 29, 1924, of William Behrens, 20, of Monticello, Indiana. Behrens, when brought to the Grant County jail, at first denied any involvement in the Upland, Marion or Noblesville robberies, but changed his story and admitted his involvement in the Upland robbery when identified by the cashier and another witness. Both men denied any involvement in the South Marion bank robbery.
Robbins confessed that on December 22, they robbed the Shelby hardware store in Lebanon, then proceeded to Upland in a Moon car that had been stolen from Indianapolis the evening before. His share in the Upland robbery was between $300–$400. He stated that after the Upland robbery the gang separated.
Behrens was identified by Deputy Sheriff Schell as being one of the men in the Moon car when it was stopped in Marion two hours before the Upland robbery. Behrens later confessed to Sheriff Renbarger of Grant County to his involvement in the Upland robbery, and told where he had hidden part of the money in Monticello.
On Tuesday, December 30, 1924, a third member of the gang, Marion "Red" Smith, 22, of Springfield, Illinois was arrested in Indianapolis.Third Bandit Is Caught In The Trap article, Marion Leader-Tribune, Marion, Indiana, December 31, 1924, p. 1. Smith had been tracked down by an operative of the Webster Detective Agency of Indianapolis, and was arrested after returning via train from Springfield to Indianapolis. Smith admitted to taking part in the Upland robbery, but denied being a part of the South Marion or Noblesville cases.
Information obtained from the three men indicated that the gang was planning a return attempt to rob the bank in Noblesville. Robbins spoke freely of his involvement and stated to the press that he became acquainted with all of the robbers while incarcerated at the Indiana State Reformatory.
Robbins and Behrens were arraigned December 30, 1924 in Grant County Circuit Court after 5 o'clock, where they entered guilty pleas, and were sentenced to ten to twenty years in the Indiana State Reformatory.