William ‘Amos’ Wilson
William Wilson’s story begins in 18th-century Pennsylvania and involves his sister Elizabeth. She was tricked into having sex with a man named Joseph Deshong, who pretended to have marriage on his mind. In reality, he had no intention of marrying her. When she gave birth to twins, he followed her home and lured Elizabeth and the newborns into the woods, where he murdered the babies and then fled the scene. Elizabeth was convicted of the crime and sentenced to death. William pleaded with the governor to release her, and eventually a pardon was granted. He raced home to save her, but he was too late—she had been hanged moments before he arrived.
Discouraged and saddened by his sister’s fate and by the injustice of society (Deshong was never found), William headed back to his birthplace and lived in a cave for the last 19 years of his life, gaining the nickname “The Pennsylvania Hermit.” He supported himself by making millstones, eschewing any other contact with civilization. After his death, his writings were published in a number of different newspapers.
Kinda makes you wonder what he did about food, doesn't it? Guess you could hunt and trap, though.
Coffee out on the patio this morning.
9 comments:
Darn autocorrect Deshong.
What a sad story. It's a shame Deshong was never found.
That is a really sad story. Too bad Deshong was never found.
Hey Mamahen...
Couldn't have been easy back then.
Thanks for stopping by this morning!
Hey Linda...
Even today we sometimes have a hard time finding those that want to stay hidden.
Thanks for coming over today!
Maybe William found him, I'd like to think he did and gave him what he deserved.
Coffee on the patio sounds good. Still windy here but a little warmer unfortunately
Hey Jo...
We can only hope that happened.
Thanks, sweetie, for dropping by today!
I used to live in western Pennsylvania, but I am not quite old enough to remember anything about that hermit. Although, the Green Man used to walk the roads at night near where I lived. He was also known as the man without a face. He sure was a spooky guy.
Hey Dizzy...
Guess all of us can be spooky in some fashion...especially we hermit types!
Thanks for stopping by today!
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