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The Old Leather Man: Historical Accounts of a Connecticut and New York Legend

In 1883, wearing a sixty-pound suit sewn from leather boot-tops, a wanderer known only as the Leather Man began to walk a 365 mile loop between the Connecticut and Hudson Rivers that he would complete every 34 days, for almost six years. His circuit took him through at least 41 towns in southwestern Connecticut and southeastern New York, sleeping in caves, accepting food from townspeople, and speaking only in grunts and gestures along the way. What remains of the mysterious Leather Man today are the news clippings and photographs taken by the first-hand witnesses of this captivating individual. The Old Leather Man gathers the best of the early newspaper accounts of the Leather Man, and includes maps of his route, historic photographs of his shelters, the houses he was known to stop at along his way, and of the Leather Man himself. This history tracks the footsteps of the Leather Man and unravels the myths surrounding the man who made Connecticut’s caves his home.

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The Old Leather Man: Historical Accounts of a Connecticut and New York Legend

In 1883, wearing a sixty-pound suit sewn from leather boot-tops, a wanderer known only as the Leather Man began to walk a 365 mile loop between the Connecticut and Hudson Rivers that he would complete every 34 days, for almost six years. His circuit took him through at least 41 towns in southwestern Connecticut and southeastern New York, sleeping in caves, accepting food from townspeople, and speaking only in grunts and gestures along the way. What remains of the mysterious Leather Man today are the news clippings and photographs taken by the first-hand witnesses of this captivating individual. The Old Leather Man gathers the best of the early newspaper accounts of the Leather Man, and includes maps of his route, historic photographs of his shelters, the houses he was known to stop at along his way, and of the Leather Man himself. This history tracks the footsteps of the Leather Man and unravels the myths surrounding the man who made Connecticut’s caves his home.

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The Old Leather Man: Historical Accounts of a Connecticut and New York Legend

The Old Leather Man: Historical Accounts of a Connecticut and New York Legend

The Old Leather Man: Historical Accounts of a Connecticut and New York Legend
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The Old Leather Man: Historical Accounts of a Connecticut and New York Legend

The Old Leather Man: Historical Accounts of a Connecticut and New York Legend

Overview

In 1883, wearing a sixty-pound suit sewn from leather boot-tops, a wanderer known only as the Leather Man began to walk a 365 mile loop between the Connecticut and Hudson Rivers that he would complete every 34 days, for almost six years. His circuit took him through at least 41 towns in southwestern Connecticut and southeastern New York, sleeping in caves, accepting food from townspeople, and speaking only in grunts and gestures along the way. What remains of the mysterious Leather Man today are the news clippings and photographs taken by the first-hand witnesses of this captivating individual. The Old Leather Man gathers the best of the early newspaper accounts of the Leather Man, and includes maps of his route, historic photographs of his shelters, the houses he was known to stop at along his way, and of the Leather Man himself. This history tracks the footsteps of the Leather Man and unravels the myths surrounding the man who made Connecticut’s caves his home.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780819568625
Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
Publication date: 10/30/2008
Series: Garnet Books Series
Pages: 232
Product dimensions: 8.20(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

DAN DELUCA is a genealogist, a Meriden, Connecticut historian, and a retired high school teacher. He has been researching the Leather Man for twenty years and is the leading expert on the subject. DIONE LONGLEY is the former executive director of the Middlesex County Historical Society in Middletown, Connecticut.

Table of Contents

Preface
Mother Goose’s “One Misty, Moisty Morning,” 1785
Part I: 1869–1883
Part II: 1884–1885
Part III: 1886–1888
Part IV: 1889
Appendix A: Artifacts and Portraits
Appendix B: Towns through Which the Leather Man Walked at One Time
Appendix C: Selected Old Leather Man Sites Accessible to the Public
Annotated Bibliography
Additional Resources
Index
Editor’s Note

What People are Saying About This

Gerald Sawyer

“Through the words of the reporters, we gain insight into the Old Leather Man, and also into a 19th century view of a world now lost. We may never know who the Leather Man really was, but the world loves a good mystery, and this book delves into a tantalizing one.”

Nicholas Bellantoni

“The Old Leather Man was an enigma in the later 1800s and remains so today. Dan Deluca has compiled his decades of research into a most comprehensive account, with photographs and maps of this mysterious, punctual, and unique character’s travels through New York and Connecticut.”

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