June 22, 1903 John Dillinger is born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His parents are John Wilson & Mollie (Lancaster) Dillinger. John Wilson Dillinger owns a grocery store at 2210 Bloyd Avenue, and business is so well, that he buys four houses. The family resides at 2053 Cooper Street in Oak Hill, a northeastern section of Indianapolis. Young John has an older sister named Audrey, she was born in 1889, she is fourteen years older than her brother. John was a happy child filled with life. He had redish color hair and blue-grey eyes. He grew quickly, and before long he was up and walking, and riding his tricycle. He would sometimes ride with his father on the delivery wagon to take groceries to customers. In 1906 when John was only three years old his mother Mollie became ill and died soon afterwards. Young John because motherless. Audrey tried to help raise John until he was about five years old. At this time she married a gentleman named Fred Hancock, and her first of seven children was born in 1908. John's father began taking the child to work with him at the grocery store. John Dillinger Senior struggled to raise a child and run his grocery store at the same time. This wasn't an easy task and he would often punish young John harshly for misbehaving, which was actually pretty common in the days. Many children had a tough childhood. Many historians blame this harsh punishment for John Dillinger's future criminal career, but this was not the case. John's childrenhood had nothing to do with how he turned out in his adult life. John enrted school at Public School 38, and was considered a good student. By 1912, John Sr. became involved with and married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Fields. He sold his store and his four houses and moved to Mooresville, Indiana located about 20 miles southwest of Indianapolis. He purchased at 67 acre house and took up farming. In the beginning John resented his new step-mother, but in later years he would grow to lover her like his real mother. Lizzie and John Sr. would have three children together. Hubert, Doris and Francis Dillinger. In Mooresville, John would hunt, fish, steal watermellons, and play hookey from school on occasions with other local kids. He would work part-time jobs from time to time. He later dated his uncle's daughter, Frances Thornton, and wanted to marry her. His Uncle Everett put a stop to the relationship. Broken hearted, he stole a car from Mr. and Mrs, Oliver Macy out of the local church parking lot and drove it to Indianapolis. Fearing tht he would be arrested for car thief, he joined the navy, but deserted three months later. John returned to Mooresville. He joined a baseball team in Martinsville and later met Beryl Hovious. She became his wife on April 12, 1924. He also met Ed Singleton, a member of the team. According to Beryl Hovious, Singleton became a friend to John and Beryl. Singleton had spend years behind bars for an armed robbery, and was planning another robbery, but needed an accomplice. On the night of September 6, 1924, at the local poolhall Singleton got John Dillinger drunk on moonshine and persuaded him to rob B.F.Morgan, a local Grocer. The robbery was a complete failure, but the two escaped. John Dillinger Sr. persauaded his son to plead guilty to the attempted robbery, after talking to the Prosecutor in Martinsville, who told the elder Dillinger that his son would only receive probation for a first offence. Confident that his son would not go to jail, Dillinger's father did not hire a lawyer, or go to court with his son. Judge Joseph William's sentenced John Dillinger to a harsh 10 to 20 years in Indiana State Reformatory. In prison, Dillinger made friends with bank robbers, Harry Pierpont, Charley Makley, Homer Van Meter, and many others. They taught him the ropes. Angry and bitter towards society, Dillinger went into prison as an amateur criminal and emerged on May 22, 1934, with the skills of a professional bank robber. He robbed several banks and succeeded in breaking his friends out of Michigan State Penitentiary. Within a year the Dillinger gang would become the best known bank robbers in the business.John Dillinger would become the most celebrated outlaw of his time, but there is much more to the story. Learn all the details, the cover-ups, and the whole truth in the 515 page manuscript "Dillinger, The Hidden Truth," coming this Oct.-Nov. 2002. This is the updated and most accurate account of what really happened to outlaws of the Great Depression era. It's time to hear both sides of the story. The real story!
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