All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #076, part 4

Rat Catcher Lou Bossle was proud of his profession - it is even carved onto his Laurel Hill West tombstone. Twice in the 1890s, Philadelphia newspapers sent a reporter to keep him company in rat-infested basements while he was on the job.

I'll tell you about the long relationship between humans and rats, and share some of the methods used by ratcatchers of yore. 

If you're a little squeamish, this one might make you squeam. 

Biographical Bytes from Bala #045 for mid-June 2025

The card games whist and bridge arrived in Victorian Philadelphia and captivated its upper-class population. Bridge clubs formed all over town, but people soon realized the man in the know was Milton C. Work, a Philadelphia lawyer. A scoring system that Work popularized for contract bridge remains the one that most players use today.

Learn about the history of playing cards, the development of bid games, and a lot more on this month's episode. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #075, part 4

Baron von Munchausen was a German military man who traveled the country spreading his tales of wonder, which always featured himself in the role of a hero. Clarence Wiener came from a wealthy Philadelphia family.  He started to burnish his reputation during his brief stay at Harvard. Eventually, truth and fiction blended together. His widowed mother married an American-born violin teacher who was also a Baron. When Clarence died, he ended up in an unmarked grave in the family plot.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #75, part 5

Princess Olga Demidoff was from one royal family and married into another, the house of Trubetskoy. She eventually married Philadelphia archeologist Edward Stoever, but supported herself as both an escort and as madame in a high-end New York brothel. Her name is on the tombstone, but she is located on an island off of Spain. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #075, part 3

In Paris before the Great War, he was known as Roberto Carles Eskens, but acquired the title of “The Marquis D’Eskens de Frenoys.” 

Baron James Ivan Michael von Suttka was born in Canton, Ohio, and claimed to be an Olympic caliber pistol shot.

Both men married rich American women. It is difficult to prove whether their titles were authentic. 

From all Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #075, part 2

Elizabeth "Libby" Shindler was an Indiana farm girl / schoolteacher who caught the eye of philanthropist / hatmaker John B. Stetson and became his third wife. When left a widow with several million dollars, she was pursued and captured by a Portuguese nobleman who was not quite what he claimed. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #075, Part 1

In the last quarter of the 19th century, there was a surge in marriages between European nobility and American heiresses as families exchanged money for titles. These women became known as "dollar princesses," and soon your east coast soiree was not complete without a contessa or marchioness to add to the flavor. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #075

In the late 19th and early 20th century, more than 450 American heiresses traded their fortunes for a European title; they were called "dollar princesses."

Elizabeth Shindler Stetson was the hatmaker's third wife who married into a Portuguese title.

Roberto Carles Eskens claimed Belgian nobility as Marquis d'Eskens de Frenoys; or was he a German valet with a good story and a vivid imagination?

James Ivan Michael von Suttka has "Baron" on his headstone and "Olympic medalist" in his obituary; neither was true.

Clarence Wiener was a peripatetic military gadfly who claimed innumerable medals and honors for himself; he was especially upset when his wealthy widowed mother married Baron von Graetner. Wiener was in a category of story tellers as enthralling as the Baron von Munchausen.

Princess Olga Demidoff Troubetzskoy Stoever was from a royal Russian family and married into another. She was married to Philadelphia archeologist Stoever and her name is carved on his stone. Fate had other plans for the princess. 

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #044 for mid-May, 2025

John W. “Jack” Merriam made his fortune in real estate development – Oxford Valley Mall, Cedarbrook Apartment Complex, and many others. Among his acquisitions was the Curtis Publishing Building on Washington Square, with its magnificent Maxfield Parrish / Louis Comfort Tiffany glass mosaic in the lobby. Another was Maybrook Castle next to the Wynnewood Train Station on the Main Line. He was namesake for the Merriam Theater on South Broad Street, and he left tens of millions of dollars in support of local art institutions. Yet despite his massive wealth Jack Merriam and his wives are interred under a simple flat bronze marker at Laurel Hill West.

From All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #074, part 5

2LT Elisha Kent Kane Wetherill was a PAFA-trained artist who specialized in landscapes and beach scenes. He joined the Army in 1915 and served during the Battles of Ypres and the Somme. While he survived a gas attack, his lungs were apparently damaged, which led to his premature death in 1929.