Thomas Callihan - One More piece of History

If you remember, Thomas Callihan deserted on Apr 5, 1778 after leaving Valley Forge and marching to New Jersey, more specifically Haddonfield, per orders from George Washington.  His commanding officer was Colonel Israel Shreve.   Based on others in his regiment being taken prisoner on that day, I speculated that Thomas deserted because of a raid by the British. A quick google search for "2nd New Jersey Regiment Revolutionary War" turned this up on Wikipedia and several other sources:

"Through the spring of 1778, on detached duty and in cooperation with the Jersey Militia, the 2nd New Jersey gathered forage and supplies, and skirmished with the British and Loyalists for two months."

April 5th was, in fact, an important day in the history of the 2nd New Jersey.  The account continues:

"On 4 and 5 April 1778, British forces repulsed Major Richard Howell and his troops from Billingsport, New Jersey. British troops attacked Swedesboro and marched on towards Haddonfield. Col. Israel Shreve evacuated from Haddonfield about 2 am Sunday morning, 5 April, and speed marched his troops to Mount Holly. Haddonfield was attacked, two Quaker houses were burned, and American rider Miles Sage was stabbed multiple times by British (but survived). British troops proceeded to Cooper's Ferry (present site of the New Jersey access of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge). A pitched battle ensued, with about 50 American troops (most of whom were part of Shreve's Regiment),led by Major William Ellis (Gloucester Militia). Orders had been given by Shreve (and sent by Miles Sage) to vacate upon the ignition of an alarm cannon. The cannon was never fired, and Ellis refused to retreat across the Cooper Creek Bridge. Many men were wounded, killed or captured. The British were furious about the lost opportunity to capture Shreve at Haddonfield but elated about the capture of the American picket at Cooper's Ferry (including a set of spy glasses given by Washington to spy upon the Philadelphia shore). Washington was furious at Shreve and never forgave him."

The Haddonfield skirmish of April 5, 1778 was recently reenacted.

www.facebook.com/FriendsOfTheIndianKingTavernMuseum

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Thomas Callihan Rewrite

I sent a link to my Thomas and Mary Callihan post to Robert Callihan who forwarded it on to Don Callihan.  Both are founders, researchers, and major contributors to callihanfamilyresearch.org.  And they're both really nice guys.

I heard back.  It turns out I was just a tiny bit wrong.

Two things.  Three, actually.

First, Don told me there's no evidence Thomas was born in Ireland.  He could have been born in New Jersey for all we know! Well, if that's true, how come callihanfamilyresearch.org has him born in Northern Ireland?

screenshot from callihanfamily research.org

I knew I had seen that somewhere!  Maybe someone else in their research group came to that conclusion and it ended up on the website. But whatever. Apparently, documented evidence is lacking and we may never know for sure.

Second, Don told me the Callihans weren't Quakers.

Well. . . he got me there.

Since virtually ALL of my other Bedford County Irish immigrants were Quakers, and Thomas' first Bedford County land purchase was right smack in the middle of Quaker Central (aka Fishertown), and some of the Callihans married Quakers, I apparently made an incorrect assumption.

Don speculated that they may have been Presbyterian or Methodist.  Actually, not being affiliated with such a tight-knit religious group as were the Quakers could explain the affiliation at least some of them had with the Old Mock Church outside of Pleasantville.  Thomas' son, Robert, was listed in a church record as being one of its trustees.  And he and his wife are buried there.  And my great-grandfather wrote about walking there with his grandmother to go to church.

So definitely not Quakers.

The last item concerned Thomas' service in the Revolutionary War.  Did he serve or didn't he? I guess it could still be up for debate, but Don is convinced. He served.  And deserted.  After a little research of my own, and now that I know more than I did before, I would have to agree with him. And actually, the story is quite fascinating.

On Monday, 20 January 1806, Thomas put an ad in the Bedford Gazette.

photo found at callihanfamilyresearch.org

What do we learn from this?  We know he had a brother named Jacob and a sister named Nancy. They were both living in Morris County New Jersey in 1778. It appears that Thomas had been living there as well, but left in 1778 and had not had any contact with them for 28 years.  He was also letting them know he had relocated to Bedford County Pennsylvania because they would otherwise have no way knowing that.

So what was going on in 1778 that would draw Thomas away from his New Jersey family and not return?  Well, when the places and the dates match up and there are no records that could point to anyone else by the same name, the evidence becomes pretty convincing. 

According to Don, The Thomas "Callehen" or "Kallehan" listed in the records of the New Jersey 2nd Regiment was, in fact, OUR Thomas Callihan.

So he really could have been born in New Jersey???

Well, I found this myself, so. . . .

maybe.  (Actually, with no dates assigned to this record other than a time span of 271 years, this tells us absolutely nothing.  It's like it's totally compelling and completely useless all at the same time! And what's really fascinating is that as long as we don't know, it's exactly like that thing that happened with Schrodinger's cat. And that, my friends, is where science and genealogy come together.)

Back to Thomas.  The available online records and the history books paint a pretty good picture as to where he was and what he was up against.

These two reproduced military records show that Thomas "Callehen" had enlisted as a Continental soldier on January 1, 1778 with the 2nd New Jersey Regiment. It was a part of George Washington's "Grand Army". He was 20 years old.

Thomas probably experienced tearful goodbyes as he left his family members and began marching along side any other new recruits to the place the 2nd New Jersey Regiment had been ordered to spend the winter.  It was only about 80 miles from Morris County, NJ, but from what Thomas left behind it was probably a whole world away. I don't believe anything could have prepared him for what lie ahead. So where was the 2nd New Jersey Regiment in January of 1778?

 Valley Forge.

If you forgot your American History (like I did) let me fill you in.  Wikipedia puts it this way:

"Valley Forge was the military camp in southeastern Pennsylvania, approximately 20 miles (30 km) northwest of Philadelphia, where the American Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–78 during the American Revolutionary War. Starvation, disease, malnutrition, and exposure killed over 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February 1778."

Another historian wrote:

"Images of bloody footprints in the snow, soldiers huddled around lonely campfires, and Washington on his knees, praying that his army might survive often come to mind when people hear the words ‘Valley Forge.’

"Washington chose Valley Forge as the winter encampment for his 11,000 men along with approximately 500 women and children who accompanied them for several reasons. First, the lay of the land made Valley Forge a natural fortress. The army's camp sat high on a plateau at the top of a series of hills that protected it. The soldiers lived in huts built on the plateau and continued training on the parade ground at its center. Secondly, Valley Forge was far enough away from the rich farmland north of Philadelphia to prevent the army from becoming a burden on the local population. Lastly, Valley Forge was close enough to the occupied capital of Philadelphia for the Continental Army to keep an eye on the British and prevent any surprise attacks on settlements in the countryside. As Washington explained, if the army was farther away, then 'many of our friends would be exposed to all the miseries of the most insulting and wanton depredation.'

"Washington hoped that his officers and soldiers, with "one heart" and "one mind," would surmount the troubles that lay ahead of them. The lack of proper clothing was a significant problem. While Washington knew most of his men were fit for duty, he calculated that at least a third of them had no shoes. Many did not have a decent coat to protect against the constant rain that plagued the camp.

"Washington ordered his soldiers to build wooden huts for themselves, twelve by twelve feet each, and then search the countryside for straw to use as bedding. He hoped this would keep them warm since there were not enough blankets for everyone. Even worse, his quartermaster reported that he had just twenty-five barrels of flour and only a little salt pork to feed the entire army.

  

"Promising to 'share in the hardship' and 'partake of every inconvenience,' Washington moved with his closest aides into a two-story stone house near Valley Forge Creek. He spent much of his time writing to Congress, demanding more supplies for his men, while defending himself against charges of incompetence and dictatorial ambitions." (http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/valley-forge/) 

Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge (photo by Rob Shenk)

Throughout the winter of 1777-78 many men took furloughs, died, and deserted. From the book "What Can't Brave Americans Endure" The New Jersey Infantry at the Valley Forge Encampment by Joseph Lee Boyle we read, "Many men left the Army in January 1778 as their terms of service were up. For the next few months few new enlistments appeared."  Thomas would have been one of those new enlistments, arriving just prior to mid February, the hardest time for the troops. Food shortages were so severe, Boyle wrote, that Washington wrote to the President of Congress that if something was not done immediately "this Army would dissolve".

Payroll for January

Payroll for February

Extra pay awarded the troops by act of Congress
mid February due to their extreme hardship

Image of the actual Muster Roll for the 2nd New Jersey, February 1778.  Thomas "Callehen" is #21.

The above image cropped and photoshopped

Piecing together a timeline, Boyle referenced a letter written by General George Washington to Colonel Israel Shreve, the 2nd New Jersey commanding officer.  On March 19th Washington ordered them to leave Valley Forge and "march immediately" for New Jersey out of concern for British raiding parties.

So here's what we know so far.  Thomas enlisted on January 1st.  He was at Valley Forge sometime after January 1st and stayed until shortly after March 19th when his unit shipped out due to potential British raiding parties.

And then this happened:

If you're wondering what the chicken scratch is between "Casualties" and "Apl, 5, 1778", it's "Desd", which stands for "Deserted".

Why would he endure the immense suffering of Valley Forge and then on the 5th of April, 2 weeks after he marched out of there, decide to run?  Well, I think there's more to the story.  I found one more record:

   

Muster Roll, 2nd New Jersey, June 12, 1778

On the June 12th Muster Roll, Thomas "Kellehan" is #41.  Following his name is a symbol for "deserted" and the date, "5 April".

But a closer look at some of the other names on the same muster roll might give us a little more insight as to what was going on.  #'s 28-32 were all taken prisoner on the 5th of April, the exact same day Thomas deserted.

#33 was also taken prisoner on April 5th.

I think it's likely that on the 5th of April, 1778, as the New Jersey 2nd marched toward New Jersey from Valley Forge (or they may have already arrived), they did meet up with a British raiding party. As a result, several US patriots were taken prisoner.  Thomas, however, managed to escape his enemies' grasp. 

So why didn't he go back?  Of course, we'll never know. But maybe because...people were trying to kill him?? Or, as he compared the deplorable living conditions he was provided by his own military to what he could only imagine the enemy would subject him to, he couldn't allow himself to take the chance of ever becoming a prisoner of war. There's also a good possibility that as he ran to escape the enemy on that fateful day in April he got lost and couldn't make his way back to his division.  In any case, whatever the actual scenario, I want to think the best of him. I want to believe he did his best. He endured as much as he could.

Or perhaps, just maybe, God had a different plan for him.  

He probably couldn't go back home and admit personal defeat.  I would imagine his entire family presumed him dead unless somehow, at some time, they received word that he was a deserter after less than 14 weeks of military service. Some of them might have rather heard he died.

Sadly, the shame of desertion could have held him prisoner his entire life.  

If by any chance I could talk to you,

Thomas Callihan,

5th great-grandfather of mine,

right now,

today,

in person,

I would say to you

without hesitation,

"I love you.

 I'm proud of you.

Thank you for doing your best.

Thank you for following your heart.

There's no shame in that."

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George Reininger and Mary Hine Reininger

According to the book, Biographical review, volume 32, Containing Life Sketches of Leading Citizens of Bedford and Sommerset Counties, Pennsylvania which highlights one of George's grandsons, George Reininger was born in Germany and came to America when he was a young man. The first record I found of him was from another book, A history of the Goshenhoppen Reformed charge, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (1727 - 1819), when he was confirmed in the New Goshenhoppen Church on 9 April 1787.  He was 16 years old. The book contains baptisms as well, and finding no baptism record for George, it could make sense that he was born and raised in Germany before immigrating to the US (even though some of the family trees on ancestry.com indicate his birthplace was Upper Hanover, Montgomery County, PA).

George's marriage to Mary Hine is also found in the Goshenhoppen Church book.  They were married in May of 1797.

I'm not exactly sure when the family came to Bedford County, but online sources indicate that their 3rd child was born in Montgomery County in 1802 and their 4th was born in Bedford County in 1805.  Mary gave birth to 11 children over the course of 25 years.  Whether or not she gave birth to other children who died in infancy is something we'll probably never know. She was 46 when her last son was born. Two of their daughters, Margaret and Mary, preceded both George and Mary in death.

Historical church records indicate that George was a trustee for the Old Mock Church, a congregation established by the German Baptist Brethren (aka "Dunkers") and later referred to as the Church of the Brethren. The Mock Church (named for Christian & Mary Mock who donated the land), which is a couple of miles outside Pleasantville, was built in the early 1840s and is still standing.  It was restored in 1983.  My visit to the church (which I'll write about in an upcoming post) was one of the highlights of our trip.

There's not a lot of online information concerning the Reiningers.  The 1861 map shows their homestead adjacent to Thomas Callihan's property on what is now Oldham Road.

We think we found the approximate location of their farm.  It was quite a bit more sloped than the Callihan's land, but they still had the benefit of the creek running through their property.

At or near the George Reininger homestead

One of George and Mary's sons, William, purchased land at the base of the Allegheny mountains not too far from where he grew up.  It was confectionately, er, I mean, affectionately known as the "Sugar Camp". In a short personal history, my great-grandfather, Horace Ickes, wrote:

 "We used to go to our Great Uncle William Reininger's, at the foot of the Allegheny Mountains in the Spring of the year and help make Maple Sugar. We went on sleds to drive through the woods to gather the sap. During this time they always had a yoke of young cattle to break to drive and what fun that was. We would yoke them together, tie their tails together, hitch them to the sled and get in and turn them loose. I shall never forget.

“They had a big log house, but only one room on the main floor, and the other, what was called the loft where everyone slept, was one large room, beds everywhere. There was no stairway but a ladder at the end of the room downstairs, and we would climb the ladder, pinching each other on the way up. When we would awaken in the morning just as likely as not our beds would be covered with snow that had sifted in through the cracks, but that only induced you to hurry and get your clothes on and down to the fireplace, which was roaring with logs burning."

William Reininger's homestead on what is now Calvary Hollow Road.

At or near the William Reininger "Sugar Camp"

I don't know why we didn't make it to their grave sites.  The Reininger Cemetery is located near the top of the steep hill behind William's homestead. The directions had been posted by Andii1814 on findagrave.com and I completely overlooked it prior to our trip.  She even uses the pond (in the photo above) as a reference point to find the Reininger Cemetery.  You can see her directions here. There are 28 Reininger family members buried there including George and Mary. According to findagrave.com, George and Mary's graves are located above Williams and are marked with field stones.

Photo courtesy of Andii1814 on findagrave.com.  More photos can be seen here.

As a side note, Andii1814 also mentions George having served in the Revolutionary War. I checked out her references and the proximity to Montgomery County checks out, but I found an associated date of 1777.  Since he wasn't born until 1771, this is more than likely his father, Hans George Reininger, who was the Revolutionary War patriot.


Here is his will:

"In the name of God, amen:  I George Rininger of St. Clair Township in the County of Bedford and State of Pennsylvania, being advanced in age, but of sound and disposing mine, memory and understanding, and calling to mind the certainty of death and the uncertainty to the time thereof to the end that I may be the better prepared to leave this world whenever it shall please my maker to call me home, do therefore make and ordain this my last will and testament, viz:  Principally and first of all I commend my immortal soul into the hands of Almighty God who gave it, and my body to the earth at the discretion of my Executors herein after named.  And as touching such worldly estate wherewith it has pleased God to bless me with in this life I dispose of in the following manner, to wit:

I give and bequeath to my dearly beloved wife Mary as much of my stock of horses, cows, sheep and hogs as she may choose to keep and also as much of the farming utensils and house-hold and kitchen furniture as she may think necessary to carry on the farm for her and in her name and for her benefit and advantage during her life (or widowhood) and the remainder of my property, if there be any that she doth not wish to keep as aforesaid, I will that it be sold at public sale by my Executors and all the price and proceed thereof equally divided amongst my six children, namely:  George, Elizabeth (the wife of John Nunemaker), Frederick, John, Henry and Marie (the wife of Simon Hendrickson) share and share alike.

"And at my wife’s decease or marriage it is my will that the balance and remainder of all my personal property shall be sold at public sale, and out of the money arising from the same, I will and bequeath to the lawful heirs of my daughter Margaret Callihan deceased the sum of five dollars to be divided equally amongst them share and share alike.

"And to my grandson James Smith I will and bequeath out of the same  the sum one hundred dollars to be paid to him when he arrives at the age of twenty one years and in case he shall decease before he arrives at the above mentioned age, then the said hundred dollars together with all the balance of the money arising from the said sale shall go to and be equally divided amongst my aforesaid six children share and share alike as aforesaid.

"I also will and bequeath unto my son Peter that part of my large tract of land on which he at present resides.

"And I further will and bequeath unto my two sons William & Joseph the remainder of the said large tract of land to be divided between them equally quantity and quality considered.

I also will and bequeath to my son William the tract of land whereon I now live, but, this said mansion tract shall not become due nor be enjoyed by him in any respect until after my wife’s decease or marriage.

"And further, it is my will that my son Joseph shall have the Northends of said large tract of land adjoining lands of Jacob Bizel.

"And lastly, I nominate, constitute and appoint my two sons John and William Rieninger to be my Executors of this my last will and testament hereby revoking all the wills, legacies and bequests by me heretofore made and declaring this and no other to be my last will and testament.

"In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the thirteenth day of April in the year of my Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty six.

"Signed, sealed, published and declared by the said Testator as his last will and testament in the presence of us who in his presence and at his request have subscribed as witness.

Amos Penrose Isaac Beisel"

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Thomas Callihan and Mary Proctor

I'm not going to go into too much detail about Thomas and Mary as there is a fascinating, well-researched website dedicated to Thomas and Mary Callihan and their descendants at callihanfamilyresearch.org.  To access the wealth of information they have there you need to create a user name and password to log in, but it is completely free. And completely worth it.

Suffice it to say that Thomas Callihan was an Irish Quaker immigrant from Ireland who, as far as we know, came to the US in the 1770s. According to the hand-carved inscription on his headstone he would have been born in 1757. Mary Proctor, probably born about 1754, was also a Quaker, though probably from England.  More than likely, they met through their mutual affiliation with the Quakers. They were affiliated with the Menallen Meeting prior to Bedford County having their own congregation.

Thomas first shows up in the Bedford County tax rolls in 1785.  His first Bedford County residence was near the Quaker community of Fishertown, He later sold that tract of land and purchased land near Pleasantville. (Farmers and land owners would often buy and sell adjoining tracts of land for whatever reasons they had at the time, so the acreage at both locations would vary depending on his most recent land transaction.) 

Whether or not Thomas served in the Revolutionary War and for how long is a little complicated. Maybe he did (or maybe someone else did with the same name), and maybe he actually deserted. We know that the Quakers were completely against taking up arms, so the conflict of interest between loyalty to God and obligations to country would certainly create a lot of cognitive dissonance.  We do believe he signed the required "Oath of Allegiance" and we know he paid "supply tax" which helped to fund the war.  According to the DAR, a law was passed 13 June 1777 which required all men over the age of 18 to sign an Oath of Allegiance, rejecting allegiance to King George. All signers and those citizens who paid the 'Supply Tax,' which was levied to fund the war effort are credited with Patriotic Service.  So, as far as I'm concerned, Thomas Callihan was a patriot indeed.

Thomas and Mary had at least 8 children.  One of their children, a son, died in childhood and another son died at age 24.  The rest lived into their 70s and 80s.

The Callihan plantation was located on what is now Oldham Road, northwest of Pleasantville. Their log home was described as having an exterior staircase which led to the second floor and a seperate outside bake house. A huge walnut tree stood next to the home which subsequently died. It was owned and occupied by members of the Callihan family for 75 years.

1861 map showing the location of the Callihan homestead

According to subsequent owners of the property, the rock foundation for the
original Callihan log home was located where the red barn now stands.

Thomas and Mary are buried on the highest point of their land behind Robby Ickes' house, almost a half a mile from their log home . I wrote about Robby taking us up to the grave site here.

The burial location is at the top of this hill.

The fence was erected probably during the mid 1900s, more than 100 years after their deaths.

Thomas Callihan's handcarved headstone.  Deciphering it can be a little tricky, but keeping
in mind the backwards "4", he died 3 April 1841 at the age of 84 years and 3 days. 

Mary died two years before Thomas on 30 January 1839 at the age of 85.

Here is his will:

This is from the County records.  (His original handwritten
will can be seen at callihanfamilyresearch.org,)

In the name of God Amen I Thomas Callahan of St. Clair township in the County of Bedford and State of Pennsylvania being advanced in age and knowing the uncertainty of time here, but of sound mind memory and understanding thinks best to make and publish that my last will and testament in manner and form following; viz Principally and first of all I commend my immortal soul into the hands of God who gave it and my body to Earth to be buried in a decent Christian like manner at the discretion of my Executors herein after named; and as to such worldly estate as it hath pleased God to bless me with in this life, I give and dispose of in the following manner to wit, I give and bequeath unto my wife Mary one horse creture at her choice and two cows at her choice and five sheep and two hogs out of my stock; and two beds and bedding thereunto belonging and one beaureau and as much of my kitchen furniture as she may think necessary; and it is my will that my plantation whereon I now live shall be rented to the highest bidder at public venue during my wife’s natural life or widow hood and the renter shall furnish my widow with hay and grain as much shall be necessary for the support of her and her stock out of rent and the grains to be delivered in the bushel and the hay in the  barn and it is my will that my widow shall have the house wherein I now live during her natural life or widowhood and it is my will that the remainder of the rent shall be equally divided among my four children namely John, Thomas, Robert and Jacob and further it is my will that at the expiration of nine months after my widows decease that my Executors advertise and sell at public venue and convey all my right title claim and demand of the tract of land wherein I now live and likewise my small tract adjoining the before mentioned Plantation or tract of land and when the price thereof shall be collected it is my will that it shall be equally divided amongst my four children namely John, Thomas, Robert and Jacob and it is my will that my Executors pay to my Daughter Elizabeth Oldham and my sons William Callahan the sums of two dollars each they bring provided heretofore.  I do further request my Executors at a suitable time after my decease to advertise and sell all my personal property not herein before bequeathed or otherwise disposed of and after the money shall be collected and all debts & incidental expenses paid that they then pay what shall be remaining to my four children namely John, Thomas, Robert, and Jacob each to have an equal share, and lastly I nominate constitute and appoint my friends Anthony Blackburn and James More to be my Executors of my last will and testament hereby revoking all other wills legacies and bequests heretofore made and declaring this and no other to be my last will and Testament.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this sixth day of April one thousand eight hundred and thirty Signed sealed published and declared by the said Testater as his last will and Testament in the presence of us, who in his presence and at his request, have subscribed as witnesses Amos Penrose Samuel Penrose

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Harry Conrad Wilt, part 2

Here are a few more newspaper articles I found.  This first one - Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, PA (about 30 miles from Latrobe), 3 Nov 1933 -  has more info and was front page news. (See transcript below.)

Indiana Evening Gazette, front page

"LATROBE, Nov. 3.  Harry Wilt, 53-year-old Spanish-American War veteran and father of seven children, died today in Latrobe Hospital without revealing the motive that caused him to fatally shoot Mrs. Catherine Graff, 38, twice widowed mother of two children, before committing suicide.

"State police expressed the belief that despondency over the prospect of leaving the woman he loved might have prompted Wilt's act and investigation was being conducted from this starting point.

"Wilt, father of seven children, it was learned, had been keeping company with the widow for some time.  His pension recently was cut from $60 to $15 monthly and he intended to go to Sewickley next week to live with a daughter.  Wilt was estranged from his own wife.

"The shooting occurred in the dining room of Mrs. Graff's home, 8 First avenue.  Wilt roomed only about a block away.  According to reports he left his family, which maintains a residence on Depot street, more than two years ago.

"There were no witnesses to the tragedy, consequently the events which led up to the shooting are unknown.  Mr. and Mrs. Luther Smith and Earl and William Roof, neighbors, attracted by the two shots entered the home within five minutes.  They found Mrs. Graff sitting in a rocking chair, her head resting against the back.  Nearby on the floor lay Wilt, a 38-calibre revolver at his side.  An ambulance was called and the unconscious man rushed to the hospital.  Mrs. Graff's body was undisturbed in the chair to await the arrival of the coroner, Dr. H. A. McMurray who came to Latrobe accompanied by his deputy, Jacob Sell.

"Dr. McMurray and Dr. G. F. Nealon of Latrobe, conducted a postmortem on Mrs. Graff's body before it was removed to the Stader undertaking parlors.  Dr. McMurray said the bullet had entered the back of the woman's head near the top and took a course downward toward the mouth.  The bullet was recovered.  The self-inflicted bullet entered the right side of Wilt's head above the ear and came out on top.

"There was no indication that a quarrel had preceded the shooting, but declared evidence indicated that Wilt had been drinking.

"According to the story told to Dr. McMurray, Wilt had been keeping company with Mrs. Graff.  Her son, Francis Siegfried, aged 17, reported that his mother had received two anonymous letters warning her to stay away from Wilt.  The surviving daughter is Mary Graff, aged 12.  The children were at school when the shooting took place.

"Privates Fontaine and McKee of Troop A, State Police, were on the job early and took photographs of the scene.  When Wilt was taken to the hospital, it was believed that he might have a chance to recover.  Now that he is dead, however, the case is closed, so far as the state police are concerned."

Hanover Evening Sun

Monessen Daily Independent, front page

New Castle News

Altoona Mirror

Bradford Era, front page

Somerset Daily Herald, front page

Titusville Herald

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