As a kid, I recall my relatives occasionally mentioning Cousin Andy, my grandmother’s cousin who spent much of his life in prison for committing various crimes. He had even broken into my grandparents’ house and stolen a few items, an offense for which he promptly turned himself in to authorities. Besides these details, I didn’t know much more about him, and he had mostly faded from my memory.

Then, in 2020, a phone call with my dad sparked a renewed interest in Cousin Andy. My dad had seen a documentary about Attica Prison, which mentioned the prison’s first inmate to escape. They even showed his picture. It was Andrew Cleveland, a.k.a. Cousin Andy! Intrigued, I decided to research Cousin Andy’s life and criminal history. I discovered the incident at Attica was not his only prison escape. I also learned that he had outlived the rest of his immediate family by more than 25 years. Cousin Andy’s own life had come to a sudden and violent end, and his death started a chain of events that made headlines all over the country.

Andrew Bolt Cleveland was born on 1 June 1919. Although his name does not appear in the New York State birth index in 1919, multiple sources, such as his World War II Draft Registration, identify his birthplace as Arcade, New York.¹ The third child of Noel and Clara Bolt Cleveland, Andy never knew his eldest sister, Florence, who died in 1910, shortly before her second birthday. Her cause of death was enterocolitis,² inflammation of the small intestine.³ His second sister, Mildred, died in 1924 when she was just 10 or 11.⁴ A younger brother, Theron, was born in 1923.⁵ About 1927 the family moved from Arcade, New York⁶ to Lawrence Township in Tioga County, Pennsylvania.⁷

Andy earned his common school diploma in Lawrenceville in 1935.⁸ Even as a child Andy had exhibited the behavior that would land him in hot water later in life. My grandmother, who was less than a year older than him, described him as a “kleptomaniac.” He had an apparently uncontrollable compulsion to take things, like pencils, from other children. After leaving school he briefly worked as a farmhand in Pennsylvania and New York, earning $1 a day.⁹

Andy’s criminal activity began shortly after his 18^th birthday in June 1937 with a series of six burglaries he committed throughout New York State. On the night of 21 June 1937, he broke into a gas station in Watkins Glen, New York and stole cash. The amount of money that was stolen varies in different sources. Prison records indicate $28.15 was stolen, while newspapers reported the amount to be $32.50. By the time Andy was apprehended for the crime, he had already spent most of the money on new clothes.¹⁰ Two days later, he broke into a gas station in Virgil, New York and stole cigarettes, candy, chewing gum and about 78 cents.¹¹ Just one day later, on 24 June 1937, he committed four burglaries in Bath, New York. During one of these burglaries, he stole a revolver, which he sold to a boy who then handed the weapon over to authorities. Different newspapers give varying accounts of how he was identified as the culprit, but the Elmira Star Gazette reported that a taxi driver who had driven him from Watkins Glen to Corning provided a description that led to his arrest. Cortland newspapers claimed that investigators discovered green paint on Andy’s clothing, which came from fresh paint applied at the garage in Virgil that was burglarized. This led to Andy’s confession to that crime. Prison records also noted that Andy would sometimes use the name Jack Knight as an alias. He was charged with and convicted of third-degree burglary for the gas station burglary in Watkins Glen, and was sentenced to 18 months to 10 years in the Elmira Reformatory.¹²

Andy was paroled from the Elmira Reformatory 2 June 1939 after serving just under 2 years. As soon as he was released, he was arrested again and taken to the Cortland County Jail to face charges for the 1937 burglary in Virgil, New York. He plead guilty and received a suspended sentence. After receiving this sentence, he stated he would return home to Pennsylvania as soon as he could.¹³ Andy’s freedom was short-lived, however. On 13 June 1939, a little more than a week after receiving his suspended sentence, he was arrested for burglary again, this time in Kingwood, West Virginia. He was sentenced to 1 to 15 years at the West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville. Andy possibly only served about a year of this sentence because he was arrested again on 26 August 1940 in Buffalo, New York for a parole violation.¹⁴ This arrest is likely what led to his imprisonment at Attica.

The incident that landed Andy on TV screens occurred on the morning of 9 July 1943. He was part of a group of 40 prisoners working in a gravel pit outside the prison walls. When he had the chance, Andy reportedly ran toward the nearby woods about 9:47 a.m. and headed south. The prison whistle went off and guards quickly began searching the surrounding area.¹⁵ Just over an hour later, Andy was caught by two guards 3 miles from the prison. Before the escape, Andy was just two months from a possible parole.¹⁶  

During his time at Attica, Andy suffered the loss of two close family members. On the night of 7 December 1940, Andy’s 17-year-old brother, Theron, along with another teenager named Frank Tremaine, was struck by a car and killed. Newspaper reports said the boys were hitchhiking near Lawrenceville when they were hit. Both boys were rushed to a nearby hospital. Frank was pronounced dead on arrival, and Theron died shortly thereafter from severe brain injuries.¹⁷ After Theron’s death, Andy became his parents’ only surviving child. Nearly three years later, Andy’s father, Noel, died at the age of 59. Andy’s mother was still alive, but she suffered from serious health problems. As an adult, she had been thrown from a hay wagon which resulted in her being confined to a wheelchair.¹⁸

Andy was paroled from Attica on 24 April 1945, at the age of 25. Five days later he broke into a gas station near Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. He was arrested again and returned to Attica.¹⁹ Andy was released from Attica sometime before 9 April 1949, when, at the age of 29, he married 17-year-old Ruth Padgett in Tioga, Pennsylvania. Ruth’s father had to give his consent for the marriage due to her age.²⁰ Once they were married, the couple lived with Andy’s mother in Covington Township, Pennsylvania and he worked as a state road laborer. It’s unclear if Ruth was aware of Andy’s past when they were married, but he was not able to keep it a secret for long.

On 6 May 1949, less than a month after he was married, he broke into a gas station in Covington where he stole $15. That same night he stole two vehicles, one of which belonged to his uncle. Andy was arrested a week later and plead guilty to one count of burglary and two counts of larceny. He was fined, and sentenced to 9-18 years imprisonment. Andy was sent to the Eastern Penitentiary at Philadelphia,²¹ the one-time home of famous criminal Al Capone. The next year, Andy’s mother died²² and Ruth filed for divorce.²³

During his incarceration for the 1949 burglaries, Andy applied for clemency at least twice. In his 1956 application when asked, “Why do you believe your application should be granted?” Andy responded:

“I have seen the folly of crime and I am for the first time reformed. I have a trust fund of $4400 to help me start life anew. I am ready to lead a normal usefull [sic] life and become a lawabiding [sic] citizen. Nothing can ever make me resort to my stuipid [sic] way of past life again. I have looked at myself and I’m positive I have changed.”

When asked how he will maintain himself if released, he said: “I have $200.00 in my account and a trust fund of $4400 forlife [sic] left me by my mother, Interest of $360.00 drawn yearly.”²⁴ His request was denied. The next year, in 1957, Andy made another prison escape. He had been transferred from the Eastern State Penitentiary to the State Correctional Institute at Graterford in Montgomery County, PA. This time, Andy managed to hitchhike his way all the way to Hemlock, New York, a distance of nearly 300 miles. He was caught five days after his escape when the wife of a former county sheriff saw him walking along the highway. She thought he seemed suspicious, and she notified the local sherrif.²⁵ This escape led to another sentence of 18 months to 3 years. In 1960, Andy applied for clemency again, this time stating:

“…I am fully reformed and I Have 11 ½ straight years in prison for burglary, and I am ready to accept Parole and keep it. And any more time I am made to do will only keep me from making money for my old age. I also have a small trust fund to take care of me if I should need it.”

When asked who he would live with, he said, “I have no people, I will get a good farm job and live with whoever I work for.” This second request was also denied.²⁶

Andy was released from prison sometime in the early 1960’s when he was in his early 40’s. It was possibly at this time when he broke into my grandparents’ home. He had hidden in their barn one Sunday morning, waiting for the family to leave for church. After they left, he entered the house by breaking a basement window. Stolen items included a camera, an old pair of pants and some cupcakes. When they returned home, my grandmother asked who had eaten some of the cupcakes, to which, of course, no one admitted. That was the only thing that seemed amiss until they received a call from the State Police letting them know that Andy had burglarized their house, and immediately turned himself in.²⁷

On 9 February 1964, Andy pulled a similar stunt at the home of another cousin, Wilbert Cleveland. On this morning, he again waited for the family to leave for church. Then, he entered the home and stole $513. Andy then took off for Las Vegas, where he was caught a few days later. Andy plead not guilty to the charges, testifying that the money he had in his possession was from his trust fund. He was convicted on 28 April 1964. Among the evidence that helped convict him included his fingerprints found on an item in the house which contained some of the money, a heel print in the house, and an eyewitness account from a neighbor who testified that he had seen Andy enter the house the day of the crime. He was sentenced to 5-10 years in the Eastern Correctional Diagnostic and Classification Center. In 1966 he filed a motion for a new trial, claiming that his legal counsel informed him that he could only file an appeal if he had the funds to do so, which he did not. His motion for a new trial was denied, along with several other petitions he filed.

In February 1970 Andy was briefly paroled and stayed at the Salvation Army in Philadelphia. By July he was back in the State Correctional Institute at Graterford. On 2 July 1971 he escaped from the State Correctional Institute at Rockview in Centre County. He was caught the next day just a few miles away in Bellefonte. He had approached a security guard at Corning Glass Works and asked for a drink. The security guard recognized the prison’s clothing and contacted the prison. The security guard held Andy until officers could arrive to take him back to the prison.

Following this incident, Andy underwent an evaluation. Notes from the report include the following:

“He has not participated in school classes at SCIH [State Correctional Institute at Huntingdon]. No participation in Department of Education G.E.D. Examination. Borrows fiction books frequently from the Library. Does not participate in Organized Sports, Music Program or A.A. Meetings as a member.”

“This is an elderly individual who has a history of recidivism and schizoid behavior. He was hospitalized in September 1970 for a schizophrenic reaction. During his incarceration he has been pleasant and conforming but does not extend himself into institutional program [sic]. Vocationally he best performs simple assignments which permit him to work alone. His immediate family is deceased and due to his past adjustment problems a structured agency or Community Treatment program is essential to his release and return to society.”²⁸

Andy was clearly troubled. However, there’s no evidence that he ever physically hurt another person.

Between 1970 and 1972 he regularly corresponded with my grandmother. He spent this period of his life at the Salvation Army and various state prisons throughout Pennsylvania. My grandmother would send him a birthday card, and would even fulfill an occasional request. In 1970 he told her the Sheriff in Wellsboro was holding some of his belongings, and asked my grandmother if she would pick them up and send them. She did so, only to be told that they had nothing belonging to Andy.²⁹ In 1972 he asked if he could stay at her house when he received a furlough later that year. He promised to be “a perfect gentleman” while at her house.³⁰ I’m assuming that request was denied. It’s amazing to think about the kindness my grandmother continued to show him, despite his breaking into their home. He also visited my grandparents’ house for dinner on at least one occasion. Andy would anxiously inquire about his other cousins, along with aunts and uncles in his letters. They were, after all, his closest living relatives.

During this period, Andy’s health began to decline. He mentioned numerous times that he was suffering from emphysema and an ulcer.³¹ These letters also occasionally included information that my grandmother probably would have preferred not to know. At one point he described getting a prostate exam saying, “now I know how a virgin feels.”³² In another 1972 letter he wrote:

“I saw my first X rated movie in Pitts [Pittsburgh?] the name was Dagmars hotpants. She played a call girl had seven different women in a house showed all their breast and legs. No good for man that has not had a women [sic] in eight years. They seem to be making all skin Pictures now would rather have a good western for me.”³³

Occasionally he was reflective in his letters.

“June 1 is my birthday 53 years old getting up their [sic] and all spent in jail. Harriet do me a favor when you answer before seal envelope put a drop of perfume in envelope will you I like smell something nice again.”³⁴

Andy was free again by July 1978. His last days were spent impoverished and isolated. He was living in a room at the Hotel St. Cloud in Scranton, Pennsylvania, which a local newspaper described as a “flophouse.” His income consisted of welfare checks. He reportedly rarely left his room, likely because of his poor health. Sometime in the early morning of 2 February 1979, likely around 1 a.m., an assailant entered Andy’s room and attacked him with a hammer. Andy died of head injuries sustained in the attack. The next afternoon his body was found by a volunteer with Meals on Wheels who was delivering his lunch. The Scranton Tribune reported:

“[Andy] was found seated on his bed, slumped to one side and against a wall. He had been beaten about the head with a blunt instrument and between four and eight wounds were visible on his forehead, skull and eye.”

Andy was 59 when he died, but a photograph in the newspaper shows a man that looked much older. He was likely too feeble to put up much of a fight. A suspect named Clifford Doolittle, a drifter originally from Syracuse, New York, was quickly arrested after he got into a fight with a friend, whom he also attacked with a hammer. The motive for the murder: robbery. Doolittle had stolen one of Andy’s government-issued checks.³⁵ Andy had become a victim of the same crime he had perpetrated so many times, but at the hands of a much more dangerous criminal.

The story takes yet another turn. Just four days after Andy’s body was found, the body of his murderer was found hanging in his jail cell in the Lackawanna County Jail. The death was initially thought to be a suicide, but an investigation revealed that three other prisoners were responsible for his death. One of these other prisoners was a former high-school teacher who was serving a sentence for murder. He received a death sentence for his part in Doolittle’s murder.³⁶ The story of Doolittle’s murder was featured in newspapers all over the country. Andy continued to make news even after his death.

No one in my family was aware of Andy’s prison escape before learning about the Attica Prison documentary, although many of them were excited to hear the full story. Some relatives had even forgotten or were altogether unaware that Andy was murdered, despite the fact that it led to a national news story. The stories told around the dinner table or at family events only scratched the surface. The tendency to focus on the more positive or lighthearted memories left unpleasant events to eventually be forgotten.

For a timeline of Cousin Andy’s crimes, click here.

 Sources

1. United States, World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947,” images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2238 : accessed 19 Dec 2021), card for Andrew Bolt Cleveland, serial no. 4243, Local Draft Board #571, Warsaw, New York.

2. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Bureau of Vital Statistics, certificate of death file no. 89186, registered no. 11 (1910), Florence E. Cleveland.

3. Johnson, Jon. “What to Know About Enterocolitis.” MedicalNewsToday. E-journal. Paragraph 1. (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318567 : accessed 13 June 2021).

4. FindAGrave. Mildred L. Cleveland (1913-1924), State Road Cemetery, Mainesburg, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, memorial ID 119448242, viewed 19 Dec 2021.

5. FindAGrave. Theron N. Cleveland (1923-1940), State Road Cemetery, Mainesburg, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, memorial ID 120885139, viewed 19 Dec 2021.

6. 1925 Census, Wyoming County, New York, “Enumeration of the Inhabitants,” p. 11, line 7, household of Noal E. Cleveland; Ancestry, viewed 19 Dec 2021.

7. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Bureau of Vital Statistics, certificate of death file no. 101954, registered no. 38 (1943), Noel A. Cleveland.

8. “Special Diplomas,” The Wellsboro Gazette, 13 June 1935, HTML edition, archived (https://newspaperarchive.com : accessed 19 Dec 2021), p. 3, col. 3.

9. New York. Department of Correction: Elmira Reformatory. Receiving Blotter: Andrew Bolt Cleveland. New York State Archives, Albany, New York.

10. “Youth Denies Guilt in Glen Burglary,” Elmira Star Gazette, 1 July 1937, HTML edition, archived (https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html : accessed 19 Dec 2021) p. 9, col. 5.

11. “Burglary Charge,” Cortland Standard, 6 July 1937, HTML edition, archived (https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html : accessed 19 Dec 2021) p. 2, col. 5.

12. “Nye Sentences Cleveland And Daniels,” Elmira Star Gazette, 6 July 1937, HTML edition, archived (https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html : accessed 19 Dec 2021) p. 8, col. 7.

13. “Suspended Sentence,” Cortland Standard, 5 June 1939, HTML edition, archived (https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html : accessed 19 Dec 2021) p. 2, col. 4.

14. Records of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor (RG-64), Board of Pardons, Commutations and Pardons: Denied, circa 1948-1990, Case No. A3926, Andrew Bolt Cleveland, Series # 64.3, Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. December 1956 Session.

15. “Guard Drag-Net Soon Returns Young Con to Place Behind Walls,” The Attica News, 15 July 1943, HTML edition, archived (https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html : accessed 19 Dec 2021) p. 1, col. 2.

16. “Attica Prison Inmate Captured Two Hours After His Escape,” Arcade Herald, 16 July 1943, HTML edition, archived (https://newspaperarchive.com : accessed 18 Dec 2021) p. 1, col. 4.

17. “Says Blossburg Man To Be Charged With Manslaughter IN Hit-Run Crash Killing Two Youths At Lawrenceville,” Corning Evening Leader, 9 Dec 1940, HTML edition, archived (https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html : accessed 19 Dec 2021) p. 12, cols. 1-2.

18. Personal Interview with Harriet Higgins, 6 July 2021.

19. “Returned to Prison,” Elmira Star Gazette, 31 May 1945, HTML edition, archived (https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html : accessed 19 Dec 2021) p. 14, col. 4.

20. Pennsylvania. Tioga County. Application for Marriage License. County Register’s Office, Wellsboro. Cleveland-Padgett, 1949. No. 19198.

21. Pennsylvania. Tioga County. In the Court of Quarter Sessions of Tioga County, Pennsylvania. April Sessions, 1949. No. 31. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Andrew Bolt Cleveland.

22. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Bureau of Vital Statistics, certificate of death file no. 5762, registered no. 2 (1950), Clara J. Cleveland.

23. Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Divorce Records. Ruth Cleveland, a minor by Howard Padgett, her guardian vs. Andrew Cleveland, No. 7, Nov. Term 1950. Prothonotary’s Office, Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.

24. Records of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor (RG-64), Board of Pardons, Commutations and Pardons: Denied, circa 1948-1990, Case No. A3926, Andrew Bolt Cleveland, Series # 64.3, Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. December 1956 Session.

25. “Escaped Prisoner Arrested on Tip From Mrs. Beam,” The Livonia Gazette, 18 July 1957, HTML edition, archived (https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html : accessed 18 Dec 2021) p. 1, col. 6.

26. Records of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor (RG-64), Board of Pardons, Commutations and Pardons: Denied, circa 1948-1990, Case No. A3926, Andrew Bolt Cleveland, Series # 64.3, Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. December 1960 Session.

27. Personal Interview with Mary Turner, 6 July 2021.

28. Pennsylvania. Tioga County. In the Court of Quarter Sessions of Tioga County, Pennsylvania. February Sessions, 1964 No. 54. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Andrew Bolt Cleveland.

29. Andrew Cleveland. Letter. 23 March 1970 to Harriet Higgins. Privately held by Lindsey Harner, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 2021.

30. Andrew Cleveland. Letter. 10 January 1972 to Harriet Higgins. Privately held by Lindsey Harner, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 2021.

31. Andrew Cleveland. Letter. 3 March 1972 to Harriet Higgins. Privately held by Lindsey Harner, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 2021.

32. Andrew Cleveland. Letter. 12 March 1971 to Harriet Higgins. Privately held by Lindsey Harner, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 2021.

33. Andrew Cleveland. Letter. 8 June 1972 to Harriet Higgins. Privately held by Lindsey Harner, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 2021.

34. Andrew Cleveland. Letter. 26 May 1972 to Harriet Higgins. Privately held by Lindsey Harner, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 2021.

35. “Syracuse Drifter Held For Central City Slaying,” The Scranton Tribune, 3 Feb 1979, HTML edition, archived (https:newspapers.com), received from Lackawanna Historical Society.

36. “Karabin Sentenced to Death,” The Scranton Tribune, 9 Aug 1979, HTML edition, archived (https:newspapers.com), received from Lackawanna Historical Society, p. 1, cols. 2-5.