The 1875 murder of 17 year-old Josie Langmaid broke the hearts of everyone in her hometown, Pembroke, NH. And since the manner of her death was heretofore unheard of, so was the community’s response to it. A “murder ballad” was composed, telling the story of her abduction and death in grim detail; her town erected a large, marble obelisk on the site of her abduction; a local minister wrote a poem and printed a book to her memory; and a constant stream of sight-seers from all over made the pilgrimage to the site of her murder, her home and her grave. And at the center of this outpouring of grief, were the remaining members of Josie’s family; father, James; step-mother, Sarah; brother, Waldo, and sisters Grace, Elizabeth and Abbie. How would they cope? What would become of the Langmaid’s of Pembroke?

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