It has been several years since I found the numerous newspaper articles from Portland, Oregon that told the story of Sherman's criminal activity. I didn't think that I would find any other information on Sherman's criminal activity, but it turns out that his story was picked up and published in The Los Angeles Times (Honestly, I'm surprised that this wasn't picked up my more newspapers across the Untied States. I've searched the available websites and there doesn't appear to be any other newspapers that picked up and published this story). There are three newspaper articles that were published; one from July 1909 and two from December 1909. They are as follows (he is reported by his aliases, French E. Dodge and Frank Dodge)
It's always interesting to see the different details that are brought to light from different sources. In addition to telling the story that we now know, this set of newspaper articles shed some more light on his criminal activity and the conspiracy that was worked out to swindle the husband of his lover.
July 16, 1909: Wife Helps to Ruin Husband - She Conspires With Lover to Extort Money - Latter Gets Coin by Posing as Detective - Neighbors’ Suspicions Lead to Arrest of Pair.
[BY DIRECT WIRE TO THE TIMES.] Portland, July 15. – [Exclusive Dispatch.] Conspiring with her clandestine sweetheart to extort money from her husband, Mrs. Orville Connor, wife of a Linn county farmer and rural mail carrier, stripped Connor of practically all he possessed and then eloped with French E. Dodge, her confederate, and lived with him several months on their ill-gotten gains before being brought to book today. Mrs. Connor has taken a timber claim and she and Dodge told Connor that in doing so she had infracted the Federal laws. Dodge impersonated a land department detective and finally offered to “square” the case if Connor would pay him $600. Connor raised the money by mortgaging his farm. Dodge soon came back and demanded more money and Connor sold his stock to get it, in order to save his wife from prison, as he supposed. Dodge and Mrs. Connor then ran away, leaving Connor with three small children. Neighbors finally informed the Federal authorities of the suspicious circumstances and the succeeding investigation laid the conspiracy bare. Dodge and Mrs. Connor were arrested today. They were found living together thirty miles from the scene of their crime.
December 14, 1909: Husband Loses Wife and Cash - Sharper Takes Advantage of Man’s Affection - Mayor of Oregon Town Mortgages Home and Entrusts Better Half and Money to a Bogus United States Officer to Prevent Her Arrest for Law Violation.
[BY DIRECT WIRE TO THE TIMES.] Portland (Or.) Dec. 13. – [Exclusive Dispatch.] In the case of Frank Dodge, whose trial began in the Federal Court today, there is a remarkable story of one man having used another’s affection for his own wife to fleece him of money, and, that obtained, of having stolen the woman away. Dodge, who was arrested in Gresham, Or., where he and Mrs. Conner, wife of Mayor Orville Connor of Shedd, or., and her two children were living, is on trial for impersonating an officer and obtaining between $500 and $600 from Connor. Deputy United States Dist. Atty. J.D. Wyatt in his declaration to the jury, told of Dodge’s discovery that Mrs. Connor, representing herself as having been divorced from Connor, had taken up a homestead in Umatilla county in violation of the land laws. Later, according to the government attorney, Dodge visited Mr. and Mrs. Connor at Shedd, representing himself to be a special agent of the United States Land Office. He told Connor of his wife’s crime and offered for $500 to take her to Canada, where she could not be convicted, or to “fix up the matter.” Connor, according to the attorney’s statement, mortgaged his home and gave Dodge $500. Dodge, who, meanwhile had formed an attachment for Mrs. Connor, which was returned, instead of taking the woman to Canada, where Connor believed her to be, took her to Gresham, Or., where they lived as man and wife, until Dodge was arrested on a charge of impersonating an officer, while Mrs. Connor was also arrested on a statutory charge.
December 15, 1909: Unfaithful Wife Tells of Shame - Admits Participating in Scheme to Fleece Hubby. Man who Impersonates a Federal Officer and With Woman’s Assistance Gets Money from Mayor Connor of Shedds, Or., Is Found Guilty of Serious Offense.
[BY DIRECT WIRE TO THE TIMES.] Portland (Or.) Dec. 14. – [Exclusive Dispatch.] “It is true I left my husband and went to live with Mr. Dodge. It is true also that I planned with Mr. Dodge to get money from my husband. I loved Mr. Dodge, but I am sorry now.” This was the story in brief as Mrs. Conner, wife of Mayor O.B. Conner of Shedds, told it on the witness stand in the Federal Court today, of her own shame and her husband’s disgrace. Following his completion the jury convicted Dodge of impersonating an officer. Mrs. Conner told her story in evident embarrassment, but made no effort to shield herself or the man who had taken her from home. “I first met Mr. Dodge at Pendleton,” she said, “when I was living apart from my husband. We were parties to a conspiracy, with others, to acquire some land fraudulently.” “After a time my husband came and persuaded me to return with him to our home. We were happy then, but Mr. Dodge came again and wanted me to help him get some money. We pretended Mr. Dodge was a Federal officer and we made my husband think I was in danger of being arrested for land fraud. He mortgaged his farm to get $500 to give Mr. Dodge, who said he could settle the case for that amount. “Then we made my husband think I had to go to Canada and Mr. Dodge and I went to Gresham to live. Then Mr. Dodge was arrested.” Mrs. Conner’s voice broke frequently during her recital, and her husband wept audibly. The jury reached its verdict within a few minutes after retiring.
There is also a brief newspaper article that was published in The Beaver State Herald on December 17, 1909. This newspaper was published in Gresham, Oregon (the town where Sherman was arrested). I'm kind of surprised that this is the only mention of Sherman in this particular newspaper, since this is there he and his lover lived for several months prior to being arrested. Their criminal activity certainly caught the town of Gresham and its people off guard. The article reads as follows:
'Frank Dodge in the toils. The people of Gresham will be interested to learn that Frank Dodge, who impersonated an officer and committed other offences against the law for which he was arrested and held for trial, was placed before the court on Monday, and appearances are that he will suffer punishment before they are through with him. He will likely be tried first for the impersonating, and if he gets free from that he will be indicted for running off with another man's wife and for defrauding that man of money obtained through misrepresentations. As to the wife, she will also be tried for unlawful conduct and so what seemed to be a harmless little family outing in our midst has turned out to be a record-breaking scandal.'
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