Murder of James Walsh

Around 1 am on May 18, 1853, 54-year-old James Walsh was found stabbed in a court area in 1 Pleasant Passage, Lower Holloway in London, England. He was unable to say much except it was a woman who stabbed him. But he was unable to say how it happened. He was taken to the hospital and died shortly after. 

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

May 12, 1850, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Jane Doe

 On May 12, 1850, a woman died or was found dead in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There is little information in this case. 

Jane Doe is a black male around 80-years-old.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

August 7, 1853, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania John Doe

 On August 7, 1853, a man died or was found dead in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There is little information in this case. 

John Doe is a black male around 55-years-old.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

June 1858, London, England Baby John Doe

In June 1858, an unknown baby boy was found on Hardwick St in London, England. The boy was not a newborn and was around 6 months old making his birth around or in December. It's not stated if his death was murder or not. He was buried at the  City of London Cemetery on June 14, 1858.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

February 11, 1854 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 On February 11, 1854, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania an unknown man died. There is little information in this case.

John Doe was a black male around 80-years-old. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

August 15, 1853 Orleans Parish, Louisiana Orphaned German Jane Doe

On August 15,1853 an 8 to 9-year-old Orphaned German girl would die from yellow fever in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Her identity would be unknown. She would be buried at Cypress Grove Cemetery 2 in New Orleans.

SOURCES:
Find a Grave
Unidentified Wiki

April 19, 1854 Boston, Massachusetts Jane Doe

On April 19, 1854, a woman's body was found in the water near Battery Wharf in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. She appeared to have drowned recently as hours before she was seen. She was walking the streets and seemed to have been acting insane. 

The woman is about 35-years-old.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Boston Evening Transcript April 20, 1854

March 1857 Newham, England Jane Doe

In March of 1857, an unknown young woman drowned in or around the London Borough of Newham in England. She was buried on March 11th in the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium.

It's believed that Jane Doe was in her mid 20's.   

SOURCES:
Find a Grave

January 4, 1851Montgomery County, Ohio The Stranger

 

On January 4, 1851, someone died or their body was found in Montgomery County, Ohio. Their body was buried at Old Greencastle Cemetery in Dayton. Gender was not stated on the tombstone, but the age listed is 24-years-old. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

1855 Nacogdoches County, Texas The Traveler

 

In about 1855 a Traveler got sick in Nacogdoches County, Texas in what is now Cushing. He would spend the night in the settlement and die. No one knew who he was and he would be buried at the Fuller-Nichols Garden Cemetary. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Murder of Dolores Martinez

On July 12, 1853, Dolores Martinez was shot to death by an unknown person in Sonoratown near zanja, in California. 

There is little information in this case. 

SOURCES:

Criminal Justice Research Center (Excel Document)

October 26, 1856 Stockton, California Antoine

 On October 24, 1856, a man around 36-years-old named Antoine was admitted to Ward No 2. to Stockton State Hospital in Stockton, California. He would die 2 days later on the 26th from Epilepsy. There is little information in this case. He was described as being an "idiot" and was French.  He was also a Charity Patient. 

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Find a Grave

October 30, 1858 Stockton, California Juan "Portuguese Man" Unknown

 On September 15, 1858, a 24-year-old Portuguese man named Juan was committed to Stockton State Hospital, in Stockton, California by Judge M.C.Blake, a County Judge of California. It was Insanity caused by masturbation. At the time he was considered single and had no property. Unfortunately on October 30, 1858, Juan would die from marasmus or chronic malnutrition and would be buried at the hospital cemetery. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Unidentified Wiki

1854, Whitevale, Ontario

In 1854 a young man stayed at the Whitevale Inn, in Whitevale, Ontario, Canada. He had died during his sleep and had no identifying papers on him. No one also came looking for the young man, and he was buried with a headstone saying "An Unknown Stranger 1854".

I couldn't find any other sources on An Unknown Stranger.

SOURCES:
Find a Grave

Who was the well loved Leather Man?

In the 1860s there was a man who would make a round of every 34 days to visit the same homes. He would travel around 365-mile walk from Connecticut to New York. He went through towns like Danbury, New Fairfield, Watertown, Middletown, and Canaan into Westchester, New York then back to Danbury. Typically this trip would take around 34 days. He would stay in caves and visit homes he was welcomed to for food. Some of these homes he would visit for more than 25 years.

Now, what was the name of this mysterious traveler?

No one knows. People had noted him for his unique fashion and called him Leather Man since he wouldn't say his name. He wore clothes that were stitched together pieces of leather made from old boot tops. He would wear this outfit all year round even during the summer. It was estimated that his jacket alone weighed 60 lbs.

He would not hunt or fish on someone's land without permission. He also kept the caves on his path neat with a pine bough or leaf bed. He would have wood stocked up for the next visit. He preferred to sleep in the caves rather than in people's homes. People were generous and would give the man tobacco, food, and pennies. In some towns, school was let out for Leather Man day so that the children could visit with him and give him pennies.

It seemed that he was fluent in French and spoke broken English. He would mostly talk in grunts and movement. When people were to ask him personal questions it seemed that he would avoid questions and leave the conversation. He carried around with him a bible written in French. It could be possible he was French Canadian or just French.

After a bad winter in 1888, the Leather Man began to have a growth on his lip. Which turned out to have been cancer. He didn't get treated or help with the growth and in 1889 the Leather Man was found dead in one of the caves in Ossining New York.

There have been many theories on who he was. But for the most part, the theories are tales spun to give him some sort of background. None of them have been proven to be true.

Another mystery appeared in 2011 when the grave of Leather Man had been dug up. Other than a few nails there was nothing in the coffin. Leather Man's body wasn't in the grave and no one knows where it had gone.
 
SOURCES:

Historic Mysteries

The Leather Mans Loop

New England Today