Antoine le Blanc
Encyclopedia
Antoine le Blanc was a 19th Century murderer and a French immigrant to the United States.
Le Blanc came to New York to seek his fortune after being disowned by his family in France. He spoke little to no English and committed the crime only a few weeks after he arrived in the United States.
In 1833, a few weeks after his arrival in the country le Blanc was allowed to live in the small, dank basement of the Morristown, New Jersey
farmhouse of the Judge Samuel Sayre family, in exchange for chopping wood and feeding hogs
. He was unpaid. After two weeks of taking orders and hard work, he became angry and murdered the farmer by smashing his face with a shovel, his wife Sarah,who he killed with a club, and their servant Phoebe, who may have been a slave. He proceeded to ransack the house for valuables.
After the crime was discovered le Blanc was tracked down, captured and tried. The local judge ordered him hanged and dissected. Le Blanc was hanged for his crime before over ten thousand witnesses on September 6, 1833. After his death, Le Blane was taken to a medical lad and experimented on with electrical currents, later his skin was "dissected" to be made into wallets, purses, lampshades, and book jackets. His face was made into a plaster mask. The death mask
and some other products eventually passed to Carl Scherzer, a collector of 19th century artifacts.
Le Blanc came to New York to seek his fortune after being disowned by his family in France. He spoke little to no English and committed the crime only a few weeks after he arrived in the United States.
In 1833, a few weeks after his arrival in the country le Blanc was allowed to live in the small, dank basement of the Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 18,411. It is the county seat of Morris County. Morristown became characterized as "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the...
farmhouse of the Judge Samuel Sayre family, in exchange for chopping wood and feeding hogs
Domestic pig
The domestic pig is a domesticated animal that traces its ancestry to the wild boar, and is considered a subspecies of the wild boar or a distinct species in its own right. It is likely the wild boar was domesticated as early as 13,000 BC in the Tigris River basin...
. He was unpaid. After two weeks of taking orders and hard work, he became angry and murdered the farmer by smashing his face with a shovel, his wife Sarah,who he killed with a club, and their servant Phoebe, who may have been a slave. He proceeded to ransack the house for valuables.
After the crime was discovered le Blanc was tracked down, captured and tried. The local judge ordered him hanged and dissected. Le Blanc was hanged for his crime before over ten thousand witnesses on September 6, 1833. After his death, Le Blane was taken to a medical lad and experimented on with electrical currents, later his skin was "dissected" to be made into wallets, purses, lampshades, and book jackets. His face was made into a plaster mask. The death mask
Death mask
In Western cultures a death mask is a wax or plaster cast made of a person’s face following death. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits...
and some other products eventually passed to Carl Scherzer, a collector of 19th century artifacts.