Art News

Mysterious Wanderer, The Leatherman, from 1800s Gets More Peaceful New York Grave

OSSINING, N.Y. (AP).- A mysterious man who wandered New York and Connecticut in a 60-pound leather suit during the 19th century became a little more mysterious Wednesday. Historians announced that all they found when they dug up the 1889 grave of the man known as the Leatherman was dozens of coffin nails. “The Leatherman was a mystery in life and he’s going to be a mystery in death,” said Ossining Historical Society President Norman MacDonald. The grave in Ossining’s Sparta Cemetery was being relocated because it was just a few paces from busy Route 9, and recent interest in the Leatherman was bringing more visitors to his resting place. MacDonald said the grave site had become dangerous. Accounts of the nomad’s all-leather outfit, his quiet demeanor