Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #052 for mid-February 2026

Mary Scarpone Costanza was raised Roman Catholic. She claims she never met a Jew until she went to Temple University. After obtaining a degree in teaching, she developed an interest in art produced by victims of the Nazi Holocaust. It turned into her life work.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #082, part 5

In 18th- and 19th-century Pennsylvania, women played a central role in caring for the dying and the dead, performing tasks that combined practical, emotional, and ritual duties. Over time, the profession of undertaking evolved, becoming male-dominated and more specialized, reducing women’s involvement in death care. Early undertakers often apprenticed from trades like cabinetmaking, expanding into funeral services; Samuel Patch Frankenfield was a notable example who developed a family undertaking business.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #082, part 4

Script by Russell Dodge, narration by Joe Lex

Thomas Hewson Bache co-founded CHOP, the first children’s hospital in the United States. He also served as a Major in the Medical Corps, where he was involved in the Gettysburg Campaign and remained with wounded soldiers even as a prisoner of war. Bache also served as curator of the Mütter Museum from 1866 to 1885 and oversaw significant acquisitions like the Joseph Hyrtl skull collection. He was also involved with the Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill stories #082 for January, 2026

Happy 200th Birthday!

Daniel Pabst

Daniel Pabst was a prominent 19th-century Philadelphia cabinetmaker known for his exceptional craftsmanship and distinctive designs, blending traditional Victorian styles with emerging artistic movements. His work served affluent clients and reflected evolving furniture styles from Renaissance revival to Modern Gothic. His work done with Frank Furness has been unsurpassed. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #082, Part 2

Happy 200th Birthday!

Henry Hagert: Prosecuting Catto's Accused Killer

Octavius Valentine Catto was a pioneering African American leader and activist in Philadelphia during the Reconstruction era, advocating for civil rights, voting rights, and racial integration. His assassination in 1871 during violent election-day riots marked a significant and tragic moment in Black American history. The prosecution of his alleged killer, Frank Kelly, was led by Henry S. Hagert, a distinguished Philadelphia lawyer and district attorney known for his meticulous legal skills.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #082 for January 2026 - Happy 200th Birthday! 

Part 1 - Martha Coston: She Had a Certain Flare

Martha Coston significantly advanced maritime communication by developing pyrotechnic signal flares that could be seen day and night, improving naval operations and safety at sea. Ships originally used signal flags and lanterns to communicate, but these were limited by visibility and weather conditions, especially at night. Martha received her first patent in 1859, initially in Benjamin’s name, and after extensive testing and negotiations, the U.S. Navy purchased her patent in 1861 during the Civil War. Coston flares were crucial for naval communication, identifying friend or foe, and aiding in rescue operations, remaining in use until marine radios emerged in the 1930s. Martha and her sons expanded the business internationally, supplying various navies and services, with family members continuing operations into the late 19th century. Martha Coston died in 1904, with her invention enduring for decades; she was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #082 for January 1, 2026

It's January! Time for our annual 200th Birthday Bash for people born in 1826.

After Martha Coston was widowed at age 21, she used her husbands notes and reputation to invent airborne signal flares that saved hundreds of lives.

Henry Hagert was assistant District Attorney for the City of Philadelphia when he prosecuted a man for the murder of Civil Rights Activist Octavius V. Catto.

Daniel Pabst was the finest cabinetmaker in town and people waited years for him to create their household masterpieces, many of which are today in museums. 

Dr. Thomas Hewson Bache was a co-founder of Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania, curator at the Mutter Museum, and a battlefield surgeon at Gettysburg. He was also Benjamin Franklin's great-great-grandson. Military historian Russ Dodge researched this one.

Samuel Frankenfield was a German immigrant carpenter who discovered there was money to be made as a coffin builder and successfully switched professions from carpenter to mortician. 

All were born in 1826. 

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #051, Part 4

James "Jimmy" Bland is NOT buried at Laurel Hill, but he serves as a logical link between minstrelsy and mummery. Many people called him the "Black Stephen Foster," and songs he wrote like "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" and "Hand me down My Walking Cane" have become standards. One of his more popular tunes, "Oh Dem Golden Slippers" became the theme song for Philadelphia Mummers. 

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #051, part 3

Born in 1848 in New York to French immigrant parents, Frank Dumont became a seminal figure in minstrel culture. He began to perform as a boy and joined Christy’s Minstrels by 1862, a troupe that set the enduring standard format for minstrel shows: a semicircle stage arrangement with an interlocutor (emcee) in the center and end men characters Mr. Tambo and Mr. Bones at the sides. The interlocutor opened the show with the phrase, “Gentlemen, be seated,” which became iconic. Dumont later joined other minstrel troupes and eventually settled in Philadelphia around 1880, where he introduced popular songs such as “Silver Threads Among the Gold” and “When You and I Were Young, Maggie,” both significant sentimental ballads of the era. He "died with his boots on," as it were as he sat in the box office for a St. Patrick's Day matinee.

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #051, part 2

E.F. Dixey & John Carncross were the bedrock of Philadelphia minstrelsy for more than 20 years. Many people did not feel a trip to the Quaker City was complete if they didn't make a stop at the 11th Street Burnt Cork Opera House. The podcast also discusses pigmentocracy, historical nonracial uses of blackface, scientific racism, Black Philadelphia society in the mid-19th century, and much more.