Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #054 for mid-March, 2026

Sophie Hutchinson Drinker (1888-1967) came from one Philadelphia blueblood family and married into another. She and her husband Harry led musical singing parties in their Merion home for 30 years. When Sophie started a woman's choir, she was frustrated in her search for music by, for, and about women. She made it her life's work to discover how woman had been shut out from their early roles in religion, medicine, and music. Her 1948 book Music & Women is a feminist classic. The Sophie Drinker Institute of Bremen Germany carries on women's music studies in her name and tradition. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #084, part 4

Emmy Lou "Clare" Linford Wofford was present at the creation of the United States Peace Corps, along with her husband Harris Wofford, one of John Kennedy's "Best and Brightest." While Harris served as college president and United States Senator, Clare served in the background at three Philadelphia Universities. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #084, part 3

Florence Cowanova (born Cowan in 1901) was the daughter of dancers Edward and Mary Cowan. On the suggestion of dancer Anna Pavlova, she adopted the surname Cowanova. Florence grew up immersed in dance, with her father specializing in kinesiology and her mother in dance instruction and publicity. By her teens, Florence was recognized as a versatile dancer and teacher, running a popular studio that staged large recitals at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music, featuring hundreds of students. Thousands of Philadelphia girls fondly remember their sessions with Mme Cowanova, who made them all feel like princesses. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #084, part 2

Matilda "Tillie May" Forney, raised in a prominent Philadelphia family with journalistic roots, gained experience as her father’s secretary and became a columnist known for her “Fashionable Luncheon and Tea Toilets” column, which focused on high society fashion and etiquette. Her column catered to an affluent audience, discussing topics like French fabrics and social customs. 

Tillie never married or left her family home on Washington Square. She was buried in her father’s plot at Laurel Hill West. Her life and career reflect both the opportunities and constraints faced by women journalists of her era.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #084, part 1

Emily Elizabeth “Lillie” Smith Edwards Holman (1854–1925), aka "E.E. Holman," emerged as a trailblazer in architecture. After starting as a clerk in an architect’s office, she quickly demonstrated design talent and transitioned into practicing architecture independently. Holman designed numerous homes, theaters, and institutional buildings over a career spanning about twenty years.

Holman encountered gender bias from clients but often overcame it by delivering quality work. She believed successful women architects must master all aspects of the profession, including technical knowledge, supervision, and business acumen, while disregarding gender stereotypes.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #084

Emily Elizabeth Holman was an accomplished architect who preferred using her initials so as not to disclose her gender.

Matilda “Tillie May” Forney followed in the steps of her newspaper publisher father John Forney. She made newspaper work her career at a time when women were barely tolerated in the newsroom.

Florence Cowanova was the ballet teacher all the little girls loved. Among her famed students: Zelda Fitzgerald, Imogene Coca, and Princess Grace.

Emmy Lou Lindgren married Harris Wofford in 1948 before going to live in India for 9 months. While Harris became one of JFK’s “Best and Brightest,” under her married name Clare Wofford became a lynchpin in the successful formation of the Peace Corps.

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #053

Architecture expanded during the 19th century period of European colonialization, ignoring influences from Asia and Africa. Although not buried at Laurel Hill, African American architect Julian Abele is thought to have designed mausoleums at both properties. Walter R. Livingston, Jr., interred at Laurel Hill West, is considered Philadelphia's top Black post-War architect; his masterwork is the Zion Baptist Church on North Broad Street. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #083, part 4

Mpozi Mshale Tolbert was a West Philadelphia native who became a beloved photojournalist and DJ in Indianapolis. Despite his 6'6" frame and waist-length dreadlocks, he was described by all who knew him as a gentle giant. Two murals of Mpozi exist in Indianapolis’s Broad Ripple and Fountain Square neighborhoods, celebrating his life and work.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #083, part 3

Reverend John Komai, son of a Krahn chief, and his wife Julia Komai were prominent Liberians who fled their homeland during the 1989 coup, leaving behind their estate and enduring a perilous journey to Sierra Leone before resettling in the United States. John became a community leader for Liberian refugees in the U.S., working as a counselor and continuing efforts to support Liberian refugees. Julia was a political activist who had been jailed in 1979 for opposing human rights abuses and later served as Assistant Director of the African Unity Conference Center. Julia died in a car accident in 2004, and John survived but required lifelong care until his death in 2012.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #083, part 2

Leonard Leland Smalls was a Baptist minister who dedicated much of his life to prison ministry and community development. After military service and education at Virginia Union University, he was ordained in 1956 and became the first Black minister certified as a prison chaplain in Pennsylvania. He was active in civil rights, associated with figures like Martin Luther King Jr., and involved in political activism including a 1967 mayoral candidacy focused on consumer fraud issues.