19th Century New England Murders : John Kemmler and The Purrington Family Massacre

Financial ruin can be a motive for murder. John Kemmler, a German Immigrant, was let go from his mill job in the industrial town of Holyoke. The fear of failure led Kemmler to commit one of the most heinous crimes in Massachusetts history.

Captain James Purrington, a Maine farmer, was driven to massacre his entire family in the early 1800s.

Mountain Murders discusses two tales of murder in 19th century New England examining why two family men would snap.

Resources include A Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Murder New England by M William Phelps and various newspaper articles of the period.

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