newcomerstown ohio – Noel B. Poirier

William Watson, Gold Mining, and a California Tragedy

Gold miners shoveling sand from stream into sluice while one miner pans for gold in the same stream, small building and mountains in the background.

While recently writing about a Murder in Klondike, it got me wondering if there were any people from the Tuscarawas County area that decided to try and find riches in the gold fields of the American West. In doing so, I stumbled upon the sad story of William Watson. A note: Names are often misspelledContinue reading “William Watson, Gold Mining, and a California Tragedy”

Fallen Heroes: Private First Class John W. Rector

C-119s drop the 187th RCT over Korea, 1952. (Source: wikipedia.com)

It was the nature of the conflict in Korea that the front lines shifted dramatically, often making it difficult to recover the the bodies of fallen heroes. This Newcomerstown fallen hero, and paratrooper, did not return home for almost five years following his death. The Rector family appeared in Ohio with the arrival of WashingtonContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private First Class John W. Rector”

Fallen Heroes: Private Wesley A. Little

American Prisoners of War - Tunisia 1943

I will admit that the stories of fallen heroes lost on battlefields in North Africa during World War Two always captures my attention. My own grandfather served in North Africa during that war and every soldier’s story on those battlefields remind me of him. This fallen hero’s story is one of those reminders. The familyContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Wesley A. Little”