Appalachian: Schaumboch's Tavern

By James Wosochlo Jr.

The Appalachian Mountains have always been full of mystery, abounding in legends and bloodshed during the French Indian War and the Revolutionary War. However, from 1850 to 1889, a new horror haunted these lands. Secrets of devious deeds that were carefully hidden behind the walls of a tavern owned by Matthias Schaumboch.

In his two-room tavern, Matthias confessed on his deathbed to murdering eleven to fourteen people before he lost count. Rumors had already abounded as locals whispered about Matthias killing lonely travelers for valuables and then dismembering the bodies. There were even rumors of Matthias feeding his victims to unknowing guests at Schaumboch’s Tavern.

Only later were the atrocities confirmed when the property was purchased after Matthias’s death by William and Anne Turner. They began to find human skulls in the water wells and human bones on the property. Based on true events and local history, this is the story of America’s first serial killer. Even today, curious visitors can drive the lonely road to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and view the tavern just off the road—at their own peril.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Dec 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781480898776

James Wosochlo Jr.

James Wosochlo, Jr. grew up in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. He has a love for history and owns an impressive collection of Native American and colonial artifacts found north of Hawk Mountain. James has spent most of his life as a production supervisor and served on the local Deer Lake Borough Council as well as Deer Lake and West Brunswick Fire Company until 2019. He is also former president of the State Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology. A founding member of Hawk Mountain Archaeology Society, and former president of the Forks of the Delaware Archaeology Society in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.

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Copyright © 2020 James Wosochlo, Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

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except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Archway Publishing

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and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

www.WosochloBooks.com

Credit for tavern pic: Courtesy of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary

ISBN: 978-1-4808-9875-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-9876-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-9877-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020921460

Archway Publishing rev. date: 10/10/2023

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Author’s Note

Chapter 1     The Confession

Chapter 2     The Well

Chapter 3     Bad Shot

Chapter 4     Ham and Bean

Chapter 5     Splitting Wood

Chapter 6     Unfaithful

Chapter 7     The Trouble with Three

Chapter 8     Taste of Your Own Medicine

Chapter 9     The Sailor

Chapter 10   Mushrooms

Chapter 11   The Hunter

Chapter 12   Rumors Grow

Chapter 13   Old War Stories

Chapter 14   The Sheriff

Chapter 15   Harassing Times

Chapter 16   Nor’easter Storm Temptation

Chapter 17   Remains Found

Never travel alone, says the spider to the fly.

James Wosochlo

For my mother, Margaret Decker.

She loved

these types of stories. RIP, Mom.

This novel is based on true events and based on local history.

However, this novel is fiction only because the murders that

took place at Schaumboch’s Tavern were not documented

or records kept. Therefore, the author had to speculate

the murders and methods of which they happened.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Special thanks to the following:

Lynda Boltz, for her patience and support.

Eric Yutko, for local research and original

discussion on writing this novel.

Cover Design by Allan Stackhouse

AUTHOR’S NOTE

During the years 1850–1889, there was a kept secret about atrocities that wasn’t proved until after the death of Matthias Schaumboch. This story is based on true events about one of the first cunning serial killers in the early history of the United States. This story predates the United States’ first documented Serial killer by 40 years. Maybe the local people turned their heads in shame, or perhaps events continued because the law was stretched so thin in those days. Some individuals didn’t want to get involved in a local secret; however, that didn’t stop the spread of rumors.

In 1789, after the Revolutionary War, a small, two-roomed home was built on Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania. This soon-to-be tavern was just north of the Appalachian Trail in Albany Township near the Schuylkill and Berks County line. Later, in the 1850s, Margaret and Matthias Schaumboch purchased the tavern. Rumors began to fly about the couple or, more so, about Matthias, who owned and managed the tavern. It is said that travelers and peddlers disappeared, and the common relationship between them all was that they stayed at the Schaumboch Tavern. An individual also reported hearing cries and moans coming from the cellar or barn as he passed by.

When Matthias sold items, local individuals recognized the belongings of travelers and peddlers. Rumors also spread that Matthias was feeding his victims to unknowing guests. Over time, more and more individuals were never heard from again. It wasn’t until William Turner and his wife, Anne, purchased the tavern after Matthias Schaumboch’s death that they began to find human bones on the property and down its four water wells. This was proof that something truly deadly had happened there. The method of the murders is unknown, and no records were kept of the events.

Matthias Schaumboch admitted to killing up to fourteen individual’s right before his death by dementia in 1889. However, he stated that he had lost count as he became more ill. The point is, the presence of human remains found in the four wells and on the surrounding property means something terrible happened to many individuals at that location. There is no record of any family members coming forward and looking for missing persons.

Some have theorized that Matthias was very careful about the victims he chose and sought common factors. Note that the victims had several similarities. For example, they were not locals, they traveled alone, and they had something of value that was worth the risk for Matthias to sell. Most people in early America were new immigrants who were en route to new lives with no family ties in the area. Some individuals traveling west to the frontier were never seen or heard from again or have changed their names, identities or escaped persecution themselves. Keep in mind that a lot of laws broken in this story were not in effect as of yet.

One record shows that Matthias was almost caught when a peddler selling Civil War surplus items went missing. Matthias was found trying to sell the same surplus items in Reading, Pennsylvania; the event was reported to authorities. After a search of his property, authorities found no evidence at that time, so the charges were dismissed. Sadly, the law of the day was focused on deaths and assaults being committed by the Molly Maguire’s, an Irish society of organized crime controlling the coal mines in this part of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the late 1800s. At this time, anthracite coal was found only in Schuylkill County, and it was highly prized to those running the railways and most industry of the time. The Molly Maguire’s began to uprising against the government because Senator Henry Wilson, chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs sponsored the Conscription Act of 1863 which imposed the draft for the first time at the onset of the War Between the States which took most of the workers for the Molly Maguire’s away to war and out of the mines. Most lawmen were hired to control the canals and the Reading Railroad to contain the Molly Maguire’s’ reach, and these lawmen were spread thin, leaving remote areas lawless.

One other factor that kept Matthias from facing justice was that he killed his victims over a vast number of years. A second factor is that he was able to stop when he was almost caught due to his selling the victims’ belongings. All these factors made it easy for travelers to be victims of Matthias Schaumboch. In addition, there are a good amount of local historical facts written into this story of actual and true events; they tie in with this story before and during the Schaumboch’s occupation and ownership of the tavern.

Today anyone can drive past the tavern and view it from the road that goes north and south over the mountain and through the sanctuary. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary has requested that the tavern now be a private residence, and it will not tolerate trespassing. The tavern isn’t open to the general public, and I ask readers to respect the sanctuary’s wishes.

No individuals I, the author, know of or am acquainted with in my life are depicted in this book and storyline. I, the author, did make up or speculate about the following. There are no records or written accounts describing how the individuals died or were murdered. That said, details of the murders are the product of speculation, though the murders obviously happened. Besides, the research doesn’t specify that the Schaumboch couple had any children; the author created the character Ben for the book. The suggestion of belongings or items of value being hidden on the property by Matthias isn’t factual and is the result of speculation by the author of this book. Any individual vandalizing, trespassing, or stealing from the property and/or tavern will be held under penalty of state and federal laws. Again, the tavern is now a private residence in the sanctuary.

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CHAPTER 1

THE CONFESSION

Travelers have always come north of the Appalachian Trail, even before recorded time and history. The locally known Native Americans, named Lenni Lenape but also known as the Delaware, called this their hunting grounds and home. This forest is full of mystery and folklore because of its history. This area in the Blue Mountains has seen much bloodshed over its entire history, since it was the frontier in the 1750s. Many battles and massacres happened from the Appalachians north side and going into New York, since the British and the French fought over this country, and in the middle were native tribes allied to both sides.

This story begins on a spring day in the eastern Appalachian woodland as it wakes to a damp, foggy morning of birds singing. A turkey gobbles on the roost in response to the early light. It is an awesome view through trees and fog. The spring air of a nearby pond is loud with peeper tree frogs and the songs of mating calls.

This is the part of the Appalachian woods known today as Hawk Mountain. The early- morning wildlife is loud, as if aware and celebrating the soon death of something that has cursed the mountain for years. A deer rushes past the woods to a dirt road filled with wagon tracks going down the mountainside. The deer darts off the dirt road after getting too close to a small, two-room house built close to the side of the road.

The year is 1889. There are a few horses and one buggy tied up outside the small house. The house is a tavern for travelers who come north through the wilderness. Inside the tavern is an elderly man on his deathbed, with a few family members and friends gathered in attendance. Two are local town officials, one a doctor and the other the local town reverend. The reverend is giving last rites to a dying old man. No one is grieving except a small boy named Ben, but he isn’t grieving aloud. The death of this old man has been coming for some time.

The dying man asks for the doctor but not for the reverend. Perhaps he isn’t a religious man, or maybe he knows religion won’t protect him from what is to come next. The old man knows he is dying; he can feel it and see it on everyone’s face in the dimly lit room.

This should help your pain, Matthias, the doctor says. He works on his patient, trying to make his transition less painful and more comfortable.

The dying man speaks. I have some things I wish to confess before I leave this place.

The doctor’s attention focuses on the dying man. We are here for that, Matthias. What do you want to say?

The man makes a small attempt to sit up and says, I don’t want my grandson in the room to hear this. Send him outside for he has no part in this, and he is too innocent.

A second figure moves into better light; it is the reverend. He speaks to the grandson, who stands quietly in the room. Ben, please give us a moment with your grandpa.

Yes, sir, little Ben Jr. says. The boy leaves the room; the wooden door makes a sound as it closes.

All are eager to hear the truth, for they have some ideas from rumors they have heard about the information about to be presented.

Is my wife, Margaret, here? Matthias makes an attempt to look around.

I am here. The voice comes from Margaret as she steps forward.

I only have you and my grandson, who knows nothing. I wish to confess. Matthias says this in front of Ben’s mother, who is also in the shadows of the room, as if she were not there. He says this with spite in his voice for her to hear but doesn’t look in her direction.

Apparently the two individuals resent each other to this day.

The doctor jumps into the conversation to avoid wasting time for the dying man. Go ahead, Matthias.

Matthias looks at the ceiling, Rumors are true. I have killed in my days here. I have killed eleven—no, fourteen—people before I lost count with this sickness. Some of their heads are in the wells, I believe. What is left of them, unwanted peddlers, I placed in the forest for the animals to pick apart, and a good job they have done.

Matthias smiles, even though he is in pain. I just wanted to let someone know. How about that? The pain has finally stopped. I cannot see. At this point, he seems to be talking to himself. I am not mad! He looks into an empty area of the room. God, Wife! You could cook so well. No one knew or cared about them.

Matthias giggles a little over his last breaths. The old man falls back into the bed and begins to breathe erratically; he begins choking on the mucus in his throat. His heart fails, and the last signs of breath leave his body.

The two men look at Matthias’s wife, Margaret, who stands quietly with tears rolling down her face. They look at her at the same time, looking for a reaction. They are all in disbelief at what they just heard. However, the men aren’t surprised. Sherry, the younger woman, Ben’s mother, stands quietly in the doorway of the other room and doesn’t react to the events that just unfolded.

The doctor breaks the silence. Sorry, but Mr. Schaumboch has passed. Mrs. Schaumboch?

The only reaction from Margaret that is noticed is the tears that continue to roll down her face. The only other reaction comes from Sherry, the little boy’s mother, who blurts out, breaking the silence, So the rumors are true then?

We don’t know this to be true, Mrs. Schaumboch, the doctor says, Your father-in-law was very sick.

Sherry speaks in an upset voice. Tell that to my husband who had to grow up here with that monster. He was disturbed is more like it! My father-in-law killed all these missing people. He’ll burn in hell! That is the truth of it. We are leaving, far away from this. Sell it all.

Sherry looks at Margaret with a glare. I want nothing to do with the demonic doings with this property or place—most of all, that man! She looks for her son. Ben? She rushes out the door, with a bag already packed in one hand, and pulls her son, Ben, in the other as she shoots a second glare of disgust at Margaret. Sherry marches past Margaret as if Margaret knows the life her husband led and has been keeping it a lie.

You knew all this time, Sherry says, turning. I know you knew! You could not even tell your own son, Ben. You’re just as guilty.

Margaret watches as her daughter-in-law and grandson make their way out the door to the wagon. She says, Sherry! Do not be upset. I am sorry!

Sherry stops and listens to Margaret. Sherry turns to look at Margaret as if to show some sympathy, but then she turns and heads to the wagon. Suddenly, little Ben turns and runs to his grandmother for a quick hug and a kiss goodbye.

Margaret is full of tears and bends down to embrace her only grandson. Ben, dear, tell your father that I miss him when you see him and that I will come down to Washington, DC, to see you after I am done with things here.

Ben hugs his grandmother. Bye, Grandma. He turns and runs to his mother, who is busy loading a bag and a few small things on the horse-drawn buggy.

Outside, the doctor and reverend watch as Sherry makes a quick haste to load a few items and the little boy in the buggy. She climbs up onto the seat and shouts at the horse to go. The horse and buggy quickly make their way down the hill and out of sight as both mother and child bounce side to side from the rough road.

The doctor speaks. "Well, we will have to document what we witnessed here today, Reverend Welsh. You will have to make arrangements for the sale of the estate with Margaret since you know a possible buyer.

Dr. Garman takes a moment to think. Question, what about the confession?

He then turns to speak to the reverend. You know Mr. Schaumboch was insane, and I gave him strong medication to make him comfortable. It is very possible and highly likely that all this could have just been a hallucination.

The reverend replies, So you are aware that there are many missing people? You don’t deny that?

The reverend looks for an answer or rebuttal from the doctor.

Finally the doctor speaks. There is no proof of such missing people. The authorities were here some time ago, and they found no evidence of such actions. These missing people, perhaps they could all be made up. No one knows them and no family has come looking for a missing relative. Again Dr. Garman stops to think. Except for a salesman who went missing, no one knows where he could be now. No evidence in the form of a dead body was ever found, so all this could be a fabrication and rumors of a dying, insane man. This is most likely just rumors and accusations growing out of control through time. Highly unlikely with the numbers of the so-called missing, someone would have found something by this time.

The reverend answers back. True, but no one would come looking for these people. They were immigrants like our families. They came in from other countries, looking to make a life as they traveled west and north of here.

The doctor shakes his head. Again, there isn’t any proof, and maybe Matthias liked the rumors about him of which in return, fed his mind mentally until he became more demented. Who knows what an insane man does for attention? If evil deeds happen here, it’s best to sell the property and let such stories be buried with him and die in the past. That is exactly what his wife plans to do, as you can see.

The doctor looks down the lonely road with the reverend, the road down which the daughter-in-law and grandson just headed and disappears from sight, leaving nothing but an empty view of a lonely dirt road. The two men look back into the doorway of the tavern and see Margaret standing with her back to both men as she looks at her dead husband in his bed.

The reverend walks to the corner post and unties his horse. He looks at the doctor as he mounts his horse. Perhaps you’re right, Dr. Garman. Let us document this and let this issue go into the past and be forgotten.

The reverend spins his horse to the north of the road and looks at the doctor. Those people in the town below will feel better and live better lives now. It is the end of this evil life, if evil did so happen here. I know a man named William Turner who has an interest in purchasing the property. He will clean this place up and give new management here. He is eager to treat weary travelers to our town if he wishes to do so.

The doctor begins to mount his horse while listening to Reverend Welsh. I will prep Matthias for his funeral in New Albany tomorrow. That means I have to ride back up here tonight with a coffin for Matthias’s body before dark. The doctor takes a moment to think. If you don’t mind, can you see to it that any of his kin still around is made aware of the funeral?

The reverend begins to ride toward the doctor. God bless you, Dr. Garman, I certainly will do, and let me know if you need anything at all.

The doctor takes a look at the tavern once more. God bless you too reverend? Best to keep quiet about this for now, however, I am sure the town is already talking of rumors and relief of this man’s passing.

Both men look at each other in uncertainty and give a little kick to their horses as they head down the opposite side of the mountain from which Ben and his mother are taken.

Margaret still stands in the doorway alone; she heard every word that the two men said but didn’t acknowledge it. She turns as the two men ride away and watches them pass from sight; finally, there is no sound of horse hooves in the distance. She looks down the opposite direction of the road and then back up to where the two men once were. Margaret finds she is now truly alone. She sighs and walks slowly and sadly into the tavern.

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CHAPTER 2

THE WELL

At Red Church, Reverend Welsh gives Sunday mass. The congregation sings a hymn. As the congregation finishes the hymn, the reverend begins to give a short sermon about the passing of a man all thought to be evil.

Reverend Welsh begins with one sentence of his sermon. The Lord says evil, and even one thought as so, is welcome in the home of God and is forgiven for his sins.

The reverend can visually tell some members in the congregation show signs of irritation with the sermon. He knows these people feel the late Matthias should be rotting and burning in hell. However, the reverend is highly respected, and no one interrupts the sermon. The reverend adds that the atrocities some claim this man has done could just be rumors from scared people. The reverend ignores the signs of disagreement and continues the sermon.

Only this man, Matthias Schaumboch, can stand before the good Lord and ask to be welcome into the house of God or be cast out to the depths of hell. The reverend scans the congregation.

The congregation seems to be pleased with the change in the reverend’s message, and the mass closes for the Sunday services. All can be seen leaving the church out front from the large doors to the waiting horses and wagons.

Reverend Welsh greets and thanks couples and families at the church exit as they leave. Finally, a young couple, William and Anne Turner, greets the reverend and thanks him.

The reverend gains the attention of the couple. William, I just want to let you know that Mrs. Schaumboch is willing to sell the tavern to you if you’re still interested. I know you’re new in these parts, but I think it would do our God-fearing community well if a good newly married couple like yourself and Anne buy the tavern.

William and Anne are pleased to hear the news and shake the reverend’s hands with excitement. William says, Thank you, Reverend Welsh! We will go up to meet Mrs. Schaumboch this afternoon to finalize the purchase. This is such great news!

William looks at Anne, and the couple squeezes each other’s hands in agreement.

Later that afternoon, William alone rides on a horse up to the tavern to see Mrs. Schaumboch. He rides up the road and crosses the Little Schuylkill River by riding through it. The horse hooves make a loud noise as they splash through the water and hit rocks. William makes it up the bank of the river and heads over to the road leading up the mountain.

As William rides up, he inspects the forest and wildlife. He is excited about living in the tavern, but a strange feeling comes upon him. As he gets closer to the mountaintop, he can hear a horned owl in the hemlocks, hooting in the late afternoon. William finds this odd since the owl should be doing those sorts of calls at night.

Suddenly, his horse rears up, and William can see the reason why. A large timber rattlesnake is coiled up and ready to strike at the passing horse; it makes a hissing sound with its rattle. William calms the horse down, leads it to the far left of the snake, and continues on. He reaches the top and looks up through the trees. William hears an eagle screaming loudly above him in the treetops while on its migration. He starts down the south side, and the tavern comes into view on the left. He rides up to his destination.

Margaret waits out front, sitting on a chair. She is still dressed in black since she just returned from Matthias’s funeral on the south side of the mountain. She seems to be in good spirits and invites the young man inside to have some tea and finalize the purchase of the tavern.

William can feel Margaret’s eyes on him, inspecting him and making a judgment on his character, as she leads him to the table inside the tavern.

Why is it that you’re interested in my tavern, young Turner? Margaret says to the shy, quiet man. I understand from the good Reverend Welsh, who was here overseeing my husband, that you have just been married to Anne.

William sits down and begins to sip his tea. Yes, ma’am, we did, and we would love to live here, away from the busy valley below.

Margaret doesn’t look at William but listens as she caresses a garment once belonging to her late husband. Young love, she says. We used to think the same way when we bought this tavern when we were your age.

She looks off into the tavern as if reliving memories. And you still want to buy this place, even after all the rumors and things you heard about what happened here? She shifts her eyes to William’s gaze as if to see and study any reaction to the question she just asked.

He remains quiet and doesn’t know what to say. Well, we don’t believe in such things, if they are true. And with all due respect, Matthias would have been hanged if everything we have heard is true.

She seems to be taken back by the direct comment and stares at him for a moment but then smiles to ease the concerned look on his face. So we agree on the price then, young man? She watches him as he musters up the money he has in his pouch.

He sets a large amount of money on the table. This is all that we have. Yes, it is the amount the reverend discussed with me.

He slides the stack of bill notes across the table to Margaret. She slides a deed over to him and has him sign it. She stands up and walks over, getting very close to William. He is noticeably nervous due to how close she is to him as she signs the deed as well and places it back in a large envelope.

William takes a breath as she leaves his personal space and returns to her side of the table with a slight smile. She looks at him. You will take this deed to the courthouse and register this, and it will be final by the end of the week.

She gets up and walks over to the young man; she kisses him on the head, making him feel strangely. Perhaps she wants to feel like she still has her seductive ways or has an attraction for him. Maybe she just doesn’t want to feel alone at this point in time. No one knows. Margaret is very attractive for fifty-five years old, and William cannot help but notice this as she exits the tavern, leaving him to sit at the table by himself.

He stands up and walks to the door, finding her sitting on a wagon. The wagon is packed with what belongings she has decided to take.

She looks at William with a seductive smile. The key is on the table, young man. Lock it up before you leave. The place is yours now.

He looks at the woman in black. "I will. I mean, we will. My wife and I will take good care of this place."

She continues to gaze