All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories

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 vio...

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 im...

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 ...

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #074, segment 4

Alfred Reginald Allen, MD, was a UPenn med school grad, a clever researcher in neurologic injuries, a brilliant composer of operas and hymns, founder of the Savoy Company, and one of the finest photomicrographers in the world. But when he joined the Army, it was as a combat officer. He was killed, ironically, by shrapnel to his brain at Meuse Argonne. He has a cenotaph at La...

Excerpt from All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #074, part 1

The United States tried to stay out of the European conflict that started in 1914 but eventually joined the fray. Philadelphia, "The Workshop of the World," provided doughboys with blankets, footwear, and head gear. By the time the US Congress declared war in April, 1917, hundreds of Americans had already been fighting, and many had died, the first of more than 125...

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #074

The United States was dragged into a war that it seemed nobody wanted, but that was inevitable anyway. Philadelphia produced massive amounts of materials for the American doughboys.

1LT Dillwyn Parrish Starr was impatient for action. He joined Britain’s esteemed Coldstream Guard and was readily accepted by them. He was killed at the Battle of the Somme before the United States even...

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #043

Polish born violinist Timothee Adamowski was soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra for many years and served as one of the first conductors of the Boston Pops Orchestra. For many years his name was romantically linked with that of famed Australian soprano Nellie Melba, but he surprised everyone when he married Gertrude Pancoast of a famed Philadelphia medical family...

From All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #073, part 5

George W. Melville was the MacGyver of his day, seemingly creating something out of nothing when the situation called for it. As an engineer he was unsurpassed. He was one of only a few survivors of the ill-fated attempt to reach the North Pole by the ship Jeannette, captained by George DeLong. He then went back to recover the bodies of those who had been left behind. He h...

From All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #073, part 1

The United States tried very hard to not have a Navy. It wasn't until the early 19th century that congress realized the need for a fighting force on the water. Capture of American merchant ships by the Barbary pirates and corsairs with letters of marque forced congress to release funds to fortify the Navy. Eventually the United States Navy was second only to the Royal Na...