The following e-mail was recently received from Steve Sauchinitz of Lehighton. “I see from time to time your articles on history or unique events. I was wondering if you knew the history behind the large black tombstone at the Henning's Cemetery at Albrightsville. On the headstone it states, "Here lies an innocent soul" and has men peering out of what looks like laurel bushes.” 

Contact was made with Jack Sterling, a Jim Thorpe historian and genealogist who has extensive postings of cemetery information, including a web page dedicated to the Old Albrightsville Cemetery. On the site, he writes, “Though most of the stones are the typical type of gravestone found in old cemeteries, there is one stone that stands out as very unusual. That is the stone of Aquila Henning. All gravestones tell a story, but this one goes way beyond that.” 

“The gravestone of Aquila Henning tells the story of the event that got him killed; at least, one version of that story,” writes Sterling. He describes the tombstone, “The stone’s back is to the road, and a passerby won’t notice it unless they walked across the cemetery to see. The stone is one of the largest in the cemetery; it stands about 4 feet high and is about 5 feet wide. The color is a powdery gray. Instead of saying “Died” with the date of death, the stone says “Shot.” 

The text is brief and small in comparison to the illustration. It reads, “AQUILA A. HENNING, BORN JUNE 7, 1892, SHOT NOV. 24 1932” “AN INNOCENT SOUL SENT TO ETERNITY,” and in the lower right corner, “WE DESIGN AND CUT IMPRESSIVE MEMORIALS – WENZ CO. INC. ALLENTOWN PA.” 

As to the illustration, let us return to Sterling’s description, “The stone shows a man, Aquila, walking through the woods with his hunting rifle. In the background, there are trees and bushes.” The central figure is a one-armed man holding a pistol. In the bushes behind Aquila are seven peering faces. 

“The scene depicts an ambush, which is what some maintain happened that day,” noted Sterling, who is in a unique position to recount this story. At the time, his mother was a nursing student at the Palmerton Nursing School. 

“She trained on-duty at the hospital,” said Sterling. “One of those she cared for was Henning. He only lived a short time once he got to the hospital (no fault of my mother's!), but when the case came to court, she paid attention.” 

Sterling discovered the stone in the early sixties on the Old Stage Road shortcut to Hickory Run Park. A neighbor suggested that when Henning’s widow had the stone created, she was extremely unsettled emotionally. 

Harry Wilkinson, a Meckesville schoolteacher, had Aquila Hennings’ son,  Aquila Jr., arrested for illegal hunting. This led to bad feelings between the Hennings and the Wilkinsons. 

On Thanksgiving Day 1932, the Hennings and the Wilkinsons were hunting, or as alleged, the Wilkinsons were preparing an ambush. Harry Wilkinson’s party consisted of his brother, Robert, and seven friends. Aquila Henning was hunting with his son. 

“According to court testimony,” Sterling reported. “Henning’s son shot and wounded one of the dogs of the Wilkinson party. When Harry Wilkinson knelt to examine the wounded dog, Aquila Henning Sr. stepped from the woods and mounted a stump, taking deliberate aim at Harry.” 

Robert Wilkinson, who was hunting in the nearby brush, claimed he saw Henning Sr. shot at Harry Wilkinson and miss. Then, when he saw Henning reloading, he took his only shot, hitting Henning in the back.

Harry Wilkinson had Henning driven to Palmerton Hospital. He died a few hours later. “That was the story given by the Wilkinsons,” noted Sterling. “However, in the hospital Aquila gave a statement shortly before his death denying shooting the Wilkinson dog and denying shooting at Harry Wilkinson.” 

Robert Wilkinson was acquitted. “There was no disputing that Robert Wilkinson shot Aquila Henning, causing his death, but the shooting was deemed justifiable, for Robert had witnessed Aquila shoot at his brother, and he felt he had no choice to stop him from shooting again,” explained Sterling. 

“Though Robert Wilkinson was acquitted, it can be said that Aquila’s widow had the final word, and her version of the story was etched in stone,” Sterling concluded. “She must have felt that it was Harry, not Robert Wilkinson who shot Aquila, due to his being the most prominent person depicted on the stone, and the others in the Wilkinson hunting party were part of an ambush.” 

The History of Carbon County by Thomas D. Eckhart tells a somewhat different story. It recounts Henning shooting Harry Wilkinson’s dog, then adds, “A hunting gang was prepared to enter the woods when the game warden shot Henning, causing him to stumble forward and discharge his gun.”

 It continued, “The tree branch where Henning’s bullet had lodged was removed and used as an exhibit in Carbon County Court to prove the ‘shooting in self-defense theory.’” 

It concluded, “Wilkinson became irate when Wenz Monument Company of Allentown provided a sizable tombstone for Henning. Wilkinson sued Wenz for $50,000 in 1938 because of its graphic display portraying Henning’s innocence.” 

To reach the Albrightsville Cemetery from Jim Thorpe, cross bridge and take Rt. 903 toward Albrightsville. Go about 15 miles and make a left onto Old Stage Road. After about 500 feet, there's a Bridge Out Detour. The cemetery is at this intersection, Henning Road and Old Stage Road.