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344:. On May 25, 2011 the grave's contents were exhumed and reburied at a new site in the cemetery. No visible human remains were recovered during the exhumation. Only coffin nails and soil from the original burial plot were reburied in the new grave. One of the reasons for the exhumation was the hope there were remains that would help determine Leatherman's origins.
31:
270:
The
Leatherman's former tombstone read: "Final resting place of Jules Bourglay of Lyons, France, 'The Leather Man'…" He is identified with that name in many accounts. However, according to researchers including Dan W. DeLuca, as well as his New York death certificate, his identity remains unknown.
199:, he communicated mostly with grunts and gestures, rarely using his broken English. When asked about his background, he would abruptly end the conversation. Upon his death, a French prayer book was found among his possessions. He declined meat on Fridays, giving rise to speculation that he was
213:
The
Leatherman was well known in Connecticut. He was reliable in his rounds, and people would have food ready for him, which he often ate on their doorsteps. Ten towns along the Leatherman's route passed ordinances exempting him from the state
351:
archaeologist and supervisor of the exhumation, cited time, the effect of traffic over the shallow original gravesite, and possible removal of graveside material by a road-grading project for destroying all hard and soft tissue in the grave.
230:
and other foul weather by heating his rock shelters with fire. Indeed, while his face was reported to be frostbitten at times during the winter, by the time of his death he had not lost any fingers, unlike other tramps of the time and area.
281:
on March 29, 1889. DeLuca was able to get a new headstone installed when the
Leatherman's grave was moved away from Route 9 to another location within the cemetery on May 25, 2011. The new brass plaque simply reads "The Leatherman".
238:
had him arrested and hospitalized in 1888, which resulted in a diagnosis of "sane except for an emotional affliction", after which he was released, as he had money and desired freedom. He ultimately died from
166:
and "leatherman caves", as they are now locally known, the
Leatherman stopped at towns along his 365-mile (587 km) loop about every five weeks for food and supplies. He was dubbed the "Leatherman" as his
126:
found on his person after his death. His identity remains unknown, and controversial. He walked a repeating 365-mile (587 km) route year after year, which took him through certain towns in western
1049:
206:
It is unknown how he earned money. One store kept a record of an order: "one loaf of bread, a can of sardines, one-pound of fancy crackers, a pie, two quarts of coffee, one
1044:
782:
939:
716:
632:
DeLuca, Dan (2008). The Old
Leather Man: Historical Accounts of a Connecticut and New York Legend. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
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dating to April 7, 1870, refers to him as the "Leather-Clad Man". It also states that he spoke rarely and when addressed would simply speak in
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717:"Wanderer's Grave is Marked at Last; ' Leather Man' Died in '89 Near Ossining in Cave – Honored by Historical Groups"
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243:. His body was found on March 24, 1889, in his Saw Mill Woods cave on the farm of George Dell in the town of
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Leatherman was the subject of a 1984 video documentary which was shown on
Connecticut Public Television.
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The
Leatherman's story (and his caves) are detailed as a vignette in the 2018 video game
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on August 16, 1884, but was later retracted on March 25, 26, and 27, 1889, and also in
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154:
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Connecticut State
Forests – Seedling Letterbox Series Clues for Mattatuck State Forest
1018:
425:, by a mysterious character later revealed to be the ghost of the Leatherman himself.
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The
Leatherman's original grave in Sparta Cemetery was within 16 feet (5 m) of
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makes a reference to "Uuden-Englannin nahkamies" ("New
England Leatherman").
362:
168:
866:
580:
Piece broadcast on (US) National Public Radio, in Connecticut, 19 Dec 2008
817:"Who was the Leather Man? Experts hope forensic tests will solve mystery"
227:
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famous for his handmade leather suit of clothes who traveled through the
99:
189:
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30:
366:
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The 2011 grave site with new headstone that reads "The Leatherman".
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from roughly 1857 to 1889. Of unknown origin, he was thought to be
969:
331:
302:. The following inscription was carved on his original tombstone:
258:
153:
142:
878:
409:
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interviewed Mark Haber (1899–1994) about the Leatherman on
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The Leatherman inspired a song by the American rock band
16:
Famous American vagabond of unknown and disputed identity
945:
New York Times – The Story of an Old Man and the Road
446:. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press. p. xi.
271:
This name first appeared in a story published in the
171:
of hat, scarf, clothes, and shoes were handmade from
699:"Search For Clues Only Deepens 'Leatherman' Mystery"
677:"Search for Clues Only Deepens 'Leatherman' Mystery"
188:. According to contemporary rumors, he hailed from
74:
55:
40:
21:
935:"Old Leather Man" – Stories of the 364 Mile Man
135:, returning to each town roughly every 34 days.
122:, his "broken English", and the French-language
900:"Where the Water Tastes Like Wine postmortem"
8:
1050:Deaths from oral cancer in the United States
867:"The Life and Legend of the Old Leather Man"
588:
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467:
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547:
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975:Cold Spots: The Legend of the Leatherman
484:
482:
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316:through Westchester and Connecticut from
434:
1045:Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
564:
562:
560:
512:McSweeney's Internet Tendency, 11/2002
67:Ossining, Westchester County, New York
628:
626:
624:
365:, "Leatherman". It was released as a
314:who regularly walked a 365-mile route
7:
940:Old Leather Man and James F. Rodgers
410:Channel 3, WTIC-TV (WFSB since 1974)
318:the Connecticut River to the Hudson
147:Entrance to the Leatherman Cave in
783:"Leather Man body may yield clues"
748:Melvin, Tessa (November 8, 1987).
650:"Leatherman's Cave, Watertown, CT"
14:
865:Bertel, Dick (14 February 1965).
290:The Leatherman's grave is in the
106:on a regular circuit between the
592:Canning, Jeff and Wally Buxton,
422:Where the Water Tastes Like Wine
210:of brandy and a bottle of beer"
1004:Chappaqua–Woodbridge, 115 miles
999:Stratford–Chappaqua, 65.5 miles
879:WTIC-TV, Channel 3 (WFSB today)
815:Sam Cooper (29 November 2010).
781:Dan Brechlin (3 January 2011).
510:Jules Bourglay, Notable Walker.
390:" by Finnish singer-songwriter
1009:Woodbridge–Brewster, 183 miles
994:Waterbury–Stratford, 109 miles
989:Brewster–Waterbury, 77.7 miles
965:Connecticut forest & Parks
960:Leatherman's Cave in Watertown
750:"Tracing steps of leather man"
665:(retrieved September 23, 2007)
474:(retrieved September 23, 2007)
263:Inside the Leatherman Cave in
118:because of his fluency in the
1:
95:
48:
35:The Leatherman (June 9, 1885)
902:. Laura Michet. 4 March 2018
846:J. Karjalainen – Mennyt Mies
320:living in caves in the years
92:Jules Bourglay (unconfirmed)
1086:
104:northeastern United States
1065:New York (state) folklore
618:(retrieved July 21, 2006)
609:Research by Dan W. DeLuca
594:History of the Tarrytowns
571:(retrieved July 21, 2006)
554:(retrieved July 21, 2006)
536:The Burlington Free Press
521:(retrieved July 21, 2006)
491:(retrieved July 21, 2006)
349:University of Connecticut
278:The Meriden Daily Journal
28:
596:, Harbor Hill Books 1975
400:In 1965, on his program
273:Waterbury Daily American
245:Mount Pleasant, New York
226:The Leatherman survived
178:An early article in the
532:"A Leather-Clad Hermit"
347:Nicholas Bellantoni, a
950:Dan DeLuca interviewed
679:. Vermont Public Radio
377:" from the 1998 album
337:
306:FINAL RESTING PLACE OF
267:
265:Watertown, Connecticut
159:
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149:Watertown, Connecticut
970:The Leatherman's Loop
703:National Public Radio
414:Hartford, Connecticut
335:
262:
181:Burlington Free Press
157:
146:
1040:Connecticut folklore
442:DeLuca, Dan (2008).
255:Identity controversy
1070:Unidentified people
823:Republican-American
489:Hudson Valley Ruins
241:cancer of the mouth
796:on 9 February 2011
754:The New York Times
721:The New York Times
614:2006-12-06 at the
552:History of Redding
517:2005-09-20 at the
444:The Old Leatherman
338:
300:Ossining, New York
268:
218:" passed in 1879.
160:
152:
656:on August 8, 2009
638:978-0-8195-6862-5
312:"THE LEATHER MAN"
108:Connecticut River
98:1839–1889) was a
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63:(aged 49–50)
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931:1984 documentary
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792:. Archived from
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652:. Archived from
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538:. April 7, 1870.
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310:OF LYONS, FRANCE
234:The Connecticut
222:Health and death
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1060:Homeless people
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705:. May 26, 2011.
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508:Samantha Hunt,
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292:Sparta Cemetery
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190:Picardy, France
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120:French language
116:French-Canadian
79:Sparta Cemetery
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918:External links
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789:Record-Journal
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723:. 1953-05-17.
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308:Jules Bourglay
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236:Humane Society
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201:Roman Catholic
158:The Tory's den
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59:March 24, 1889
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45:Jules Bourglay
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982:Mapped routes
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1025:1830s births
904:. Retrieved
894:
882:. Retrieved
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850:, retrieved
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827:. Retrieved
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798:. Retrieved
794:the original
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765:. Retrieved
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732:. Retrieved
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681:. Retrieved
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658:. Retrieved
654:the original
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375:Given to Fly
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131:and eastern
112:Hudson River
91:
87:
85:
61:(1889-03-24)
1030:1889 deaths
406:Dick Bertel
388:Mennyt mies
129:Connecticut
124:prayer book
1019:Categories
871:Perception
852:2020-10-30
829:11 January
800:11 January
767:2023-06-11
734:2023-06-14
683:5 December
660:2007-08-29
430:References
402:Perception
386:The song "
195:Fluent in
162:Living in
88:Leatherman
23:Leatherman
762:0362-4331
729:0362-4331
363:Pearl Jam
322:1858–1889
228:blizzards
216:tramp law
169:adornment
1035:Ascetics
875:Hartford
612:Archived
515:Archived
328:Reburial
249:Ossining
133:New York
110:and the
100:vagabond
1055:Hermits
929:YouTube
884:6 April
369:of the
342:Route 9
296:Route 9
247:, near
173:leather
906:9 June
760:
727:
636:
450:
371:single
367:B-side
197:French
90:(born
69:, U.S.
925:Video
380:Yield
294:, on
286:Grave
908:2023
886:2020
831:2011
821:The
802:2011
787:The
758:ISSN
725:ISSN
685:2011
634:ISBN
448:ISBN
208:gill
139:Life
86:The
56:Died
51:1839
41:Born
927:on
412:in
298:in
1021::
873:.
869:.
819:.
785:.
756:.
752:.
719:.
701:.
623:^
601:^
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96:c.
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49:c.
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373:"
214:"
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