Week 12 of the 52 Ancestors Challenge is "Misfortune".
Here is an interesting story I found while searching for my ancestor, Joseph Leavitt, in the Maine newspapers. While this record may refer to my 4th great-grandfather, I believe that, considering the severity of the wounds mentioned in the article, it was instead his uncle, who was a blacksmith in neighboring Milburn (Skowhegan).
Here is an interesting story I found while searching for my ancestor, Joseph Leavitt, in the Maine newspapers. While this record may refer to my 4th great-grandfather, I believe that, considering the severity of the wounds mentioned in the article, it was instead his uncle, who was a blacksmith in neighboring Milburn (Skowhegan).
Eastern Argus newspaper, 1/6/1834
It's 10 pm on a January night in 1834, and Mr Joseph Leavitt of Athens, Maine is walking home with a LIVE raccoon in hand. It gets away and he gives chase into the bushes, where he has the misfortune of being shot by someone on the other side looking for fox!
I found no other newspaper article to follow up on this "shocking occurrence", and the dreadful injuries he received. I did find, however, that Eliza Ann, the widow of Joseph Leavitt, sold her right of dower on his Milburn property on 3 May 1834 [Somerset County Deeds, v.18 p.247], so it seems likely that he did not recover from these wounds.
I found no other newspaper article to follow up on this "shocking occurrence", and the dreadful injuries he received. I did find, however, that Eliza Ann, the widow of Joseph Leavitt, sold her right of dower on his Milburn property on 3 May 1834 [Somerset County Deeds, v.18 p.247], so it seems likely that he did not recover from these wounds.
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