The story of the Leatherman is tragic as it is bizarre. Born in Lyons, France in the late 1820’s he was known as Jules Bourglay. As a young man he fell in love with Margaret Laron, daughter of the rich leather maker. Without any means to support a family he promised his loved one to earn money and respect working for her father. He succeeded and soon was allowed to trade leather for the factory at the stock market. However with invention of the chemical tanning in 1855 the price of traditional bark tanning leather went down and Jules Bourglay’s purchase of leather bankrupted the company.
Tombstone
FINAL RESTING PLACE OF
Jules Bourglay
OF LYONS, FRANCE
"THE
LEATHER MAN"
who regularly walked a 365 mile route
through
Westchester and Connecticut from
the Connecticut River to the
Hudson
living in caves in the years
1858–1889
Towns visited:
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Brewster North Salem Ridgefield Branchville Georgetown Redding Danbury Terryville Bridgewater Waterbury Forestville New Britain |
Old Saybrook Guilford Branford New Haven Stratford Bridgeport Norwalk New Canaan Stamford Greenwich White Plains Armonk |
Chappaqua Ossining Mount Kisco Bedford Hills Pound Ridge Yorktown Peekskill Somers Derby Woodbridge Naugatuck Hamden |