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In 1910, 10-year-old Marie Smith disappeared just 600 feet from her home in Asbury Park, New Jersey. What followed wasn’t just a tragic murder — it exposed the racial tensions, investigative failures, and dark underbelly of a resort town trying to maintain its pristine image.

Join host Lesley Schierenbeck (aka The History Chick) as she unpacks one of the most shocking — and nearly forgotten — true crime cases in New Jersey history. This episode takes you from the rushed arrest of Tom Williams, to the arrival of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, to a professional “roper” who lured the real killer into confessing inside an Atlantic City hotel.

🕵️‍♀️ It’s a story of injustice, persistence, and a chilling confession — all set against the backdrop of early 20th-century Asbury Park.

📚 Further Reading:
This episode was inspired in part by The Rope: A True Story of Murder, Heroism, and the Dawn of the NAACP by Alex Tresniowski — a gripping account that dives even deeper into this case and its national implications.

📖 Find The Rope on Amazon

Thanks for listening!

Want to walk the very streets where this chilling story unfolded? Join me on one of my History Chick Tours in Asbury Park, NJ. Visit historychicktours.com for upcoming dates and tickets.

💌 Contact:
Got an idea for a future episode? Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]

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We're back in action! And just in time for Summerween! We're kicking off these sweltering days with a true crime story that is sure to leave you shuckin' for more! 

Join Lesley Schierenbeck this week as she delves into the true crime story of the Summer Solstice Murder of 1901 - which happened in Tuckerton, New Jersey. Hear about how one clammer's fate brought an oyster watchman to vengeance!  

Thanks for listening!

Want to walk the very streets where this chilling story unfolded? Join me on one of my History Chick Tours in Asbury Park, NJ. Visit historychicktours.com for upcoming dates and tickets.

💌 Contact:
Got an idea for a future episode? Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]

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Join me this week as Heirloom Historical is back in action - with live interviews from the 2024 New Jersey Decoy Collectors Annual Show! Listen and find out more about decoy carving, what makes it a unique American Folk Art, and how to get started in collecting or carving your own bird!

If you want to join the Facebook Group:  CLICK HERE

Thanks for listening!

Want to walk the very streets where this chilling story unfolded? Join me on one of my History Chick Tours in Asbury Park, NJ. Visit historychicktours.com for upcoming dates and tickets.

💌 Contact:
Got an idea for a future episode? Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]

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Join us this week as we 'Hang Ten!' and learn about the "Queen of the Waves" here in Asbury Park!

If you want to know more about Emma, check out this  new book!

Thanks for listening!

Want to walk the very streets where this chilling story unfolded? Join me on one of my History Chick Tours in Asbury Park, NJ. Visit historychicktours.com for upcoming dates and tickets.

💌 Contact:
Got an idea for a future episode? Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]

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Decoys—it's not just a man's world anymore! Join us this week for our very first guest, Nancee Jo Luciani, who will discuss how she broke into the field of decoy carving and ultimately made her mark!

If you want to support Nancee Jo's Art, please check out her craft page: The Painted Parrot

Or, check out other female carvers by buying the book: Tradition From A Woman's Hand here! 

Thanks for listening!

Want to walk the very streets where this chilling story unfolded? Join me on one of my History Chick Tours in Asbury Park, NJ. Visit historychicktours.com for upcoming dates and tickets.

💌 Contact:
Got an idea for a future episode? Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]

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A shipwreck survivor. A (legal) witch. A patriotic rebel at 74. These are just some of the baddies that you'll learn about here in this episode as we delve into the histories of New Jersey's most tenacious ladies of the colonial period! Join us this month as we celebrate women's history! 

Thanks for listening!

Want to walk the very streets where this chilling story unfolded? Join me on one of my History Chick Tours in Asbury Park, NJ. Visit historychicktours.com for upcoming dates and tickets.

💌 Contact:
Got an idea for a future episode? Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]

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Nestled along the Maurice River is the now-sleepy community of Shell-Pile, New Jersey - once the world's Oyster Capital!

Come find out about the African Americans that made this community thrive!

If you want, check out the Smithsonian Article! 

Thanks for listening!

Want to walk the very streets where this chilling story unfolded? Join me on one of my History Chick Tours in Asbury Park, NJ. Visit historychicktours.com for upcoming dates and tickets.

💌 Contact:
Got an idea for a future episode? Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]

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Join us this week as we stroll down Springwood Avenue in Asbury Park to take listeners back to a time when Ike & Tina, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and other jazz, blues, and R&B greats would serenade audiences in many of the nightclubs that were a part of the culture and Black community.

Want to read more about Asbury? | Check out Daniel Wolff's Book

Want to get involved in the preservation of the Turf Club? | Check out AP-AAMP

Thanks for listening!

Want to walk the very streets where this chilling story unfolded? Join me on one of my History Chick Tours in Asbury Park, NJ. Visit historychicktours.com for upcoming dates and tickets.

💌 Contact:
Got an idea for a future episode? Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]

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Did you know that New Jersey was home to over a dozen all-Black towns?  Well, it's true!

Come learn about one of the longest-lasting all-Black towns here in the Garden State, Whitesboro!

The Colored American

Whitesboro Concerned Citizens

Thanks for listening!

Want to walk the very streets where this chilling story unfolded? Join me on one of my History Chick Tours in Asbury Park, NJ. Visit historychicktours.com for upcoming dates and tickets.

💌 Contact:
Got an idea for a future episode? Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]

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Hey, thanks for listening to Heirloom Historical! You can email Me! 

[email protected] 

Learn about the rich history of enslavement here in New Jersey! 

Touted as a "Northern State" doesn't mean that enslavement stopped - in fact, we still had over 400 people enslaved after the Civil War was over! Learn more in this episode, and check out the book list below:

 Books: 

Stories of Slavery in New Jersey

The Ragged Road to Abolition: Slavery and Freedom in New Jersey 

Tinton Falls Iron Works: 

Thanks for listening!

Want to walk the very streets where this chilling story unfolded? Join me on one of my History Chick Tours in Asbury Park, NJ. Visit historychicktours.com for upcoming dates and tickets.

💌 Contact:
Got an idea for a future episode? Want to be a guest? Email me at [email protected]