Published: 04/07/2007 Fallen city officers long gone, but not forgotten By Stephen Tait Staff Writer
NEWBURYPORT - It was 102 years ago when Capt. Patrick Creeden rushed to the Boston and Maine Bridge over Merrimac Street to stop two suspects attempting to flee town - and justice - by hopping a train. The 46-year-old Creeden, along with another officer, boarded the train to inspect the train cars and spotted the men. It was 4 a.m. As the 18-year veteran went to step off the train as it left the station, he "stumbled," according to a newspaper account of the accident. Adams and one of the suspects "rushed towards him but it was too late, as the unfortunate officer pitched over the bridge into the street below," a local newspaper report read. "The affair is one of the saddest that has occurred in the city for some time," the report continued.
Now, more than a century later, Creeden, along with John Page Jr. and Charles Wells - two other Newburyport police officers who died in the line of duty - will be memorialized at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., on May 13. The three will be the first officers from Newburyport to receive the honor, Inspector Brian Brunault said. The ceremony will be attended by several Newburyport police officers. "To memorialize these public servants is the greatest show of gratitude you can offer a family and their department," Brunault said. Brunault added that he and other Newburyport officers haven't been able to find descendants of the fallen men to share the honor with. The quest to honor the officers started about two years ago when City Marshal Thomas Howard returned from a ceremony in Boston that honored officers from throughout the state who had died in the line of duty. Upon returning, Howard said he wanted to make sure any Newburyport officers who had died were also honored. "I wanted to make sure that we recognized anybody in the past who made the ultimate sacrifice for this community," Howard said. With that, the marshall told Brunault to start researching. Brunault pored through documents at the department and ended up getting information from documents at the public library, including newspaper clips from decades-old Daily News newspapers. "It was very time consuming," Howard said. In the end, though, Brunault was able to find three local police officers who died in the line of duty. The first of the three was Creeden, a married father of six children who died the day after Christmas in 1905.
According to records provided by Brunault from his research, Creeden was the commander of the night force for nine years before his death. He served on the force for 18 years. Creeden died from internal injuries after falling from the train bridge. In 1920, Wells, 64, died from a heart attack. On Jan. 15, at 4:10 a.m., the 38-year police veteran responded to a house fire at Prospect Park. He and other city officers "procured a sleigh" to respond to the fire, a news report about the incident said. At the scene, Wells collapsed and was taken to a doctor's house. "He realized that it was the end for he made a remark to that effect to those who were assisting him," the newspaper report said. The report said that Wells' doctor had warned him for years to give up police work "if he wanted to live." As a younger man, Wells was a sailor who traveled much of the world, "so that he visited all the navigable waters," the report says. He also worked as a carpenter before joining the police force. Wells and Creeden do have a connection in that when Creeden died in 1905, Wells replaced Creeden as the captain of the night force. Wells was not married and did not have any immediate relatives at the time of his death. The most recent of the deaths was Page, a motorcycle officer, who died on July 2, 1927, in a motorcycle accident. Page, 30, the married father of two daughters, was driving his motorcycle on State Street when he collided with an Essex touring car, driven by a Rowley man, a newspaper account stated. The accident took place near Stone's garage. Page later died at Anna Jaques Hospital of a hemorrhage. "At the time, Officer John J. Fenders was on the operating table prepared to give his blood for transfusion into the veins of his brother officer," the article states. "His devoted wife was crushed by the death of her loved companion and was in a state of collapse," it goes on to report. Page was a veteran of World War I, where he served for 18 months, mostly in France. He became an officer in 1921 and was made a motorcycle officer in 1926 by Mayor Oscar Nelson. "Mr. Page was a man of strong and striking personality; had a fine physique, ruddy complexion, always with a smile on his face and a cheery word for all," the article said. "He appeared to have untiring energy."
Patrick Creeden Death: Dec. 26, 1905 Age: 46 Years of service: 18 Rank: Captain Children: Six Marital Status: Married Cause of Death: Fell from train bridge
John Page Jr. Death: July 2, 1927 Age: 30 Years of service: 6 Rank: Officer Children: Two daughters Marital Status: Married Cause of Death: Motorcycle accident
Charles Wells Death: Jan. 15, 1920 Age: 64 Years of service: 38 Rank: Captain Children: none Marital status: single Cause of Death: Heart attack (after hauling a sleigh to a house fire)
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