In the early hours of July 24, 1845, five men left their horses at Myers' Tavern, got into a wagon, went north to Bear Mountain, entered the cabin where Kitty Payne and her children slept, forced them into the wagon at gunpoint, and fled. Born enslaved in Virginia in 1816, Kitty Payne had been freed by her owner Mary Maddox in 1843, and Mrs. Maddox settled Kitty's family in Adams County and filed manumission papers in the local court. Mrs. Maddox later deeded her property to her nephew Samuel, who, as residuary heir, had used his aunt's slaves as collateral for his debts; he hired kidnapper Thomas Finnegan and his gang to help return Kitty's family to slavery in Virginia. After almost a year in protective custody in jail while the case moved through court, Kitty and her family were finally freed with the help of the Menallen Friends, local Quakers, especially Cyrus Griest, who paid for her attorney, and neighbors who testified on her behalf. Thomas Finnegan was later found guilty of assault, battery, and kidnapping and was sentenced to five years at hard labor, though he served less than two, while Samuel Maddox received no punishment. Although Kitty later sued Samuel Maddox for assault, battery, and kidnapping, she was never compensated. Kitty Payne died in 1850 at age 34 and is buried in Gettysburg's Lincoln Cemetery.