A Mystery Skeleton in Perry County

 

Lancaster Weekly New Era, June 17, 1882

An interesting discovery was made in 1882 when a skeleton was unearthed just above Duncannon. While details are scarce, the fact that the body had been buried in a shallow grave, without a coffin, seems to suggest that the bones were not those of a member of the Baskins family-- a wealthy and influential family who could certainly afford a proper burial for a loved one.

Is it possible that one of the leading families of Perry County succeeded in committing the perfect crime?

The Baskins' were among the earliest settlers of Penn Township. James Baskins took up residence along the Juniata River in the 1760s, taking out a warrant for 300 acres in what is now the northern section of Duncannon, directly across the river from Duncan's Island. He also owned a portion of the island, and soon grew wealthy by operating a ferry. The settlement around the ferry came to be known as Baskinsville. James' daughter married Alexander Stephens, a veteran of the French and Indian War, against James' wishes, and they settled in Georgia in 1792. Their grandson, Alexander Hamilton Stephens, would become the first and only Vice President of the Confederacy.

 

In Duncannon Presbyterian Cemetery, which was originally known as the Baskins Graveyard, rest the bones of many members of this prominent family. These include early settler Mitchell Baskins (1754-1809), who established the town's first Presbyterian church, his wife Margaret (1769-1814) and their sons, Cornelius Baskins (1795-1871), who operated a tavern near the bridge spanning the Juniata River, and John J. Baskins (1797-1848).

In view of the social standing of the Baskins family, the chances of the mystery skeleton being kin of James or Mitchell are quite slim, so how did the skeleton get there and who did it belong to? A wayward traveler who got a little too combative on the old ferry for the ferrymaster's liking? A rowdy patron of a long-forgotten tavern? Or perhaps a Shawnee warrior who fell at some ancient Indian battle, just a few feet away from where the Baskins barn was built?