On Decoration Day 1881, the tranquil morning silence at Coyle's Ferry was shattered by the sound of gunshots, and in an instant Emily Myers lay dead at the hand of John Coyle, Jr. Although his guilt was never in question, he claimed he was in love with Emily and was driven insane by her continual rejections. Coyle's subsequent murder trials and multiple appeals became local headlines, and the public outcry surrounding the use of the insanity dodge was immediate and intense. \nThe setting of the tragedy was the Susquehanna River crossing now known as Accomac. As early as 1727, Reverend James Anderson began ferrying settlers bound for points west. Hotly contested by the colonies and coveted for potential mineral wealth, the area prospered over the next three centuries and was the scene of numerous historical crossings and events. While undergoing changes in ownership, Accomac witnessed the birth of the United States, endured the struggle of the Civil War, and survived the greed-driven growth and eventual financial crash of the town of Marietta. During the 1800s, the declining need for ferry services began to take its toll. Always adapting, Accomac expanded into a thriving hotel, tavern, fishery, sawmill, and resort destination.\nPulled from local headlines, court records, trial transcripts, and land records, this story weaves together the history of the river crossing, the town of Marietta, and the untimely death of an innocent young girl. Against a rich historical backdrop, the murder and ensuing legal proceedings provide a compelling account of life Across the River.

Across the River, Murder at Accomac

History

Michael Maloney

Americas

Rattlesnake Colonel: Thomas Cresap An American Paradox

Across the River: Murder at Accomac

Maloney, Michael

Thomas Cresap's life serves as a primer on American history. He was at the forefront of the contentious border conflicts between the colonies of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and spearheaded American expansion into the Ohio Valley. His explorations of the frontier inadvertently helped start a chain of events that ultimately led to the French and Indian War, Pontiac's Rebellion, and the American Revolution. He served in the Maryland militia, the Ohio Company of Virginia, the Lower House of Maryland, the Committee of Observation, and the Sons of Liberty. Cresap's personal relationships with George Washington, Lord Baltimore, Colonial governors, British and American military officers, and many of the most influential men of his time helped shape the America in a way few did. However, despite all his well-intentioned contributions, Cresap was not held in high esteem by everyone. Known in Pennsylvania as "The Maryland Monster," by the Indians in Maryland as "Big Spoon," and by the British Army as "Rattlesnake Colonel," Thomas Cresap's life is a paradox. Regarded by Pennsylvanians as a quarrelsome and lawless villain, he reached almost folk hero status after moving to Western Maryland. In his ninety-three years, Cresap was many things, including a frontiersman, soldier, politician, trailblazer, ferryman, land speculator, Indian trader, surveyor, patriot, husband, and father. Drawn from Colonial records, newspapers, and correspondence, Rattlesnake Colonel details Thomas Cresap's rich life experiences and relates the story of the complicated conflicts of eighteenth century America in a personal and understandable way.

Rattlesnake Colonel: Thomas Cresap, An American Paradox

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Miri's mother passed to Sheol earlier this year. She awakens one morning in her home in Magdala to discover that her loutish father has sold her into slavery to a local tavern owner. After a terrifying ordeal in which a wealthy visitor is killed, she escapes into the hills. With the help of a traveling merchant, she evades pursuit and finds her way to Sepphoris, Herod's capital city in central Galilee. In Sepphoris, Miri meets Yeshua, a boy of sixteen who has trouble following rules. A wedding is planned between Yeshua's cousin and a man from the nearby village of Cana. Over the next three weeks, as Miri struggles to overcome her recent trauma, her feelings toward Yeshua evolve from revulsion, to grudging respect, to deep affection.   Her past catches up with her on the day of the wedding. A man from her hometown recognizes her, and alerts the Roman authorities. Yeshua is entangled in his own troubles, as his antics with water and wine have embarrassed a powerful rabbi and endangered everyone near him. Both must now flee to an uncertain future.

The Secrets of Miryam

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

Ellicott City, Maryland, 1908: An unidentified body is found on the trolley tracks in the hills outside of town. Unsuspecting revelers are poisoned during a dinner party at a historic mansion. A vicious assault leaves a farmer near death, and a young black man named Billy Hatwood is accused of the crime. Trudy O’Flynn, a writer for the local newspaper, discovers patterns in these crimes that the authorities are too busy or incurious to investigate. She begins to question the odd behavior of the mysterious chemist who recently opened a pharmacy in town. When Billy Hatwood, her friend and neighbor, is accused of the assault, it becomes personal for Trudy. She must find the real culprit before an innocent man is sent to prison or, worse, lynched by an angry mob. Michael Maloney weaves an exhilarating tale from true events described in numerous clippings from The Baltimore Sun and other newspapers. Insightful and whimsical, Mile Marker Ten vividly portrays a time of transformation, not unlike our own, driven by rapid technology and social change.

Mile Marker Ten (Mill Town)

A wealthy industrialist's son has been kidnapped from the historic Burg Alnwick Hotel in the hills above Ellicott City. The man asks his trusted friend, Dr. R. L. McReady Knibbs, a well-known physician, psychiatrist, and investigator, to solve the crime without police involvement. A trio of local women is enlisted to aid Knibbs in finding the perpetrators before harm comes to the boy.Alice Gillhaney, a young woman troubled by visions of ghosts and other spirits, comes to the attention of Dr. Knibbs at the outset of the investigation. The doctor had been planning to write a book on the relationship between psychosis and the occult, and is thus fascinated by Alice. As the investigation unfolds, it becomes apparent that Alice's ravings are not random, but have increasing relevance to the case before them.

Mount Misery: An Ellicott City Mystery - 1909

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Books by Michael Maloney