Robert Franklin Stroud (1890 - 1963)

Robert Franklin "Birdman of Alcatraz" Stroud was born January 28, 1890 in in Seattle, King, Washington, United States.^[1][2] He was a son of Benjamin Franklin Stroud and Elizabeth Jane McCartney.^[1][3] His mother had two daughters from a previous marriage. His father was an abusive alcoholic, and Stroud ran away from home at the age of 13. By the time he was 18, he had become a pimp in Juneau, Alaska.^[2]

In January 1909, he shot and killed a bartender who attacked his mistress, a crime for which he was sentenced to 12 years at the McNeil Island federal penitentiary in McNeil Island, Pierce, Washington, United States. Stroud was received at McNeil Island on August 30, 1909 and he was prisoner # 1853-M. Stroud gained a reputation as a dangerous inmate who frequently had confrontations with fellow inmates and staff.

On September 5, 1912, Stroud stabbed a fellow inmate at McNiel Island. He was sentenced to an additional six months for the attacks and was transferred to Maximum Security at Leavenworth Prison in Kansas.

On March 26, 1916, Stroud was reprimanded by cafeteria guard Andrew F. Turner for a minor rule violation that would have annulled Stroud's visitation privilege to meet his younger brother, whom he had not seen in 8 years. With a 6-inch shiv, Stroud stabbed Turner to death through the heart.

Stroud was tried for murder of the guard in May 1918, and on June 28, he was again sentenced to death by hanging.

While at Leavenworth in 1920^[4], Stroud found a nest with three injured sparrows in the prison yard, and raised them to adulthood. During his time at Leavenworth Penitentiary, he reared and sold birds and became a respected self-taught ornithologist. On May 10, 1920, Stroud's death sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole, by President Woodrow Wilson.^[2]

In the census records of 1930, Stroud is listed as married.^[5] On August 15, 1933 Stroud contracted a marriage of common law to Della May (Garner) Jones^[6] in Leavenworth, Leavenworth, Kansas.^[7] She had become acquainted with him after he had entered one of his prison canaries in a canary contest in which he won a prize that resulted her her sending him a canary, which sparked the beginning of their romance.^[7] They first met in person when she visited him at prison on April 13, 1931.^[7] Della spent 12 years trying to win Stroud's freedom from prison.^[7] It is believed he had a common law marriage to prevent being transferred to Alcatraz due to the insanitary conditions created by his bird breeding activites.^[2]

While at Leavenworth, he authored two books: "Diseases of Canaries" and "Stroud's Digest on the Diseases of Birds Note." Neither books were ever published.

Stroud was incarcerated at Alcatraz from December 19, 1942 until 1959.^[1] In Alcatraz, Stroud was prisoner # 594.^[1]Stroud was present during the famous Battle of Alcatraz.

In 1959, Stroud was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, where he remained until his death on November 21, 1963.^[1][8] Stroud died in his sleep of natural causes and infirmities of age.^[8] He was buried at Masonic Cemetery in Metropolis, Massac County, Illinois, United States.^[9]

Notes

From Alcatraz Prisoner Index:

• Name: Robert Franklin Stroud
• Birth Date: 28 Jan 1890
• Birth Place: Seattle, WA
• Father's name: Frank Robert Stroud
• Mother's name: Elizabeth Jane Mccartney
• Death Date: 21 Nov 1963
• Death Place: Springfield, MO (Mcfp)
• Date Recieved at Alcatraz: 19 Dec 1942
• Incarceration Reason: MURDER, FIRST DEGREE [CORR. OFFICER AT LEAV]
• Place of Incarceration: Alcatraz, San Francisco, California

Joshua Stroud might be his 2nd great grandfather, in which case he and Harry Dean Stanton are 5C1R through John Stroud.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Alcatraz, California, U.S. Penitentiary, Prisoner Index, 1934-1963. Online Database: Ancestry.com, 2010; Provo, UT, USA.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Document for January 28th: Warden's notebook page, with "mug shot," of Robert Stroud, 594-AZ, aka "The Birdman of Alcatraz.", U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
3. ↑ United States Census, 1900, Robert F Stroud in household of B F Stroud, Precinct 2 Seattle city Ward 3, King, Washington, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 91, sheet 7A, family 142.
4. ↑ United States Census, 1920, Robert F Stroud, 1920; US Penitentiary, ED 97, Leavenworth, Kansas, United States.
5. ↑ United States Census, 1930, Robert F Stroud, Fort Leavenworth, Leavenworth, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 17, sheet 2A, line 43.
6. ↑ "Robert Stroud (Birdman Of Alcatraz)" by Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Security Archives. https://archive.org/details/RobertStroud/mode/2up Accessed 10 September 2022.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} Love on a Bizarre Trail: A Lifetime Convict Reveals a Strange Wedding Pact. The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri) 22 Oct 1933, Page 1.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Alcatraz 'Birdman' Dies in His Sleep, Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. Hollywood, California. 21 Nov 1963, Page 1.
9. ↑ Find A Grave, memorial page for Robert Franklin Stroud (28 Jan 1890–21 Nov 1963), Find a Grave Memorial ID 996, citing Masonic Cemetery, Metropolis, Massac County, Illinois, USA.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Stroud

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRKF-QW1 : 19 May 2020), Robert F Stroud in household of Bell, Kickapoo Township, Leavenworth, Kansas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 52-16A, sheet 1A, line 29, family 1, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940.