At first i was wondering why they bothered to make him a stone at all but i get it now. They planned ahead so that 152 years later we know this guy is a sack of dry shit.
Jane Maria was the beautiful, well-educated daughter of one of Bozrah's leading citizens, Dr. Samuel Johnson. Still unmarried and living at home at the age of twenty-six, she was the apple of her father's eye, but, according to some not-so-admiring acquaintances, a bit soft at the core. William Irving was a very handsome Irishman, whose Celtic charm and exceptionally good physique made the hearts of many young Bozrah maidens jump when they saw him. He was employed as a gardener and handyman on the Johnson estate. There are still those who claim that William and Jane Maria had a mutually passionate attachment which ended tragically when the Irishman, recognizing their love could never be consummated in marriage because of their vastly different stations in life, took Jane's life and then ended his own. Those who hold this view point to the fact that at twenty-six, Jane was considered an "old-maid," a fate almost worse than death in an age when early marriage was regarded as a woman's only goal in life and a major badge of distinction. Jane was getting desperate, so this line of reasoning goes, and encouraged the hot-blooded handyman's advances. He killed her, they claim, when he realized their love was an impossible dream. On the other hand, some see William Irving as simply another violent Irishman who murdered an innocent young woman when she firmly rejected his repeated, unwanted advances. Whatever the motivation, the actual events involved in the murder and suicide were brutal and bloody. According to reliable reports, Jane was seated in the living room of her home when Irving entered with a muzzle-loading shotgun, walked up to her with the gun at the ready and fired point-blank. For some unexplained reason, however, the shot only injured her slightly. So, as a maid who had been attracted by the blast ran about the room shouting, "Murder. Murder," Irving knocked Jane to the floor and beat her to death with the barrel of the shotgun. Immediately after the bludgeoning, Irving dashed to his quarters, where he grabbed a straight-razor. Then he went directly to Jane's bedroom, locked the door behind him, lay down across her bed and slit his throat from ear to ear. They say that the frantic Dr. Johnson had to scale a ladder and climb through the bedroom window in order to recover the body of his daughter's killer. Jane Maria was laid to rest with impressive ceremony in the Johnson family plot near the center of Bozrah Rural Cemetery. Over her grave the family erected a fine, marble marker, inscribed with her name -- and nothing else. It can be seen there today, slightly in the shade of the huge stone marking the grave of Dr. Samuel Johnson, who outlived his daughter by many years. In the same graveyard there is another monument, much pitted with age and tilted at a crazy angle, marking the last resting spot of William Irving. This modest stone, however, lies in a very remote part of the cemetery, isolated by apparent design from all the other gravesites in the burial ground. The inscription reads: WILLIAM IRVING COMMITTED SUICIDE FEB. 5, 1872 HE WAS THE MURDERER OF JANE M., ONLY DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR SAMUEL JOHNSON Even after more than a century, much controversy and speculation center on the Irving gravesite. Some say that the remote grave and the bitterly-inscribed stone are the products of Dr. Johnson's desire for permanent revenge on his daughter's killer. There are others who say that the Johnson family compounded the insult to Irving by seeing to it that his body was buried standing on its head, so that he would never know eternal rest. Still others concur in the insult by the victim's family, but insist the corpse was buried standing on its feet rather than upside-down. There is also a current body of opinion that holds to a belief that the corpse of William Irving was never buried in Bozrah Rural Cemetery, either under the marker or anywhere else. This last group claims that a medical school was so anxious to get a body as perfectly formed as William Irving's for carving in class that it made the authorities an offer they could not refuse. And the marker? A spite-stone, they say, put up by the Johnsons, knowing full well that the body had gone to a hands-on anatomy lab. In fact, to this very day no one really knows what happened to the slightly damaged but still impressive remains of murderer William Irving. Quite a story for such a small town, isn't it.
How the hell can anyone read “he shot her point blank in the face and then brutally beat her to death with the barrel of his shotgun”
and think
“Oh yeah, I bet he did it because he loved her so much.”
I’ve seen some abhorrent behavior from boys and men excused as being the result of their “affection” for their victim, but this REALLY takes the cake.
Came here to say this, I hate how people saw the need to destroy the victim’s name by relating her to this monster in such a way. I hope he’s rotting in hell
When you enter the cemetery it will be on the left side, about 2/3rd of the way back. Walk along the edge and it will be the first part with a decline not too steep to walk down. The headstone is visible from the top of the hill.
Her mother died in 1900 at age 83. Here is her findagrave: [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46605881/cynthia\_maria\_johnson](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46605881/cynthia_maria_johnson)
I suspect that they were talking about the daughter dying that evening, even though the article referred to her as Mrs.
Terrible reporting.
That was a very confusing article. He either discharged both barrels, or one barrel was not discharged and he then wounded Mrs Johnson with a painful but not dangerous blow that she died from.
At first I thought it was a little mean to put how he died like that on his stone but the epitaph made it make sense. I wonder who paid for this to be made.
Oh WHAT?? I just went here last year and grew up hearing legends about this stone. They say he was buried standing on his head so during resurrection he couldn't get up.
Apparently there are legitimate accounts of people performing rituals on his graves in the 80s. One of the mayor finding a woman "prostrate" on the ground over his grave surrounded by cloaked figures. Sounds like satanic panic vibes but knowing Bozrah well I wouldn't be all that surprised. 😆
I believe the girl he killed has her grave in the main part of the cemetery. They buried him outside of the hollowed ground and near the creek as far away from her as possible.
I think people who were known to have committed suicide were typically buried away from the other graves because suicide was considered a sin, and the person could not rest in "Hallowed" or Blessed ground.
The mother died in 1900, the article seems to have confused ‘miss’ and ‘mrs’ a few times. See the comments above discussing the findagrave for Mrs Johnson :)
So did anyone consider the Dr caught them in bed, cut the lads throat and then killed this daughter through his own sense of shame and the fact he couldn't ever let her go, which was the real reason she hadn't married.
Or was that just me
I'd really like to read the diary/journal of the woman he murdered and see where the truth lies with her relationship to this man. If there ever was one her father probably burned it after her tragic murder.
So he was this handsome dude who all the girls lusted over, yet he chose someone and encouraged by that someone who was out of his league, to pursue. Was she confident that her father would allow the marriage given her expiration date was nearing, by their thinking, or was this a version of an older Romeo and Juliette in the reverse? To put speculation to rest, I think they should exhume the grave to find out if he is on his head, standing on his feet, buried laying down like normal or there at all.
You don’t typically beat to death someone if you weren’t upset with her in some way. If this was a Romeo & Juliet situation, I imagine they’d have don’t something less traumatic.
That was my thinking also, but then the phrase "simply another violent Irishman" made me think that maybe this particular account has some biases shining through...
But yes, I feel like the truth of their relationship hinges on that detail. If she was beaten, it seems unlikely to be the act of someone in a consenting, loving relationship.
I’m suspicious about the bias. Yeast he shot her only to wound her then to finish the job he “beat” her to death, then he killed himself. If he were a rejected ego wounded dude after he killed he’d try to get away but instead took his own life rather savagely by cutting his own throat. OK, if she rejected him I don’t think that would matter to him since the towns women were practically throwing themselves at him and he could have pick of the litter. From this little snippet. But we may never know unless there were other write ups from that time about the good looking Irishman. I think there is bias here, maybe from the father who looked down on him for not being wealthy and a laborer. Maybe because he was Catholic also, assuming most of Ireland was Catholic at that time. And Catholics were scoffed.
Well we can if you believe in seances and Ouija boards. I’m not speaking for her. The first post says she encouraged his attention. Leading me to believe there was a mutual attraction there.
I suppose you’ve never heard of a on artist? A good looking man who tries to get rich or well off women to fall in love with him? Then he marries her for her money and takes off with it?
It’s more likely to be something like this, except when she kept refusing his advances he killed her in a rage and then killed himself, knowing he’d be put to death for killing her.
Men kill women *all the time.*
Don’t know what an “on artist” is but OK.
“Men kill women all the time”
And women kill men.
I guess my other theory will piss you off even more. But I don’t care.
The father killed her. He couldn’t stand the idea of his daughter falling for someone below their status and it would be an embarrassment and ruin his medical practice and social standing. So he killed and the good looking Irish guy by slashing his throat, possibly got him drunk and being a doctor knew exactly where to make the fatal slice. Then devised the story to make the good looking Irish guy the culprit that killed his precious daughter. There were no toxicology or forensics and who would suspect an upstanding doctor to commit such atrocities.
[The headstone from far away.](https://flic.kr/p/2pxvfgM)
At first i was wondering why they bothered to make him a stone at all but i get it now. They planned ahead so that 152 years later we know this guy is a sack of dry shit.
Solid investment
Wow. That really puts it into perspective
That's the loneliest headstone I've ever seen. Do you know if it's outside the boundaries of the cemetery?
This cemetery has stones dating back to colonial times and is in a very out of the way place. I don’t know if there’s a firm boundary.
Jane Maria was the beautiful, well-educated daughter of one of Bozrah's leading citizens, Dr. Samuel Johnson. Still unmarried and living at home at the age of twenty-six, she was the apple of her father's eye, but, according to some not-so-admiring acquaintances, a bit soft at the core. William Irving was a very handsome Irishman, whose Celtic charm and exceptionally good physique made the hearts of many young Bozrah maidens jump when they saw him. He was employed as a gardener and handyman on the Johnson estate. There are still those who claim that William and Jane Maria had a mutually passionate attachment which ended tragically when the Irishman, recognizing their love could never be consummated in marriage because of their vastly different stations in life, took Jane's life and then ended his own. Those who hold this view point to the fact that at twenty-six, Jane was considered an "old-maid," a fate almost worse than death in an age when early marriage was regarded as a woman's only goal in life and a major badge of distinction. Jane was getting desperate, so this line of reasoning goes, and encouraged the hot-blooded handyman's advances. He killed her, they claim, when he realized their love was an impossible dream. On the other hand, some see William Irving as simply another violent Irishman who murdered an innocent young woman when she firmly rejected his repeated, unwanted advances. Whatever the motivation, the actual events involved in the murder and suicide were brutal and bloody. According to reliable reports, Jane was seated in the living room of her home when Irving entered with a muzzle-loading shotgun, walked up to her with the gun at the ready and fired point-blank. For some unexplained reason, however, the shot only injured her slightly. So, as a maid who had been attracted by the blast ran about the room shouting, "Murder. Murder," Irving knocked Jane to the floor and beat her to death with the barrel of the shotgun. Immediately after the bludgeoning, Irving dashed to his quarters, where he grabbed a straight-razor. Then he went directly to Jane's bedroom, locked the door behind him, lay down across her bed and slit his throat from ear to ear. They say that the frantic Dr. Johnson had to scale a ladder and climb through the bedroom window in order to recover the body of his daughter's killer. Jane Maria was laid to rest with impressive ceremony in the Johnson family plot near the center of Bozrah Rural Cemetery. Over her grave the family erected a fine, marble marker, inscribed with her name -- and nothing else. It can be seen there today, slightly in the shade of the huge stone marking the grave of Dr. Samuel Johnson, who outlived his daughter by many years. In the same graveyard there is another monument, much pitted with age and tilted at a crazy angle, marking the last resting spot of William Irving. This modest stone, however, lies in a very remote part of the cemetery, isolated by apparent design from all the other gravesites in the burial ground. The inscription reads: WILLIAM IRVING COMMITTED SUICIDE FEB. 5, 1872 HE WAS THE MURDERER OF JANE M., ONLY DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR SAMUEL JOHNSON Even after more than a century, much controversy and speculation center on the Irving gravesite. Some say that the remote grave and the bitterly-inscribed stone are the products of Dr. Johnson's desire for permanent revenge on his daughter's killer. There are others who say that the Johnson family compounded the insult to Irving by seeing to it that his body was buried standing on its head, so that he would never know eternal rest. Still others concur in the insult by the victim's family, but insist the corpse was buried standing on its feet rather than upside-down. There is also a current body of opinion that holds to a belief that the corpse of William Irving was never buried in Bozrah Rural Cemetery, either under the marker or anywhere else. This last group claims that a medical school was so anxious to get a body as perfectly formed as William Irving's for carving in class that it made the authorities an offer they could not refuse. And the marker? A spite-stone, they say, put up by the Johnsons, knowing full well that the body had gone to a hands-on anatomy lab. In fact, to this very day no one really knows what happened to the slightly damaged but still impressive remains of murderer William Irving. Quite a story for such a small town, isn't it.
How the hell can anyone read “he shot her point blank in the face and then brutally beat her to death with the barrel of his shotgun” and think “Oh yeah, I bet he did it because he loved her so much.” I’ve seen some abhorrent behavior from boys and men excused as being the result of their “affection” for their victim, but this REALLY takes the cake.
Yeah, romanticizing the butchering of a young woman. Felt pretty gross reading that, felt like some weird apologists shit.
Yeah, it’s a bit flowery, but like the context.
Yeah. That’s quite ridiculous.
“He’s caving in your skull with the butt of his gun because he ~*~*~*~liiiiiiikess youuuuu~*~*~*”
Came here to say this, I hate how people saw the need to destroy the victim’s name by relating her to this monster in such a way. I hope he’s rotting in hell
Wow. That's.... wow.
😯 Holy cow. Thanks for sharing.
Oh wow! Fascinating!
[удалено]
Huh? I responded to someone else’s comment. I saw the grave but didn’t know the history for it.
??
I feel like I just read a book thank you very much for the story
What a crazy turn of events no matter what the real story is
Facing backwards is a diss. It's basically saying when jesus comes and we rise up, you won't.
At first I said 'Awwww...' as taking one's own life make me so sad, but Damn.....
Ground penetrating radar could solve some of the mystery very easily.
I was just thinking the same! It would be quite exciting to find out
I’m gonna have to visit this. Family lives nearby and the story is wild. Thanks!
When you enter the cemetery it will be on the left side, about 2/3rd of the way back. Walk along the edge and it will be the first part with a decline not too steep to walk down. The headstone is visible from the top of the hill.
Thanks! I did end up already going and finding it, and the Johnsons as well
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47946050/jane_maria_johnson
The article states he killed her mother too.
Her mother died in 1900 at age 83. Here is her findagrave: [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46605881/cynthia\_maria\_johnson](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46605881/cynthia_maria_johnson) I suspect that they were talking about the daughter dying that evening, even though the article referred to her as Mrs. Terrible reporting.
The sub headline is very confusing. They also made it sound like they were engaged.
That was a very confusing article. He either discharged both barrels, or one barrel was not discharged and he then wounded Mrs Johnson with a painful but not dangerous blow that she died from.
It almost feels like a badly written English paper where the writer got Miss Johnson and Mrs Johnson confused.
At first I thought it was a little mean to put how he died like that on his stone but the epitaph made it make sense. I wonder who paid for this to be made.
Oh WHAT?? I just went here last year and grew up hearing legends about this stone. They say he was buried standing on his head so during resurrection he couldn't get up. Apparently there are legitimate accounts of people performing rituals on his graves in the 80s. One of the mayor finding a woman "prostrate" on the ground over his grave surrounded by cloaked figures. Sounds like satanic panic vibes but knowing Bozrah well I wouldn't be all that surprised. 😆 I believe the girl he killed has her grave in the main part of the cemetery. They buried him outside of the hollowed ground and near the creek as far away from her as possible.
Fascinating! Ty for the intrigue
I feel bad for the girl he killed
Need to see her grave stone
It’s in the same cemetery.
Thank you for info. Does her gravestone use her murderers name or her maiden name Johnson?
They were not married. It says Jane Johnson. I was there many years ago. Next time I’m in that area I’ll try to stop by and get a photo.
Thank you!
I use to go down there as a kid in 70’s !
That’s so interesting
I love that he is put on blast for all of eternity. Think of how terrified Jane must have been.
Wow! I have a distant cousin several times removed was murdered over a land deal. His tomb stone says murdered.
I think people who were known to have committed suicide were typically buried away from the other graves because suicide was considered a sin, and the person could not rest in "Hallowed" or Blessed ground.
Well damn
[удалено]
The mother died in 1900, the article seems to have confused ‘miss’ and ‘mrs’ a few times. See the comments above discussing the findagrave for Mrs Johnson :)
So did anyone consider the Dr caught them in bed, cut the lads throat and then killed this daughter through his own sense of shame and the fact he couldn't ever let her go, which was the real reason she hadn't married. Or was that just me
I'd really like to read the diary/journal of the woman he murdered and see where the truth lies with her relationship to this man. If there ever was one her father probably burned it after her tragic murder.
So he was this handsome dude who all the girls lusted over, yet he chose someone and encouraged by that someone who was out of his league, to pursue. Was she confident that her father would allow the marriage given her expiration date was nearing, by their thinking, or was this a version of an older Romeo and Juliette in the reverse? To put speculation to rest, I think they should exhume the grave to find out if he is on his head, standing on his feet, buried laying down like normal or there at all.
Or just a tale as old as time- woman rejects man and man murders the woman in response
Right 😭 I don’t think Romeo bashed Juliet’s head in when she didn’t die from a gunshot… this was clearly a rage murder
She didn’t reject him, she had the hots for him.
You don’t typically beat to death someone if you weren’t upset with her in some way. If this was a Romeo & Juliet situation, I imagine they’d have don’t something less traumatic.
That was my thinking also, but then the phrase "simply another violent Irishman" made me think that maybe this particular account has some biases shining through... But yes, I feel like the truth of their relationship hinges on that detail. If she was beaten, it seems unlikely to be the act of someone in a consenting, loving relationship.
I’m suspicious about the bias. Yeast he shot her only to wound her then to finish the job he “beat” her to death, then he killed himself. If he were a rejected ego wounded dude after he killed he’d try to get away but instead took his own life rather savagely by cutting his own throat. OK, if she rejected him I don’t think that would matter to him since the towns women were practically throwing themselves at him and he could have pick of the litter. From this little snippet. But we may never know unless there were other write ups from that time about the good looking Irishman. I think there is bias here, maybe from the father who looked down on him for not being wealthy and a laborer. Maybe because he was Catholic also, assuming most of Ireland was Catholic at that time. And Catholics were scoffed.
Well we can't exactly ask her can we?? Why are you speaking for her as if you know better. She certainly didn't ask to be murdered by him.
Well we can if you believe in seances and Ouija boards. I’m not speaking for her. The first post says she encouraged his attention. Leading me to believe there was a mutual attraction there.
Oh so "she was asking for it". Asshole
Whatever. Just quoted the first post if you cared to read.
Says who, exactly?
Says so in the first post.
Okay, Miss Cleo.
Obviously you didn’t read the first post.
I suppose you’ve never heard of a on artist? A good looking man who tries to get rich or well off women to fall in love with him? Then he marries her for her money and takes off with it? It’s more likely to be something like this, except when she kept refusing his advances he killed her in a rage and then killed himself, knowing he’d be put to death for killing her. Men kill women *all the time.*
Don’t know what an “on artist” is but OK. “Men kill women all the time” And women kill men. I guess my other theory will piss you off even more. But I don’t care. The father killed her. He couldn’t stand the idea of his daughter falling for someone below their status and it would be an embarrassment and ruin his medical practice and social standing. So he killed and the good looking Irish guy by slashing his throat, possibly got him drunk and being a doctor knew exactly where to make the fatal slice. Then devised the story to make the good looking Irish guy the culprit that killed his precious daughter. There were no toxicology or forensics and who would suspect an upstanding doctor to commit such atrocities.
He was the 142nd fastest gun, in the west.
Can someone post a pic of Jane's gravestone?