Chapter NINE: Jim O'brien: Modern Miracle

By George L. Herr

Several years ago I met in the Jefferson County jail, Louisville, Ky., "Dad O'Brien," one of the worst criminals I have ever known. Fifty odd years of age, forty years a thief and twenty-five years behind the bars. The sentence in the jail was a light one--one year and a half--for having received stolen property, but he had stolen from one to tens of thousands. He was son of a prominent physician of Cincinnati, for twenty years professor of anatomy in the Ohio Medical College. He began by stealing from his mother's purse and then, when punished by his father, would steal his father's instruments and sell them for revenge. His father, being a very stern man, drove "Billy" from home, and the night came on with no place to go.

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Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall
not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto
life.--John 5:24.
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He led a low, degraded life, and was finally arrested and sentenced to serve ten years in the Columbus penitentiary. When he was about to serve his first sentence--which seemed to him a lifetime--a young lady, an old schoolmate and who had been visiting him in jail, proposed marriage to him, so she could have the right to visit him in Columbus and provide him with the comforts of life, as far as possible. She was a girl of means, and he was stunned by the proposal. For, he said, he had not thought of such a thing as a wife. But he told her to come back the next day and he would let her know. She did, and he accepted and they were married on the eve of his leaving for the penitentiary. He only served part of the sentence, and when released went to the home of the girl and began life in a new way, only to fall in the old rut in a short time. He kept up his criminal life for years.

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"But this is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them
snared in holes, are for a prey, and none delivereth: for a
spoil, and none saith, Restore. Who among you will give ear to
this? Who will harken and hear for the time to come?"--Isaiah
42:22.
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The good wife died, and after her death he became one of the most notorious bank robbers in this country. While in the county jail at Louisville, Ky., Dad's friends were standing nobly by him. He had plenty of money sewed in his clothes to meet his every need. I tried hard to reach him, but he was determined not to have anything to do with a "Sky Pilot," as he called me. The first time I spoke to him he almost spit in my face, but that never daunted me. I was more determined to win him. I saw he was a diamond in the rough. He had a bright mind, a man filled with history.

While in prison in Louisville, Ky., he became interested, and determined to quit the old life. After this determination he immediately wrote his intentions to his old pals on the outside, and told them not to send him any more money, for he was done with that life. They told him he was a fool and had gone crazy, and everything else they could think of.

But he was that kind, when he made up his mind to do a thing he did it.

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The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our
refuge.--Psalm 46:7.
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Then it was my opportunity for the practical side of Christianity, for I believe in that side. His clean laundry must be supplied, extra food that his old companions had been having sent in from the restaurants must now be brought by the missionary from home. Many are the baskets of food I have carried from my cottage home to this man. But the time was coming when he was to be released and nowhere to go, and that was the thing that seemed to trouble him most.

I said: "Never mind, 'Dad,' when you get out of this prison-house come to my home, I'll take care of you and help you to a good life." Well, one night, at about 8 o'clock he knocked on the door. How glad wife and I were to see him! He often said, "How warm the fire looks and how home-like to see you all sitting around." We gave him a good warm supper, a good bed, the best room in the house, but that was not all he needed. The next day was the beginning of the real battle. The detectives were hounding him. But to keep them from rearresting him we sent him across the river until we could plead with the officers to give this man another chance. We believe had it not been for the great interest taken by John R. Pflanz, the jailer, at this time for this man, that he would have died in a cell in some far Eastern prison. He said, "What's the use? Let me alone; there is only one thing for me and that is to go back to the old life." We said, "'D,' we'll see you through."

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I know not how to go.--1 Kings 3:7.
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All this time we were trying to find employment for him. All this time he was growing impatient and would say: "A great big husky fellow like me laying around on a little man like Brother Herr." He weighed about 190 pounds, but we would encourage him by saying, "Well, Dad, you know God's people have all things in common, and he knows you are here, and when he sends to us he sends it for you as well."

One day when we were talking, he said: "Brother Herr, those old charges in Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburg, Cincinnati and New York are hanging over me and I must face them."

We said, "Well, Dad, if you have made up your mind you would rather live for God behind the bars than to live for the devil on the outside or the inside, God will see you through. Go and face these charges, and if you mean business, God will take care of you."

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I will guide thee.--Ps. 32:8.
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He went first to St. Louis and told the judge on the bench that he had quit the old life forever. They looked at him, and even those who were his bitter enemies, said, "Give him another chance; go and be a man and we will help you." He came back to our home from St. Louis, stayed a few weeks and started for the other charges, encouraged by the last trip. He went to Chicago first, and they told him the same thing there; then he went to Cincinnati, then to Pittsburg, and they said, "Dad, if you mean business you shall have a chance." Then he went to New York where he and three other men had robbed a bank of $175,000. When he went in to see the New York people they did not know him. He had been living a Christian life for several months. Salvation changes the looks of a man, and takes away the hard lines and softens the eye; and when he told them who he was, they said: "My God! where did you come from and what are you doing here?"

He told these gentlemen what had taken place in his life, and of his determination for the future. Said one wealthy man, "Well, Dad, go on your way and may God be with you and help you."

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Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee.--Is. 41:10.
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He went on a hunt for the old friend "Hinky Dink" down in the first ward. "Hinky Dink" saw him, paid for a week's lodging at the Mills Hotel, and gave him money for meals each day. Finally one day "Hinky Dink" and Dad, standing in the front of his (Hinky Dink's) saloon, called "the workingmen's bar," where they line up by the fifties at a time, looking in, "Hinky Dink" said, "Dad, you are worth $18 a week to me behind that bar." Dad said, "Me? Not me for $1,800 a week. I am a Christian, I have quit all that, never to return again." "Hinky Dink" said: "Well, what do you want, anyhow?" Dad said: "I want to go to Cincinnati to the Holiness camp meeting." "Hinky Dink" said, "Where?" (this being all Greek to him), as it was not in his line, he knew.

"Dad" repeated what he had said, and "Hinky Dink" said: "Come right over here and I'll buy you a ticket." He took him over to the railroad office, and bought him a limited ticket to Cincinnati. Dad said, when telling us, "He thought he was shipping me in the quickest way possible, but it was the Lord taking care of 'Old Dad,' and sending him in first-class style."

Again he came back to our home, stayed several weeks, then we got him $20 worth of religious books to travel around to the camp meetings to sell, and to tell his experience, for the people were eager to hear this wonderful experience of God's transforming power, wherever he went. We started him off, and he soon felt his call to preach the gospel. He was ordained in Indianapolis in 1905, and preached up and down the land, winning lost men and women for Jesus. His life was a miracle of what God's grace can do. He married a fine Christian woman, who was a great help to him in his work.

In the fall of 1908 he died a triumphant death, leaving a glorious testimony behind.

Jim O'Brien Passes Away

The Courier-Journal republishes herewith from the Indianapolis Herald an editorial by the Rev. George E. Bueler, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church, Indianapolis, Ind.:

"The Rev. William H. Frazier, alias Jim O'Brien," died at Indianapolis on Monday, October 30, 1908.

"At an early age Frazier began associating with bad boys on the streets of Cincinnati and of course was soon drawn into sin. At the age of 14 he began stealing, at first on a small scale, and increasing with the years until he became one of the most daring and successful bank robbers known in America. He was arrested and in prison many times, but when at liberty he drifted back into crime again. For forty years he was a criminal; of that time twenty-three years and six months was spent behind prison bars. Although he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars he was released from prison the last time in Louisville with only $2.40 left. What wages for forty years in the service of Satan! While incarcerated in the Jefferson County jail, at Louisville, Ky., Missionary George L. Herr found this wretched man and through many months of persistent effort found a way to his heart. At first the missionary was met with curses and abuses, but love conquered, and the result was Jim's conversion, a miracle indeed, for, from that time in January, 1903, "Dad," as he was known, lived a godly life and retrieved for the past by telling everywhere he went his life story, showing forth the glory of God's redeeming grace. No one knew better than Bro. Frazier what it meant for a man to be released from prison and again face the world. With the disgrace and odium upon him it is well nigh impossible for him to find honest employment, for no one knowing him to be an exconvict wants him in their employ, the temptation to return to the old life is strong. With this in view he began making homes for such men in large cities. While Bro. Frazier was working and starting a home in Cincinnati he was made prison chaplain for the entire city. During the past summer he and his wife came to Indianapolis. While here his physical condition gave way; he knew his end was near. To those who waited on him in his last hours he constantly affirmed his faith in God and passed peacefully away. The funeral was conducted by the Revs. Parker, Stevens and Bueler, with special singing by Mr. Maxwell, Mrs. Bueler and Mrs. Nelson. All who want a more complete account of this wonderful life should read his book, "From Crime to Christ."