Scattered Through Time

Our story starts the day one of the most famous stories in US History concluded. July 11, 1804, in the early morning hours at Weehawken, New Jersey. The sitting vice president of the United States, Aaron Burr, faced off with former treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton in the most high profile duel in the history of our country. As many of you musical theater fans know, Burr shot Hamilton right between his ribs, and the majorly influential thinker and founding father died a day and a half later. You probably knew at least part of that story, it’s taught in high schools around the country, but what we’re going to look at today is a question that is rarely discussed: What ever happened to Aaron Burr?

Burr did not lay low after that notorious morning. This story is so whacky and unbelievable that I’m not even going to spend time talking about Burr’s indictment for murder in New York and New Jersey and his eventual acquittal -- which did happen. No, today’s story is of one of the most high profile treason cases in American history and one final battle between one of our nation’s landmark presidential administrations and a Vice President gone rogue. Buckle up because I promise you don’t know where this is heading.

Music:

Galway by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3795-galway

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Tango de Manzana by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4460-tango-de-manzana

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fiddles McGinty by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3747-fiddles-mcginty

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Builder by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4484-the-builder

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Achaidh Cheide by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3338-achaidh-cheide

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3601-danse-macabre

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Wednesday, August 6, 1890 was a highly anticipated day in Gilded Age New York. During a time period where people lusted after entertainment and big news, history was to be made. Convicted murderer William Kemmler was scheduled to die that evening. Executions were fairly routine in that era around the United States, but not this one. Kemmler was about to become the first person in American history to die by electrocution, and the public was eager to hear more about the “chair of death” that would be used to do the job. The “Evening World,” one of New York’s prominent newspapers of that time period, put out an extra that night which was sparse on details of the execution, but did have a few interesting nuggets of information, one being that quote “Despite the secrecy in all of the preparations a crowd of horror hunters had scented out something near the hour for the execution and gathered outside of the iron gate, gaping through the bars.”

It’s interesting that the World described these curious onlookers as horror hunters because whether they knew it or not, a scene of real horror was playing out inside of the specially appointed room where the electrocution was occurring. We’ll get to that in time, but this quote from The Times, a newspaper out of Michigan, encapsulates the moment. “Faces grew white, and forms fell back from their chairs.” While this is all fascinating in and of itself, it becomes downright strange when you learn who the inventor of the electric chair was and why he developed it. The man was Thomas Edison, and he did so as part of a marketing ploy to discredit his competitors. Yeah, really.

Music:

Onion Capers by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4679-onion-capers

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Snow Queen by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4511-the-snow-queen

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Malicious by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4014-malicious

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Where we left off in part I of our tale of Olive Oatman. Olive was grieving the death of her sister Mary Ann, who succumbed to a severe famine that killed many of the Mohave Native Americans holding the girls in captivity. Olive’s life was spared because of the mammoth efforts of her adoptive Native American mother, Aespaneo, to keep her alive by providing food that she refused to even share with the tribe. At this moment, Olive must have believed that her only living relative had died, as her mother, father, and siblings were killed in a massacre in Arizona three years prior. What Olive didn’t know, however, is that her brother, Lorenzo Oatman, had survived the initial attack in 1851 despite being severely wounded and left for dead by the Yavapais, and there were efforts underway to reunite her with her brother.

Music:

Clash Defiant by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3510-clash-defiant

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sneaky Snitch by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4384-sneaky-snitch

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Darkest Child by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3615-darkest-child

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Celtic Impulse by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3484-celtic-impulse

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

It’s a striking image even for those who have seen it before. The visual of a young woman clad in a traditional 1800s gown, her hands in her lap, her hair pulled back and painstakingly curled would be ordinary if it weren’t for the giant tribal tattoo covering her chin. The girl’s facial expression is a cross between noble and despair. Her eyes, even in black and white, pierce through the camera and any viewer can tell that she has quite a story to tell. In fact this image was one of the most widely circulated among the early days of the wild west. The portrait belongs to Olive Oatman, one of the most tragic heroes of the old west, and a woman whose name and story have largely been lost to history. On today’s episode, join me for the story of the events that led up to that legendary photograph and the long, winding saga of the captivity and release of Olive Oatman.

Music:

Clash Defiant by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3510-clash-defiant

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sneaky Snitch by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4384-sneaky-snitch

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Darkest Child by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3615-darkest-child

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Celtic Impulse by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3484-celtic-impulse

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Welcome to the Scattered Through Time podcast! This new show will bring you the strangest, most eyebrow raising, and jaw dropping stories from history. Historical stories can be so much fun, and every week you'll be transported to a different time and place and learn something you never knew before! Please check us out on faceboook, and instagram and TikTok (@scatteredthroughtime) and twitter (@throughpodcast).