BANK ROBBER GUILTY. / Jury Finds Hudson, Alias Doe, Alias Murphy Guilty. / PUNISHMENT LEFT TO THE COURT.

The Butte Miner, Butte, 1895-09-17, p.6

Summary

Coverage of the conviction of Thomas Hudson (alias John Doe, reportedly true name Murphy) for the attempted daylight robbery of the Silver Bow National Bank in Butte. Hudson's true name is given variously — "Murphy" in the Butte Miner, "Tim Murphy" in the Anaconda Standard of the same date. John Chatham was on the jury that convicted him. The piece names the trial's witnesses and procedural events: the bank's Cashier Hudson [no relation], Assistant Cashier Booth (a witness who recognised Hudson at Hennessy's store looking at men's shoes), Mike Whalen, Mr. Cotter (defence counsel), and others. The article continues with a second item ("OTHERWISE THE BONDMEN WOULD HAVE") and a third ("CHARGE DISMISSED — ARCHIE SHANICK GOES TO HIS FATHER") on the same page.

Narrative

A jury finds Thomas Hudson, also known as Doe and Murphy, guilty of attempting to hold up the Silver Bow National Bank; his insanity defence fails and sentencing is left to the court, with up to ten years in the penitentiary possible. Names recovered from the OCR-degraded body include juror John Chatham, defence counsel Mr. Cotter, witness Mr. Booth, Mike Whalen, Officer Allen, Cashier Cutter, and Judges Speer and Knowles. [transcription partial — body text OCR-degraded; manual transcription against fullpage.jpg required]

“The Man Who Tried to Hold Up the Silver Bow National Falls to Prove He Was Insane”

AI-generated (claude-sonnet-4-6). Verify against the transcription before quoting.

Also mentioned

Thomas Hudson · defendant_convicted
Alias John Doe, reportedly true name "Murphy" per this paper (and "Tim Murphy" per the Anaconda Standard same date). The Murphy surname appears as a criminal alias only. Logged for completeness; no positive family alignment.
John Chatham · juror
Chatham is a recurring surname in the user's research orbit (also see James Chatham clipping). Worth tracking.
Mr. Booth · prosecution_witness_at_Hennessys
Mr. Cotter · defence_counsel
Mike Whalen · prosecution_witness
Officer Allen · arresting_officer
Officer Barbarian · arresting_officer
Cashier Cutter · bank_cashier
Hayden Hocter · prosecution_witness
Judge Speer · presiding_judge
Judge Knowles · us_district_court_judge

Places

Butte, Montana (primary)
Montana (context)

Themes

Source type

news_item, court_report

Related sources

1895-09-17 — The Anaconda Standard, p.5 — HUDSON WAS GUILTY. / The Case of the Would-Be Daylight Bank Robber. / HIS NAME IS TIM MURPHY. / He Was Not Put on the Stand and the Jury Was Out About an Hour and a Half — His Next Surprise Won.

Transcription

transcription: partial · confidence low

# Transcription — The Butte Miner, 1895-09-17, p.6 **Source**: The Butte Miner (Butte, Montana), Tuesday 17 September 1895, p.6. **Status**: Partial — headlines and identified-witness names captured; narrative body OCR-degraded. **Method**: Read against [fullpage.jpg](fullpage.jpg). Headlines, subheadings, and witness-name fragments visible; narrative columns do not render at the resolution required for verbatim. --- ## Page layout The focused Hudson trial article occupies columns 1-2 (top left) of the 6-column p.6. Surrounding content (already catalogued in `peripheral_items`): "ROSES BY THE BUSHEL / BEAUTIFUL MILLINERY DISPLAY" (center column); "School Shoes — Easy and Stylish — JOHN CAPLICE COMPANY" (right column display ad); **"It's Not the Easiest Thing... P. J. BROPHY & Co."** (right) — confirms P. J. Brophy's Butte business presence by 1895; "Kemper-Caplice Commercial Co." + "Salesmen Wanted" (right); "VIGOR OF MEN" patent medicine (bottom left). --- ## Headlines (verbatim from JPG) *THE BUTTE MINER, TUESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 17, 1895.* # BANK ROBBER GUILTY. ## *Jury Finds Hudson, Alias Doe, Alias Murphy Guilty.* # PUNISHMENT LEFT TO THE COURT. ## *The Man Who Tried to Hold Up the Silver Bow National Falls to Prove He Was Insane — God for Anything Up to Ten Years in the Penitentiary — Other Court News.* --- ## Body (not transcribed verbatim) [Body of article: trial coverage, witness testimony, jury, verdict. Names recovered from the OCR text layer (not yet verified verbatim): **Thomas Hudson** (defendant, alias Doe alias Murphy / real name "Tim Murphy" per the Anaconda Standard parallel coverage of the same trial); **John Chatham** (juror); **Mr. Booth** (witness at Hennessy's); **Mr. Cotter** (defence counsel); **Mike Whalen**, **Officer Allen**, **Cashier Cutter**, **Judge Speer**, **Judge Knowles**. Verify against fullpage.jpg before quoting any specific testimony.] --- ## Follow-up items on the same page-column The clipping continues with two follow-up items below the Hudson coverage: - **"OTHERWISE THE BONDMEN WOULD HAVE"** — appeals-procedure detail. - **"ARCHIE SHANICK GOES TO HIS FATHER"** — child-custody item involving Mrs. Mamie Kramer. --- ## Identification note The defendant gave aliases "Hudson," "Doe," and "Murphy" — the Anaconda Standard parallel coverage names him as "Tim Murphy" specifically. The Butte juror **John Chatham** is the same recurring Butte Chatham family-orbit surname (cf. the 1904 Democratic primaries P5 delegate James Chatham). Held in `mentioned:` only — Chatham serving on a 1895 jury is incidental civic involvement.

Open questions

John Chatham — the recurring Chatham surname in the user's archive. Worth a `person_*` entry if he appears in additional clippings.
Mr. Booth as a clerk at Hennessy's (the prominent Butte department store) — recurring Butte civic detail.