John Roll was finally put to rest on Tuesday, January 18, 1881. The snatching of his body from his grave a few days earlier shocked the local community, though grave robbing was occurring throughout Ohio at the time. How much did the medical community know about these grave robberies? What happened to those involved? AfterContinue reading “The Body Snatching of John Roll: The Aftermath”
Monthly Archives: October 2021
Fallen Heroes: Private Jerry J. Page
When it is difficult for me to find historical information on a fallen hero, as it was in this case, I am motivated even more to tell their story. Most of the individuals featured in this series died young, before they could live active and well documented lives. Nonetheless, their family history, service and sacrificeContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Jerry J. Page”
The Body Snatching of John Roll: The Corpse Buyer
The investigation of what happened to the body of John Roll, robbed from his New Philadelphia grave in the middle of the night, was coming to an end. The trail had taken Roll’s friends to Cleveland, to a prominent druggist, and now would find them at three of the city’s medical colleges. There were threeContinue reading “The Body Snatching of John Roll: The Corpse Buyer”
Fallen Heroes: Specialist 5 James B. Alexander
The first Tuscarawas County soldier to lose his life in Vietnam was not some young-faced draftee straight out of high school. He was a career soldier who had served in two previous wars and been wounded in battle once. His death, and those that died with him that day, would bring the Vietnam War intoContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Specialist 5 James B. Alexander”
The Body Snatching of John Roll: The Corpse Dealer
The four men who removed John Roll from his grave did so because there was a market for cadavers. The channels in which these “products” moved, perhaps not surprisingly, included legitimate entities. William Campbell’s trip to Cleveland to recover John Roll’s body would shed light on those channels. William Campbell was determined to recover theContinue reading “The Body Snatching of John Roll: The Corpse Dealer”
Fallen Heroes: Private Darrell O. Beiter
Many Tuscarawas County young men witnessed the brutality of trench warfare in France during World War One. Many of those suffered debilitating wounds and the less obvious mental illnesses associated with “shell-shock”. Then there were those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and among them, as in the case of this fallen hero, were the menContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Darrell O. Beiter”
The Body Snatching of John Roll: The Grave Robbers
The body of John Roll was snatched from his grave in the middle of the night in January 1881. His family and friends managed to discover the name of one of the local men involved in the deed, but the investigation did not end with him. More men, all of them well known in theirContinue reading “The Body Snatching of John Roll: The Grave Robbers”
Fallen Heroes: Private Jacob Fribley
The battlefields of the Civil War are well known to most students of history, and in some cases certain parts of those battlefields become famous. The Burnside Bridge on the Antietam battlefield is one example. This fallen hero gave the ultimate sacrifice defending that landmark. Jacob Fribley (1784-1852) was born in Pennsylvania and, shortly afterContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Jacob Fribley”
The Body Snatching of John Roll: The Victim
The clandestine removal of corpses from burial sites, or “body snatching,” was a common practice during the 19th century. The goal of the snatchers, or “resurrectionists,” was to dig up a recently deceased person and sell the corpse for dissection or anatomy lectures at medical schools. As you will discover, Tuscarawas County was not immuneContinue reading “The Body Snatching of John Roll: The Victim”
Fallen Heroes: Private Carl Ankrim
Often times the death of a soldier in a far-off land is, unfortunately, politicized by some to support their arguments for or against a given conflict. We tend to think of this as a modern practice, but there are ample instances of it from history. The loss of this fallen hero is but one example.Continue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Carl Ankrim”
Noel B. Poirier 