U.S. v. Volney Davis (D. Minn.)

Federal criminal case file at the National Archives for Volney Davis, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the Bremer kidnaping. 1,906 digitized pages.

Date: 1923/1956
Kind: case-file
Source: National Archives Catalog
Retrieved: 2026-10-12
NAID: 24731545
Rights: A record of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, held by the National Archives in Record Group 21, Records of District Courts of the United States. A United States government work, public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105. The National Archives catalog marks use "Unrestricted." Local identifier SS24.

The National Archives catalogs this file unit as “U.S. v. Volney Davis,” local identifier SS24, with 1,906 page images online, and gives no scope note. The research for this archive identifies it with the Bremer kidnaping prosecution at St. Paul, in which, as the Eighth Circuit’s 1955 opinion states, Davis pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment on June 7, 1935. The catalog’s date range runs to 1956, the years of his later motion.

The pages were not read for this archive.

itemVolney Davis v. United States, 226 F.2d 834 (8th Cir. 1955)The Eighth Circuit's opinion on Volney Davis's motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 attacking the life sentence imposed on 7 June 1935 after his guilty plea to conspiring to kidnap Edward George Bremer. The order denying relief was affirmed.

itemAlcatraz warden's notebook page for Volney Davis, No. 271Bureau of Prisons notebook page with the identification photograph of Volney Davis, No. 271, received at Alcatraz from Leavenworth on 26 October 1935 under a life sentence for conspiracy to transport a kidnapped person (Minnesota, St. Paul); stamped transferred to Leavenworth on 30 March 1947. A copy is stored here.

item"The Kidnaping of Edward George Bremer, St. Paul, Minnesota": FBI investigation summary, I.C. #7-576 (19 November 1936)A 126-page Bureau narrative of the Bremer kidnaping case: Kate Barker's background, the death of Herman Barker in 1927, the 16 January 1935 shooting at the Lake Weir cottage, and Karpis's arrest at Apartment 1, 3343 Canal Street, New Orleans on 1 May 1936. A copy of page 1 is stored here.