#8 A 19 YEAR OLD WITH AN ALIAS

 

                                           FELTON BROWN PEARSON aka Bill Jackson

The forename Felton means "settlement on the field". Perhaps dislike of such an unusual name (it ranks 26,000  on the list of baby names) is the reason he changed it. But sadly and much more likely, my Felton adopted an alias for nefarious reasons--to allow him to escape detection.

Felton was born on September 18, 1901 in Nezperce, Idaho to George Wesley Pearson and Eliza Duff. Father George was a carpenter and a farmer, restlessly moving about Idaho and Washington state, before emigrating back to Canada and applying for an Alberta homestead near Medicine Hat. Felton, his mother and 5 siblings, waited in Washington state for two years until they reunited with George on their new farm in 1910. All the family, except George, identified as Seventh Day Adventists.

    The Pearson Family--Laura, George, Mary, Mother Eliza, Dorothy, Felton, Hazel, Father George

On June 26, 1920, Felton, a farmer aged 19, married Violet Welsh, aged 19, in Lethbridge, Alberta.  Within five months, he  skipped out on the marriage. A baby, Thomas Harold Pearson was born in 1921; this boy was raised by a maternal aunt and uncle.  At some point after 1929, (she was still using the Pearson surname in 1929), Violet divorced Felton, remarried, moved to Ontario and had one daughter. Violet died in 1980 and is buried in the Sparta, Ont cemetery alongside second husband, Albert Haney. 

Felton fled to the US. and enlisted in the US Marines in California on November 20, 1920. The Marine Recruit Deport was located in the Mare Island Navy Shipyards in Vallejo, California. But military life was also not for him. On March 2, 1921 at 11:30 pm, he and fellow recruit Jack Clayton deserted their post; a $50 reward was posted for their apprehension and delivery.  It appears that they were caught and jailed the next day and then discharged from the Marines. Perhaps this is when Felt and Jack decided to adopt an alias: Felton as Bill Jackson and Jack as Fred Allen Jordon.

Marine Depot

On Wednesday, March 30, Felt and Jack, armed and masked, broke into the Watsonville, Santa Cruz, CA home of a Mrs. S.E.Gilbert, an “old woman and while she lay powerless on her sick bed [they] stole the rings from her fingers and frightened her badly.” Two days later, Felt and Jack were caught by the Santa Cruz and Railroad police as they were walking towards the railway junction; they confessed when the stolen rings were found on them. They were taken to the county jail. Handcuffed together they appeared before the judge. Bail was set at $3000.  They confessed to the robbery and maintained this was the first time they had committed an “act of this nature.” They had purchased the pistol and razor used in the burglary in Santa Cruz.  They also openly confessed that they were deserters from the Marine Corps. Since they admitted their crime, the case took little time. They were taken to San Quentin Prison to serve indeterminate sentences of 1 to 15 years.  Ultimately, the prison directors fixed their terms at 7 ½ years each.

                                                          San Quentin registration

                                                        Felton's partner-in-crime, Jack Clayton

San Quentin is the oldest prison in California and the state’s only death row for male inmates. It is among the country’s most well-known, referenced in many movies, songs and books; it gained prominence after country singers, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, a former inmate, performed there in 1969 and 1971. Throughout its history, San Quentin has been the site of violence, and political and racial issues resulting in conflicts. Although designed for 3100 inmates, the population in this aging facility generally far exceeds that number so lack of space and security concerns cause problems. San Quentin is considered one of the most feared and respected prisons on the West Coast. Notable residents include serial killers, gang leaders and drug cartel bosses and it has been home to many infamous criminals including Charles Manson, Scott Peterson and Sirhan Sirhan (who assassinated Robert Kennedy.)

In the 1920s, most of the land outside the prison walls was used for ranching and farming and was planted with field crops and pasture land to support the prison. The prison raised cows, chickens, pigs and hogs and produced milk, eggs and vegetables to feed the inmates. By the 1920s some prison reforms were being introduced. For instance old striped uniforms were replaced by new blue-grey prisoner uniforms.  Other changes included inmate work programmes, education and industrial training, improved food quality, better medical treatment and spiritual guidance.  And instead of focusing on punishment, reform measures rewarded and encouraged good behaviour; solitary confinement rather than corporal punishment was instituted.

 

 

  

“Only the worst of the worst get sent to serve their sentences at San Quentin.” Felton entered San Quentin on April 9, 1921, was paroled on May 15, 1923 and discharged on November 21, 1925. Parole is the release date from prison and discharge is when the parolee completes all terms and conditions of the release.  (His friend Jack Clayton was not paroled until 1925 and discharged May 24, 1926. Maybe he was not as good a rule follower.)) 

While in prison, Felton was mailed a certificate from the US Marines discharging him as “Undesirable” because of his desertion, because of his conviction in civil court of the crime of burglary and because his character was bad. There are five types of discharge from the military—honorable, general, other than honorable, bad conduct, dishonorable. Felt’s Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD and often called the Big Chicken Dinner)) was for bad conduct rather than a punishment for serious offences; it indicates that one's pattern of convictions for misconduct shows he is unfit to serve in the military. It is considered a legal punishment. On receiving a BCD, the person is escorted to the main gate, relieved of his ID card and given a one-way ticket home on the cheapest transportation with just the clothes on his back and what he can carry. As one is not recognized as a veteran, he does not receive benefits and cannot reenlist.

What happened to Felton after he left prison is a mystery.  I can find no record or newspaper article telling where he went or what happened to him. His niece, Vale Stillman, told me that she heard he died in a rodeo. Rodeo is one of the most dangerous sports in the world and riding an angry, bucking 900-kilogram bull can be deadly; bulls' feet are bigger than the spread of our hands and so distribute force over a bigger area. The majority of injuries come in "rough stock events like bull, junior bull, steer, saddle bronc and bareback riding" Other popular, but dangerous, events were the Roman standing races where riders stood with one foot on the back of each pair of horses and relays where riders changed horses after each lap of the arena "People who are living the cowboy life all the time--they accept that it's a dangerous game." Is this where Felton's young life ended so distant from his family?

 But hopefully, Felton adopted another alias, changed his ways, settled down and lived a long, happy life. Who knows?

 

Felton Brown Pearson

b. Sept 18, 1901 in Nezperce, Idaho

immigrated to Canada 1910

m. Violet Minnie Welsh on Jun 26, 1920 in Lethbridge, Alberta

d. ?

my 2^nd cousin 2x removed (Homuth-Netterfield-Pierson line)