George Getley

1906-09-29 – 1972-11

Motorcycle Patrolman, Camden Police Department

June 14, 2026 · Updated September 7, 2026 · 11 min read · People

George E. Getley was the son of George Thomas Getley and his wife, the former Laura Zane. An only child, he was born September 29, 1906 in Camden, New Jersey. The 1906 City Directory shows George Getley, a machinist, living at 629 Line Street in South Camden.

The 1910 Census shows George E. Getley and his parents living at 611 South 7th Street, near the corner of South 7th & Line Street. He lived much of his life near this intersection. The Getleys were still at that address as late as 1913. By the end of 1913 the family had moved to 653 Line Street.

George Thomas Getley registered for the draft on September 12, 1918. He was working as a steamfitter and living at 653 Line Street when he registered. Sadly, he died shortly thereafter, very possibly in the world-wide influenza pandemic that ravaged Camden in the fall of 1918. The 1918–1919 Camden City Directory shows Laura Getley, the widow of George T. Getley, still residing at 653 Line Street in South Camden. Laura Getley and her son were still at that address when the Census was taken in January of 1920.

On March 1, 1928 George Getley was appointed to the Camden Police Department along with Francis Guetherman, August Riehm, William Schriver, Edward Shapiro, John V. Wilkie, Earl Wright, Edward Cahill, Marshall Thompson, Stanley Bobiak, Paul Edwards, Leon Feltz, Walter Vecander, Joseph Lack, Thomas Stanton, Otto Toperzer, and Frank Wilmot.

The 1930 Census shows George Getley and his mother living at 610 Roberts Street.

By the spring of 1933 Officer George Getley was assigned to motorcycle duty. He spent the bulk of his career in law enforcement in this capacity.

In 1934 George Getley married Leah Mae Mattison, the daughter of Camden policeman Walter S. Mattison.

The April 1940 Federal Census and the City Directory both show George and Leah Getley living at 337 North 38th Street in East Camden. His widowed mother was living at 705 Blaine Street and working as a laundress at nearby Cooper Hospital. The census shows that two children had been born, Janet L., 4, and George E. Getley Jr., eight months.

George & Leah Getley's marriage foundered shortly before the compilation of the 1943 City Directory. They had been living at 3272 Remington Street in East Camden at that time. Leah Mattison Getley remarried after 1946, moved to Pennsauken by 1954, and later moved to Texas.

The 1947 Camden City Directory shows George Getley had remarried and was living at 572 Raritan Street in East Camden with his second wife, the former Anna Mae Jamison.

George and Anna Getley returned to South Camden in the late 1950s and 1960s, making their home at 649 Line Street. Christine Hickman, who grew up on the block, recalls the following:

He and his wife Ann lived at 649 Line Street and he used to come home with his motorcycle and sidecar, I guess on breaks or for lunch. I was about 12 or 13. I had heard he was sick when they moved and that is the year. My family moved in 1969. I loved them both and always thought of them when we moved away.

By the fall of 1969 they left Camden. The Getleys had moved to Cape May, New Jersey shortly before his death in November of 1972. Anna Mae Getley, last a resident of Berlin, New Jersey, passed away in October of 2003 at the age of 94.

Man, Robbed, Left in Road By Kidnappers

Camden Courier-Post — June 5, 1933

Byron P. Cobb Beaten by Autoists; Roll of $4700 Taken

Byron P. Cobb, 62, the “Sun Doctor,” was kidnapped by three men early yesterday, beaten and robbed of $4,700 before being tossed from a moving automobile in Farnham Park. Detectives found him in a sub-conscious condition lying in the middle of River Drive, after a motorist had heard his moans and notified police.

Three South Camden youths, arrested for a motor violation at about the time Cobb was found, later were identified by the awning manufacturer as the ones who kidnapped and robbed him. They are Primo Fioravanti, 20, of 435 Division Street; Anthony Scanalvilli, 20, of 326 Division Street; and John Piliere, 19, of 1130 South 3rd Street. All are being held on charges of kidnapping, atrocious assault and battery, and highway robbery.

Cobb, who for many years operated an awning manufacturing shop at Fifth and Royden Streets, told police he met the three who robbed him in a restaurant near Broadway and Kaighn Avenue. He said he bought them food and in return they offered to take him to his home in their automobile. As soon as he entered the machine, Cobb told Detectives George Zeitz and Leon Branch, someone hit him over the head. Two of the men then went through his clothing and took the $4,700 from his pockets — money he had drawn from his bank to pay off a mortgage.

A few minutes after 2 a.m., William P. Tyler, of 1493 Greenwood Avenue, driving past the park, heard someone shout “murder” several times and called police headquarters. Detectives Zeitz and Branch searched the section and then drove down River Drive, where they discovered Cobb lying in the middle of the roadway. The injured man was taken to Cooper Hospital, where he was revived.

Meanwhile Motorcycle Patrolmen George Getley and Earl Stopfer stopped a car at Mt. Ephraim and Ferry Avenues which had aroused their suspicions as it sped down Mt. Ephraim Avenue. Piliere was driving and could not produce a registration card or driver's license. The car was later claimed by Pietro Tocco, 35, of 717 South Fourth Street, who said it had been stolen from in front of his home. When police found two pieces of rubber hose in the rear of the machine, all three were taken to detective headquarters, where Cobb identified them as his robbers. Police held all three without bail for a hearing before Judge Pancoast.

Jobless Men Aid Police to Trap Suspects

Camden Courier-Post — June 19, 1933

Surround House in East Camden and Prevent Escape of Two

Surrounding a vacant house at 331 Boyd Street which two alleged thieves had entered, a group of unemployed men yesterday cut off every avenue of escape until police arrived. The men, who were found hiding in a second-floor closet, police said, gave their names as Barney Runyon, 26, and William Newcomb, 22, both of 2301 Mickle Street.

A telephone call to the home of Patrolman Earl Stopfer, of 226 Boyd Street, informed Mrs. Stopfer that two men were in the house. With her husband on desk duty at city hall, Mrs. Stopfer went to the home of Lieutenant Nathan Petit, 320 Boyd Street, but he was out. She then sent a group of unemployed men working on community gardens in the rear of her home to the scene and telephoned police.

The unemployed men were circled about the house when a patrol crew under Patrolman George Getley arrived. The two men already had dismantled plumbing fixtures, Getley said. They were committed in default of $500 bail each for a hearing in police court.

Man Held in Threat as Woman Faints

Camden Courier-Post — June 29, 1933

Landlord, Seeking Rent, Denies He Intended to Shoot Tenant

Residents along the 900 block on Howard Street were thrown into a turmoil at 9:15 a.m. yesterday by a reported shooting, after a woman, screaming for help, ran from her home and fainted on the street. The police arrested Charles Bensley, 73, of 936 Howard Street, charged with threatening to kill Mrs. Anna Morgan, 55, of 934 Howard Street, and carrying concealed deadly weapons.

A few minutes later Police Judge Pancoast held Bensley without bail for the grand jury. He admitted having the pistol at the hearing, but had denied possession of the weapon when first arrested. “Were you going to shoot her?” the court asked. “No,” Bensley replied, “I don't know what made me do this, I think I'm half-crazy. I own the house and wanted to collect the rent or make her move.”

When Motorcycle Patrolmen Russell Young and George Getley arrived in front of Bensley's home, 100 neighbors were crowding the street outside. Bensley eluded them and ran out the front door after pretending to make for the back; he was grabbed by August Hasher, 41, of 217 Erie Street, a bystander.

Meanwhile, a motorist had taken the unconscious Mrs. Morgan to Cooper Hospital. She was questioned by Detectives Clifford Del Rossi and George Zeitz. She said Bensley came into her home to talk about rent two months overdue, asked whether she had received a court notice to move, then said, “Well, I'm going to take the law in my own hands,” and pulled out a pistol. The police found a .38-caliber revolver and a box of bullets hidden behind a rafter in the cellar of his home.

Third Suspect Seized in Holdup at Cemetery

Camden Courier-Post — August 10, 1936

Chester Mignogna, 23, of 429 Stevens Street, was arrested Saturday for complicity in a holdup of Jacob Mutzer, 62, of 417 Carteret Street, on June 16. He will be arraigned in police court today.

Patrolman George Getley made the arrest on complaint of Detective Clifford Carr, investigating the case. Two others were arrested recently and held for grand jury action for the robbery: Michael Meloni, 22, of 312 South Fourth Street, and Dominic Vizzone, 25, of 316 South Fifth Street.

Mutzer said three men offered to give him a ride home late one night as he was standing at Broadway and Benson Street. He said they took him to Evergreen Cemetery, where they beat him and stole his watch and $60 in cash.

M.F. Middleton Felled by Gas in House Here

Camden Courier-Post — February 28, 1938

Former City Commissioner Found Unconscious in Old Home

With gas flowing from a pipe detached from a gas range, former City Commissioner Melbourne F. Middleton, Jr., was found unconscious in the kitchen of his former home at 538 Cooper Street early Saturday night. Middleton was reported still to be in critical condition at West Jersey Hospital, where he was taken.

Middleton, a former president of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and one-time city councilman, was found by a son, C. Barry Middleton, and a friend, John Williams Rossell. Young Middleton said his father had told the family he intended to take up some linoleum in the kitchen of his former home. When Middleton failed to return home for dinner, his son and Rossell searched for him and notified police.

Patrolmen Frank Cavallo, Henry Lutz, Walter Vecander and George Getley responded in radio cars and gave first aid until the Camden Fire Department First Aid Squad arrived. The firemen worked on the former commissioner for an hour with an inhalator before ordering his removal to the hospital, where they continued to work on him for another hour but were unable to revive him.

Members of the Firemen's First Aid Squad responding to the call were Deputy Chief William R. Harring, and Hosemen Christopher Moll, William Spencer, Harry Haines, Russell Anderson, William Harry Deitz and Nelson Andrews. City Detectives Benjamin Simon, Joseph Mardino and William Marter investigated the cause.

5 Accused Cops to Ask Rhone for Full Exoneration

Camden Courier-Post — September 17, 1948

Claim Falsifications of N.J. Work Record in Overpass Case

Capt. Nathan Petit scanning payroll records, Baird Boulevard overpass pay case, 1948 — Capt. Nathan Petit scanning payroll records, with Public Safety Director Dr. Rhone in the background

Director of Public Safety Rhone soon will be asked to “completely exonerate” five of eight Camden traffic officers who have been accused of accepting pay from the state for traffic duty at the Baird Boulevard overpass during their regular city hours.

State Senator Wallace made that announcement on behalf of Sgt. Anthony Skolski and Traffic Patrolmen Charles Hance, Martin Nelson, George Getley and Everett Joslin. Wallace said he would base his appeal on testimony produced at a preliminary hearing held on orders of Dr. Rhone for all eight men, including Captain Nathan Petit and Sgts. James Wilson and Walter Vecander.

“There is no question that the payroll records which were the basis for the accusations against the five men I represent were falsified,” Wallace said. “Sergeant Wilson, who kept the records, admitted frequently in his testimony yesterday the records were ‘mistakes, errors and not based on actual time put in.’” Wilson admitted at the hearing he did not pay the traffic men the full time recorded for them on the overpass payroll records.

Five city traffic bureau members presenting their defense, 1948 — Five city traffic bureau members present their defense through counsel to Public Safety Director Dr. Rhone

Five City Traffic Bureau members presented their defense through counsel to Public Safety Director Dr. Rhone on charges they collected pay from the state for traffic duty at the Baird Boulevard overpass at the time they were required to be on duty for the city. State Sen. Bruce A. Wallace denied the charges for the five officers he represented: Sgt. Anthony Skolski, and Patrolmen Charles Hance, George Getley, Everett Joslin and Martin Nelson.

Five traffic officers questioned in the dual-job case, 1948 — Five traffic officers standing while being questioned, 1948

Traffic sergeants and a park guard waiting to be called, 1948 — Traffic Sgt. James Wilson, Walter Vecander, and Park Guard Anthony Palese waiting to be called, 1948

Officers and counsel in the overpass pay case, 1948 — all were fully exonerated

All of the officers were fully exonerated of any wrongdoing. Those pictured across the coverage included Nathan Petit, David S. Rhone, Louis T. Goldman, Bruce A. Wallace, Anthony Skolski, Charles Hance, Martin Nelson, George Getley, Everett Joslin, James Wilson, Walter Vecander, Anthony Palese, Edward Garrity and Samuel E. Johnson.

Capt. Nathan Petit and Sgt. James Wilson testify in the overpass pay probe, 1948 — Capt. Nathan Petit and Sgt. James Wilson testifying in the overpass pay probe, 1948

Principals in the Public Safety Director's probe of eight traffic department members — accused of receiving pay from the state at the time they were scheduled to be on duty for the city — testified in their own defense. At the left is Capt. Nathan Petit, in command of the city traffic bureau, and Sgt. James Wilson, who admitted he signed the payroll sheets.