In late December 1781 and in the first months of 1782, a few newspapers ran articles making reference to the James Yates Murders.
[1] A source from The Pennsylvania Packet claimed to have spoken to various neighbors, all of whom described Yates as someone they would never have expected to commit such an atrocity.
[4] Three out of the four children were murdered in the house, while his wife, with the youngest child on top of her, were found on the nearby road.
Yates was confused and seemed to be in a state of madness as he claimed at first that the bodies were not those of his family and felt that his now deceased wife was an Indian.
This account was written to the editor by someone named "ANNA", who states that she received the information from a woman that knew James Yates.
Before relating a very detailed first-person narrative of the murders, the woman acknowledges that James Yates was not incredibly wealthy, yet his family was respected.
This account claims that on the night of the murders, the Yates family had some community members over for a religious get-together.
[7] He proceeded to his children's room and followed the voice's instructions by throwing his two sons against the wall and fireplace, resulting in their deaths.
He noticed his wife running in the direction of her parents' house, but he was able to hit her with the axe, causing her to drop their baby.
A religious man, referred to as "Mr. W", attempted to counsel Yates while at Tomhanick, but he "[refused] to confess his error".
[8] Charles Brockden Brown's gothic novel, Wieland, is believed to be based on the James Yates Murders.
[9] This statement appears to refer to the James Yates murders that, at the time, had been mentioned in publications such as New York Weekly Magazine, Philadelphia Minerva, and the Salem Gazette and served as a way to authenticate the story in Wieland.