George Sheldon – Sheldon Genealogy

Ralph Sheldon, Al Capone’s Bootlegger

George Sheldon — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 21:38:47 +0000

Ralph Sheldon was a bootlegger and gangster. He was the head of the infamous Sheldon Gang in Chicago. His path crossed those of Al Capone and Bugsy Moran. Ralph died a mobster’s death by gunfire.

I think he was from New York City and followed Al Capone to Chicago. As prohibition was in effect, he supplied the people with the prohibited booze they wanted. He and his gang was an enforcer for Capone. Sheldon worked the south side of the Windy City, while Bugsy Moran’s controlled the north side. Both gangs were known to attack each other.

Ralph was suspected of supplying booze to Moran’s operation. Also, he may have decided to try to collect a $50,000 bounty placed on Al Capone by mobsters. Details are a bit sketchy, but Sheldon was killed in either 1929 or 1930 at Capone’s direction.

The Sheldon Gang was known for being the first to drop a bomb from an airplane. Their target was an ice cream shop.

There was another Sheldon Gang, this one was in Southern Illinois, and was called the Sheldon Brothers Gang. It is often spelled with a “T” and other times with a “D”.

Here is a photo of Ralph Sheldon with Al Capone.

Editor’s Note:

This article was originally published by George Sheldon in July 2021 in the Sheldon Genealogy Facebook Group. Details of this Ralph Sheldon’s life are sparce.

Sheldon Family Tree is Up and Running

George Sheldon — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 13:30:24 +0000

The Sheldon Family Tree is now running on SheldonGenealogy.org.

It can easily be accessed from the main menu, under the Family Tree heading.

The best place to start is probably the Search Tree. Choose that option, and enter your Sheldon ancestor.

If your Sheldon ancestor is not found, you cannot add the person. The Sheldon Family Tree can only be viewed. However, you can use the contact form on the Contact Page to provide information about your Sheldon ancestor. Your message will be forwarded to our staff that maintains the tree.

As you move around in the Sheldon Family Tree, you will find other buttons and features. You can even see actual tree branches in graphical format. The tree is visible on phones and other mobile devices, including iPads and other tablets. Of course, you can use it on either an Apple or PC computer, too.

Used Book Sale Underway at American Ancestors

George Sheldon — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 23:45:24 +0000

American Ancestors, operated by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, announced a used book sale, which runs through January 31, 2022. The sale now includes an automatic 10% off sale price.

While supplies last, now is the time to consider an addition to your home library. Currently, there are 26 web pages of used books being offered for sale.

You can access the used book sale by clicking here.

Our Calendar Is Now Online

George Sheldon — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 23:30:27 +0000

And just like that, there is another new feature on SheldonGeealogy.org. We have added our calendar to the website.

Powered by Google, the calendar shows our Zoom Chats, and when they are scheduled If you are maintaining an electronic calendar, you can add the information from the new SheldonGenealogy calendar onto your own calendar. Other events, when scheduled, will be added to this calendar.

Our calendar is currently from the About Us section of the Main Menu. You can also access the calendar page by going to this link: https://www.sheldongenealogy.org/calendar/

A New Year, A New Website

George Sheldon — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 15:56:05 +0000

Goodbye, 2021. Welcome, 2022.

Goodbye, old website. Welcome to the new website at SheldonGenealogy.org.

Announced and released officially today, the update has added many new features. We have been working on this for a little while, but last month we switched into high gear to deliver what we called Version 2.0.

Our Sheldon Family Tree database has been fully integrated into our regular website, which means a user can access the tree from anywhere within the site. With over 1500 documented entries, the Sheldon Family Tree offers sourced information of Sheldon ancestors.

Future blog entries will include more information about the other features of the new website.

Sheldon Genealogy Launched Our YouTube Channel

George Sheldon — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 19:32:00 +0000

We are announcing the launch of our YouTube channel, appropriately called Sheldon Genealogy. The address of our channel, in YouTube speak is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFxf-m127o7Fp5o9p7tgdSg

The plan is to use YouTube to deliver more information to help you with your Sheldon Family research. Much of the information will be f interest to researchers searching for other than Sheldon ancestors.

Is British Sergeant Thomas Sheldon’s Grave in Philadelphia Lost to History?

George Sheldon — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 14:53:55 +0000

by George Sheldon

Here is a mystery I stumbled across while my looking for my own SHELDON ancestors on my family tree. You never know where your search for your own ancestry may lead. This is a brief story of British Army Sgt. Thomas Sheldon. There is not much about him available online. I stumbled across him while looking for more information about Thomas Sheldon, my 5th Great-Grandfather. While researching him, I found Sgt. Sheldon.

Here is the scant information I located on Find-a-grave:

Thomas Sheldon was a sergeant in the 28th Regiment of Foot.
The 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot was a British infantry regiment from 1782 to 1881.
From 1751 to 1782 they were the 28th Regiment of Foot, and in 1881 they merged with the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot to form the Gloucestershire Regiment.

Here is the record of Sergeant Thomas Sheldon’s burial in the Christ Church Burial Ground:

Christ Church Register Details: Type of Event: Burial
Name: Thomas Sheldon
Date: 1 February 1778
Location: Book Year: 1709-1785 Page Number: 3276

Notes: “Thomas Sheldon, Sergeant of the 28th Regt.”

Christ Church Burial Grounds photo from Wikipedia

Christ Church is an Episcopal church in Philadelphia. It was founded in 1695 as a parish of the Church of England. Notable people from the time, like Betsy Ross, worshiped here. Beside the church is the Christ Church Burial Ground. A couple of things about this listing make this noteworthy (to me). Sgt. Sheldon died during the winter when General Washington was encamped at nearby Valley Forge. The British Army had taken over Philadelphia to winter there, quartering in private homes. (This could explain why we have the Third Amendment in our Constitution.)

The British Army had captured the capital of a new, fledgling nation. Members of the congress had fled left to avoid capture. There may have been some skirmishes where Sgt. Sheldon was wounded, or he may have succumbed to illness.

Sgt. Sheldon was buried somewhere in the historic graveyard where signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried. It is in the historic district of Philadephia, and perhaps the most notable grave there is that of Benjamin Franklin. Exactly where in the cemetery Sgt. Sheldon might be buried is not known. It is likely lost forever to history.

And it shows you never know what bit of history you might find while researching your genealogy and building your own family tree.