The Brutal Murder in Watsontown That Has Never Been Solved

 

On Tuesday morning, September 7th 1897,  a farmer inspecting his field of rye found a body lying on the ground.  The mans boots had been removed, and were placed between his bare feet. Two red handkerchiefs were placed on his face to cover it, held down by his wool hat. Under the handkerchiefs, there were seven gashes about his head and face.  One nearly separated his ear, and one laid the cheek open.  "the other gashes were spread about the top of the head, and ran from left to right, showing that the assassin had stood over his victim and chopped him as he lay."On one arm there were five wounds thought to be be from the victims attempt to defend himself.  The murderer had evidently left the field walking backwards, scraping dirt over each of his footprints as he went.  The marks of a finger were distinctly seen in the dirt.

The spot where Ritter was murdered, in a recently dug potato field, was within sight of the grave of Nelson E. Wade, who 25 years earlier murdered Mr & Mrs John McBride. Wade was hung in Williamsport, and his body was buried in the corner of a field near the Amos Ritter home.

 The farmer who found the body was  Mr Jacob Bets, and the man laying dead in his field was his neighbor, who had spent the evening before in the Bets home, having dinner with the family.  

For more than 6 years, rewards were offered, and much speculation was made.  At one time, there were rumors that a confession had even been made. Repeatedly it was asserted that the murderer was certainly a neighbor, and that two women who lived nearby knew more than they were saying.  

But the murder of Amos Ritter was never solved.  

Amos Ritter, Murdered in this field, 1897

A marker stands in a field near Rt 54, north of Watsontown.

GPS Coords - 41.12906, -76.83742

On Monday September 6th, Amos Ritter had purchased bread at Fry's bakery in Watsontown, tobacco in Messingers store, and a small load of phosphate from Rob Mckee, a dealer. When he left town, he had about $15 in his possession. The local papers reported that "he was also known to have had considerable money in his house". 

According to Northumberland's Public Press newspaper, "On the afternoon of September 6th 1897, Amos Ritter aged 70 years, a well to do farmer of Delaware Twp, visited Watsontown and exhibited a large sum of money.  At night fall he started home a foot, early the next morning he was found murdered in a field near his home, and the money gone." (Later estimates placed the amount missing as anywhere from $100 to $600.)

After his shopping trip in Watsontown, Amos had dinner at the home of Jacob Bets, a neighbor.  At 8pm that night, he headed for his own home, "in good spirits".

At 11pm that same evening, both Mr Bets  Mrs. D.N. McWilliams  (wife of the postmaster) heard a muffled cry, and then a shot.  As it had been a holiday week-end, and the roads had been busy with travelers, neither thought too much of the noises at the time.

In 1897, Amos Ritter, age 70, lived on "an old house on a little farm of a few acres close to the public road near Sedan post office". The 1874 map of Northumberland County shows an A. Ritter on a road today known as Crawford Road, near where 54 runs today.  Next door was Valentine Ritter, Amos's father.  

Amos Ritter was born the son of Vaentined & Catherine (Lohr) Ritter.  He married Martha Jane Young, and they had 6 children: Clarissa (Clara) Ritter Kling, William A. Ritter, Katura W. Ritter Crawford, Mary Elisabeth Ritter Beaver, Alphineus Ritter, and Lillie A. Ritter McGafferty. Although he was still married in 1897, him and his wife had been estranged for a number of years, and she resided in Muncy.  His occupation, from 1850 - 1870, was "tailor", and in 1850 he worked in a tailor shop in White Deer.  In newspaper articles about his murder, he was sometimes referred to as a blacksmith, and the census in 1880 listed him as a "laborer". After his murder in September of 1897, Amos Ritter was buried in Muncy Cemetery.

A newspaper sketch, included in an article about the murder

A Clue Found A Week Later

In mid September of 1897, the County Commissioners offered a $200 reward for the arrest of the murderer.  The Columbian, a Bloomsburg newspaper, reported: "Detective Dougherty and a posse of 20 men scoured the country round the home of Amos Ritter, in an effort to find the hatchet which which the old man Ritter was murdered a little over a week ago.  

More than a week  after the murder, a paper in which Ritter had wrapped his coins was found at the spot where he had been murdered. As the area had been searched thoroughly in September, and it was obvious the paper had not been exposed to rain or dew, it was certain the murderer had returned to the scene of the crime.

The Columbian reported "The arrest, if made as suspicion now directs, will reveal not only some very startling fact, but, if conviction follows, will expose one of the most deceitful and treacherous crimes ever committed in Central Pennsylvania."

However, no arrest was ever made.   

Speculation & Theories

"Speculation is rife as to the identity of the aged recluses murderer.  There is a well authenticated report out that the authorities suspect a woman, but the deed was so brutal that is a woman was guilty of it she must have been actuated by a cruel mania.  A shrewd trick of the assassin was the covering of his or her tracks that led from the spot where the old man's body lay."

In late March of  1900,  local papers theorized that Ritter may have been a victim of the recently convicted murderer William Hummel. Hummel was known to have been in the vicinity of "the old blacksmiths home" the night that Ritter was killed.  Hummel, a rag peddlar, had left the home he was staying at early in the evening, and he did not return until Midnight.  When asked where he had been, he replied "Oh, I was just calling".

Hummel however, adamantly denied any involvement, even as he faced the gallows for murdering his wife and children.  "I can only die once" he said, "so what need I be afraid of it?  If I did it, I would say so, but I didn't."

In July of 1900, half a dozen local citizens declared their willingness to subscribe to a fund to pay for a detective to be brought in on the Ritter case.  According to the Columbian, a newspaper in Bloomsburg, " Within the last week or two there has been developments that are reported to point quite conclusively to several parties with certain proof believed to be indisputable.  The people feel that the brutal murder of the old man, now three years ago, should be avenged."

By August of that year, the Northumberland County Commissioners had upped the reward to $1,000 for the arrest and conviction of the murderer. 

Three years later, six years after the murder, no one had been arrested for the crime.  Rumors flew through local communities in July 1903 that a man had confessed. "The report in circulation" was that the neighbor of the dead man was on his death bed and had made a confession.  The story, given in detail, included the details about buying a cow and paying for it with dime and small silver pieces taken from the Ritter home.  Although the story "tallied so well with the rumors that have been in circulation among the old man's neighbors", the confession could not be proven.

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Although not a direct line ancestor, Amos Ritter, the son of Valentine & Catharine (Lohr) Ritter, was the cousin of Zebedee Ritter.  Amos & Zebedee's parents were brothers, both sons of Martin & Barbara (Fredericks) Ritter.  Zebedee Ritter was Dan's 3rd Great Grandfather.

1880 Census

Name: Amos Ritter

Age: 50

Birth Date: Abt 1830

Birthplace: Pennsylvania

Home in 1880: Delaware, Northumberland, Pennsylvania, USA

Dwelling Number: 198

Race: White

Gender: Male

Relation to Head of House: Self (Head)

Marital status: Married

Spouse's Name: Martha J. Ritter

Father's Birthplace: Pennsylvania

Mother's Birthplace: Pennsylvania

Occupation: Laborer

Neighbors: View others on page

Household Members:

Name Age

Amos Ritter 50

Martha J. Ritter 46

Clara Ritter 23

Wm. A. Ritter 19

Katena Ritter 14

Mary E. Ritter 10

Alvenus Ritter 8

Lillie A. Ritter 5

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The Amos Ritter Marker is visible from the road, please respect private property!