William Francis Sutton, Jr. was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 30th, 1901, and was raised in a part of town known then as Irishtown. Irishtown was situated along the docks, and was the battlefield of a seemingly endless gang war for control of the docks. In those days, muscle was power, so the gang members were all in their teens, making them relatable to kids. In fact, Sutton's first idol was a dock boss named Bill Lavert, who held control for about two years, which was longer than most.
Early Aspirations
In his teenage years he had aspired to be a criminal lawyer. His interest in law beginning when he was a young boy and his father hired an attorney after being hit by a truck. When he was 16, a friend of his signed him up for law course at a correspondence school in Chicago. When the textbooks arrived, he was overjoyed, but his mother, feeling uncomfortable with someone else paying for such expensive books, told Willie he had to send them back. He kept them for as long as he could, poring over them late into the night, hoping that his mother would change her mind. She never did, and one day she packed them up herself and they were sent back.
When the First World War began, Sutton wished to enlist, but he was too young at the time, so he altered his birth certificate and signed up.
Due to the war, high-paying jobs began opening up everywhere and Sutton decided it was time to leave home and start a life of his own. He moved to Wheeling, Virginia and got a job at a munitions factory. Two days, before the war ended he received a telegram from his mother telling him to return home, and that he had been drafted.
A Matter of Young Love
Not long after his return he met a girl by the name of Carrie Wagner. Her protective father forbade her to date, so they had to meet in secret. One day her father caught them and demanded that Willie stop hanging around his daughter. He did not back down. He told the man that he was in love with his daughter and would continue to see her. Wagner exploded, making various threats of police action or worse.
They continued to see each other and even began to make plans to elope once Willie could get a few hundred dollars together. One day, Carrie told him of a safe her father had that always contained at least a few hundred dollars. They immediately made plans to steal the money and elope. However when they opened the safe they found over sixteen thousand dollars and plans changed. They were going to take all the money and start a new life somewhere.
They took a train to Albany and went on a shopping spree, buying an entirely new wardrobe and a car. They decided to marry in California, but they spent the money too recklessly and decided Canada was a safer option.On their way he began to worry about running out of money and decided to wed in whatever city they stopped in that night. In Poughkeepsie, New York they asked a friendly looking gentleman where the marriage bureau was. He showed them where it was and informed them that it was closed until nine in the morning the next day.
They got a room at the Windsor Hotel, and later that night had an unexpected visitor. It was the friendly gentleman from earlier, pleasantly introducing himself as the chief of police. A bulletin had been sent out for a young man fitting Willie's description. They knew it was him and Willie admitted it. They were brought down to police headquarters where they waited for the Boston detectives to arrive. He was taken to the Raymond Street jail and was brought to court a few weeks later. He pleaded guilty to unlawful entry and was ordered by the court to get a job and never see Carrie Wagner again.
He got a job as a burner at the P.T. Morse Shipyard. A job that taught him valuable skills that would play a part in his real career later.
Mitchell Pridemore - Mitchell Pridemore is a man of wondrous ability. He has the unique gift of reading, and with this reading he can absorb knowledge, ideas, ...
