Haunted Tuscarawas County by Debra Robinson

Author:Debra Robinson [Robinson, Debra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781467119719
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing SC
Published: 2016-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

THE POST BOY STILL RIDES

THE WILLIAM CARTMILL HAUNTING

Newcomerstown

On September 9, 1825, William Johnston of Steubenville was traveling on the Coshocton Road near Newcomerstown within sight of a place known as Booth’s Tavern. Young William Cartmill of Coshocton, a twenty-year-old post boy who delivered the U.S. mail on a forty-mile route between Coshocton and Freeport, overtook him and asked if he had the time. (Cartmell is the surname often used, but “Cartmill” is the spelling in all court documents.)

Johnston told him that it was half past twelve. They came down the hill together, and Cartmill stopped at a stream to water his horse. The young man was returning from Freeport with a saddlebag full of mail, including a ten-dollar bank note from a business, which in those days was a small fortune.

Johnston continued on, and soon Cartmill caught up with him just past Booth’s. They talked for a while to pass the time. About three-quarters of a mile beyond Booth’s, they came in sight of a spring, and Johnston went down to get a drink. Cartmill went on without him with only minutes left to live. Just as Johnston came back out onto the road, he heard a shot and three “squalls.” He crossed a bridge and went up the hill, and there he saw Cartmill lying in the road.

Johnston approached the young man and inquired what was wrong, but Cartmill made no response. He thought maybe the boy had fallen from his horse or had a fit of some kind. He saw blood coming from his mouth, and Johnston thought he should go back to Booth’s for help. But just ahead was Morgan’s, another settler’s residence, and he decided it was closer. He proceeded around the bend in the road, and about fifty to sixty feet from Cartmill’s body behind him, he saw a man coming toward him, a gun on one shoulder. This was John Funston, a twenty-one-year-old farmer from the area.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.