WHISKEY DICK
August 26, 1899
Arizona Republican Newspaper

Old residents of Pheonix often stand on the street corners 
and picutre in their memories the scenes of former days and 
delight in calling up the spectacle of the centrally located 
squares now covered with large and nicely appointed business 
blocks but in those days boasted nothing but sage brush and 
little adobe buildings.

One of the most historic localities was the southwest corner 
of Washington and Center Streets where now stands the Porter 
Building and adjoining it the Thibodo Building. In the days 
gone by a little adobe butcher shop stood on the corner, the 
property of Kelly and Speedy. Adjoining it was the Family 
Liquor Store owned by J.M. Montano, now a resident of Tucson. 
Next to that was a little frame building in which Frank 
Kuchler, now a Jerome businessman conducted a bakery. Next 
came the drug store where Mr. Thibodo for many years 
attended the wants of the public in the drug line, while 
the remainder of the block now occupied by the Coat's 
Building was given over to the residence and lawn of Mr. 
George F. Coats, one of the early mayors of the city.

About eleven or twelve years ago one bright sunshiny day a 
fire broke out in the rear of either the liquor store or the
 bakery and swept the block from Thibodo's to the corner. Mr. 
Montano at the time had a man in his employ in the capacity of 
porter whose absence was not noted till the fire was far 
advanced. He was at work in the cellar when the fire broke 
out and it was naturally supposed he had come up during the 
excitement of the alarm about it transported that he was 
not aware of the fire till his escape was cut off.  After 
the embers had cooled a search was made and his charred 
remains were found in a corner of the cellar whre he had 
met a horrible death.  Little seemed to be known of him 
or his previous hisotry or the residence of friends and 
relatiions if he had any.  The remains were given a 
decent seplecur and the incident passed out of mind as 
the affairs of this kind so often do in the rushing tide 
of events in a new and rapidly growing town.

Yesterday Mr. S.A. Dysart of the Phoeinx Title Guaranty Company 
received a letter from a gentleman in Cedar Rapids Iowa 
referring to the fire and the man who perished in the 
flames. The writer seeks to learn his name, saying that 
he has reasons to believe he was a man whom a woman of 
that city has been trying to find for the last twenty 
years.  It is believed that the deceased was a veteran 
of the War of the Rebellion.

He was known to those about the streets as Whiskey Dick but 
further than that little seems to be remembered about him.  
Any information regarding the man, his name, former history 
or term of residence here will be thankfully received by Mr. 
Dysart as it will enable him to do a favor to a deserving 
old lady unable to come herself in search of the desired 
information.


September 8, 1899

Some time ago a ltter was received in this city making inquiry 
regarding the man that was burned up oin the fire that occurred 
on the south side of Washington Street between Center and 
Wall STreets, a few years ago, the site now occupied by the 
Porter Block. A contributor to a local paper under the date 
of Sept. 6 took exception to the story of the fire as produced 
in the Republican, stating that the date was wrong that no one 
died or was even overcome by the heat as a result of that fire.  
More remarks included:

"So far as the reporter is concerned he was prestn at the fire 
but everything cannot be retained in memory. Hence the date of 
the fire was only given approximately. Further inquiry has proved 
that it occurred at night instead of the afternoon."  

The reporter saw the remains of the deceased in a wooden shoe box 
which had been carried across the street to the vininity of the 
old postoffice on the present site of the store of Dorris Bros. 
The remains were found in the daytime, the recalling of which 
event led to the erroneous statement that the fire occurred 
in the daytime.  For further enlightenment, the actual date 
of the fire was November 30, 1883 attested to in the files of 
the Phoenix Daily Herold.  The account reads "For one or two 
days after the fire on Wednesday night the individual known 
as Bob Fitzsimmons and was a swamper for some of the saloons 
was missing and on Saturday the suspicion prevailed that 
he may have perished in the conflagration at the corner 
of Center and Washington. Mr. Thomas Sherman and others 
made a search but found nothing to confirm the suspicion.  
On Sunday they did find the charred remains in a corner of 
the collar of the burned building. Dr. Mahoney was summoned , 
a jury and a verdict was rendered in accordance with the 
above facts.  The deceased came here from Oro Blanco, Pima 
County some three years ago, a nice young man but a hard 
drinker.  He was about 35 years of age and a native of 
New York State. The coroner buried the remains last evening."

Sep. 12, 1899

The REpublican recently published the store of the fire of 
Nov. 30, 1886 in this city calling attnetion to the sad death 
in the flames named Fitzsimmons, nown as whiskey Dick.  

A party wrote to Mr. Dysart regarding the deceased and who aside 
from the information given by this paper has bene placed in 
correspondence with Dr. J.E. Wharton formerly of this city.

Mr. Wharton in a letter states that he remembers the fire and 
the death of the man and the reason he remembers the man is 
that Dick was a natural born voter, one of the kind that begins 
early in the morning and votes all day.  As the doctor was 
usually an inspector at one of the wards and took great 
interest in local politics it stood him in hand to keep an 
eye out for 'repeaters'. Thus he made a mental note, which he
still retains to the effect that Fitzsimmons did not only vote 
often but as frequently as possible.  The doctor refers his 
correspondent to the Great Registers of 1884 and 1886 and 
an investigation shows that in the register of 1884 Richard 
Fitzsimmons, a native of New York was enrolled and in the 
register of 1886 his name appears twice.  The writer also states 
that Dick at one time talked to him about a pension and showed 
him his army papers.

Those who remmeber Dr. Wharton will be sorry to learn that he is 
in very poor health. He is now living in Nogo Missouri.



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