A recent post brought William H Kerrick to my attention. He was an attorney in Bloomington and part of his duties were as humane officer for the City of Bloomington in the years from 1893 to the late 1930's when he was quite elderly. He did have a short hiatus as a federal justice agent during WWI and also worked as a general practice attorney on his own account.
He was the son of a wealthy farmer in Marshall County, near Minonk, Armstead Kerrick. He was one of eleven children, all of whom were living at the time of their father's death in 1893.
William completed his legal training at the Wesleyan School of Law in 1889. He had trained at the law offices of I N Phillips and continued to work there after graduation. Four years later he was assigned the post of Humane Officer for the City of Bloomington. The Humane Officer was responsible for preventing cruelty to animals as well as women and children. He also enforced the laws regarding morality, such as laws against cohabitation. One such case was Marie Adams, a ten year old girl travelling through town with her parents. Miss Adams was found on the Leroy Road and refused to go to her parents from whom she had parted as they walked from Streator to Bloomington. Marie had no shoes or hat (it was July) and no food or money. The family had walked from Cincinatti, Ohio according to the child. Her story was not entirely believed, but her family was not immediately found. Two days later the parents were found and confirmed part of her story. The mother said that they were carnival workers, and Marie had been a dancer and singer. Fred Adams was in the hospital because of a slight accident and the mother had no work. Marie and her brother were placed in the Industrial Home for safekeeping until their parents could find work.
On another occasion, a itinerant named Yakimia came to Bloomington and accosted several young and middleaged women with offers of either fortune telling or washing powder. He was also accused of assaulting a girl of tender years in the city. Once inside a home he would try to persuade the woman/girl to come away with him. He was brought in by the police, and because he was suspected of being a white slaver, Kerrick was called in to investigate as the head of the Society for the Prevention of White Slave Traffic. A girl was missing from Champaign and Yakimia claimed to have knowledge of her whereabouts. It was suspected that he was insane and escaped from an asylum.
Those who failed to care properly for their livestock were brought before Kerrick or had their animals impounded by officers under his direction. In 1914 a particularly cruel form of torment was practiced by Joseph Houptman. He took a stray cat to the C & A yards and threw the cat into the firebox of a departing engine. Witnesses were appalled and willingly appeared for his trial.
During WWI Kerrick was the sole officer for the Department of Justice in McLean County and responsible for Illinois south and east of McLean County. He investigated "slackers" and deserters from the armed forces and on one occasion was responsible for the handling of an escaped German. Rudolph Gerhke had been a merchant seaman on a German vessel siezed just four days after the declaration of war against Germany. He had somehow escaped from his internment, and made his way from Hoboken N J to Illinois, where he had family in Champaign. He had been working for 7 or 8 months in the C & A yards before his status was detected. He had already started the process of naturalization and fulluy appreciated all the advantages of living in the U S. After Kerrick requested directions from the State Department, he was allowed to make the decision as to whether Gerhke was a danger or not. Mr. Gerhke was allowed to remain working at the C & A shops and continue life in Illinois unmolested.
William Kerrick was also involved in charitable work, providing free legal services to those who could not afford to pay. He was also very active in the musical world of Bloomington. He led the choir at his church and sang in a gentlemen's quartet at various church and fraternal celebrations.
Mr. Kerrick died in 1946 in a Peoria hospital where he had been ill for some months. His wife and children survived him along with just one of his brothers. His son, Carrolton, was a doctor in Evanston and his daughter was Lucille Mueller of Springfield. He was interred at the Evergreen Cemetery in Bloomington.
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