The Pennsylvania Hermit...!

How about a hermit tale for this freaky Friday? I have just the thing for ya.

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.