On 28 April 1881, the Allegheny City Police Committee held a special meeting. The mayor of the city at the time was Lewis Peterson Jr, who was the cousin of James' mother-in-law Emeline Peterson McDonald McLaughlin and nephew to the first of three Henry Petersons. Lewis Peterson submitted a list of appointments he had made for confirmation. On that list was the name of James Fielding, his cousin's son-in-law, who badly needed a job. Although he was impaired form his Civil War injuries, he still was able to become an officer, for the list, save for two men, were confirmed by the police committee.
Some of his actions as a police officer were recorded in the local newspapers. It is not 100% certain that these are all James Fielding, as he was merely listed as "Officer Fielding," but the timeline appears to match up correctly, so they will all be reported. In genealogy, especially when it comes to newspaper accounts, not everything is 100% certain.
One of his first acts as a police officer was to spoil the fun of some boys playing ball in the Eighth Ward by arresting them and taking them to the Mayor's office on 8 May 1881.
On 25 August 1881, this was reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
"A one legged crazy man was picked up on Ohio street yesterday afternoon by Officer Fielding, and place in the lockup. He could not give his name or residence. He is crazy on religious subjects."
Officer Fielding procured a wagon for a man by the name of Mr. Reed on 12 September 1881 when he was thrown from his own wagon when he collided with a gad lamp and was seriously injured. James escorted the man home to his house on the corner of 36th and Penn in Pittsburgh.
On 29 November 1881, he made two arrests that made the newspapers. He arrested Henry Helewig for domestic abuse after Helewig's child was gravely injured. He also arrested one intoxicated woman by the name of Mary Greenewalt after she impeded a train by falling drunkenly across the tracks and had to be rescued.
In February 1882, he testified in a trial against Health Officer Christ Hoch after charges were brought against the man that he was publicly intoxicated at the polls. James had seen Hoch the day in question and testified he did not think Hoch was drunk. Hoch was neither exonerated nor censured in the meeting.
On 2 April 1882, he rescued an elderly man from Sharpsville, Pennsylvania by the name of Andrew nelson. According to the Pittsburgh Daily Post, Nelson was an itinerant who was quite ill on the bank of the river. He was sent to lock-up first and then to the city home.
On 30 May 1882, he had to euthanize a ferocious dog owned by Jacob Snyder after the dog bit a young boy by the name of Harry Baker twice.
Sometime in early August of 1882, he fell while walking on a boardwalk in the Troy Hill neighborhood and dislocated his arm. One must wonder if it was the same arm he injured in the Civil War. On 2 December 1882, he received $46 for lost time, presumably for this injury.
On 2 Jan 1883, the Pittsburgh Daily Post reported this
"Officer Fielding was yesterday made the victim of a practical joke. Upon entering the Allegheny Engine House on Troy Hill, he was presented by the members of the company with a handsome pipe filled with what he supposed was tobacco. He immediately lit it and after smoking for a few moments was startled by a loud report, the bowl that had been partially filled with powder, having exploded. Mr. Fielding, after recovering from his astonishment, left the house without thanking the donors for the gift."
His bad luck continued to plague him, for on 28 January 1883, he was attacked on Lowry Street in the Troy Hill neighborhood. A gang of roughs fought with him and he was severely beaten, though no arrests were made.
No other accounts were made in 1883 about Officer Fielding until August of 1883, when he was listed as an ex-police officer in another public drunkenness trial. This time, the charges were made against Lieutenant McCormick, who had been suspended for his charges by Mayor Peterson but was brought up before the Allegheny Police Commission. The communication from James was placed in the lieutenant's file, as Mayor Peterson suggested that "he alone had the authority to investigate charges against his officers."
For a period in 1883-1884, he went back to being an agent, according to the 1884 city directory for Pittsburgh and Allegheny City, though it is not known if he went back to the publication company or not. But his stint as a police officer was not yet over, for on 1 May 1884 he was nominated again as a police officer by Mayor James G. Wyman and sworn in again by the Police Committee on the same day.
On 15 August 1884, James arrested 18-year-old James Montgomery from Cleveland because the youth was throwing stones at a Blaine and Logan Marching club.
On 18 February 1885, a broom peddler by the name of John Steinmetz was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He tried to stab James with a knife.
The February article is the last mention of James as a police officer that can be found in the newspapers. The Pittsburgh area city directory for 1886/1887 still lists him as a police officer, living at 160 James in Allegheny City, but there are no mentions of him making arrests in 1886, so one cannot be sure.
It was this address that clinched that he was a police officer, for it was at this address that James filed an Invalid Claim for Increase on 7 Sept 1885. John Wells and Frank Wadlow were the witnesses on this affidavit. This was also the address daughter Jennie gave on her marriage license application to Joseph Titus. The couple was married 3 December 1885. James filed an increase again on 16 August 1886 and claimed the same address. The witnesses on that affidavit were R. B. Robinson and James A. Green or Greer.
What is also known is that he went on to become a maker of lightning rods, per the 1887/1888 city directory for Pittsburgh and Allegheny City.
While his adventures as a police officer were over and done with, there was still more to his story, especially his involvement with the Grand Army of the Republic. But that is better left for another blog post.
Sources Used:
"Allegheny Briefs," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 19 February 1885, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 24 September 2021).
"Allegheny Committee Work: Business Before the Police and Health Committees," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 2 August 1883, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 23 September 2021).
"The Allegheny Investigation," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 28 February 1882, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 24 September 2021).
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Invalid Claim for Increase for James Fielding, co E, 155th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, claim number 11390, filed 7 Sept 1885; Scanned copy provided in the pension file for James Fielding from NARA sent to Kelley Wood-Davis 29 Jan 2020 by Deidre Erin Denton, genealogist; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
J.F. Diffenbacher's directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1882/1883 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher and Thurston, 1882), 273, "Fielding, James, police, 209 Washington av, A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 29 July 2016).
J.F. Diffenbacher's directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1884/1885 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher and Thurston, 1884), 315, "Fielding Jas, agt, 135 James A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 29 July 2016).
J.F. Diffenbacher's directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1885/1886 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher and Thurston, 1885), 312, "Fielding Jas, Police, 56 Hemlock, A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 29 July 2016).
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J.F. Diffenbacher's directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1887/1888 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher and Thurston, 1887), 328, "Fielding Jas, lightning rods, 160 James, A(llegheny"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 28 July 2016).
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"Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 22 February 2020), Entry for Joseph Titus and Jennie Fielding, 3 Dec 1885, cn 568, referencing Allegheny County (Pennsylvania), Clerk of the Orphans' Court, Marriages, volume 1, page 190, FHL microfilm number 878577; citing various county courthouses, Pennsylvania.
"Stoning a Marching Club," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 16 August 1884, page 4; online images, Google News (https://news.google.com/newspapers : accessed 24 September 2021).
Surgeon's Certificate in Case of James Fielding, Application for Increase dated 25 November 1885; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); RG 15, 2,807 rolls, NA–Washington.
"Wyman's Brigade: New Police Force of Allegheny on Duty," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 2 May 1884, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 23 September 2021).
