All Bones Considered #080, Laurel Hill Stories, part 2   Fairman Rogers lived a life of elegant wealth, but made himself useful as an expert in many aspects of science, especially civil engineering. He was elected briefly as captain of the Troop. He also excelled was as a coachman, especially when he took his magnificent black and red four-in-hand through Fairmount Park. Philadelphia artist Thomas Eakins captured Rogers in a painting that is the first to accurately demonstrate motion in animals. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #080, part 1   The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, or "First City Troop", was organized in 1774 as the Light Horse of the City of Philadelphia, often referred to as the Philadelphia Light Horse, one of the first patriotic military organizations established in the American Revolution. Although part of the National Guard system, it is a free-standing unit with its own uniforms and armory. It has served in virtually every war and skirmish ever entered by the United States. After a quarter century of service, it still proudly serves the American populace and the people of Philadelphia. 

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #080 November 1, 2025 First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, better known as First City Troop is in the midst of celebrating its semiquincentennial before the country does. Each segment will also be released separately.   Part 1 for November 2: a brief history of the First City Troop's First 150 years   Part 2 for November 3: Fairman Rogers was the finest coach driver in the land, especially the four-in-hand variety. His portrait by Thomas Eakins is a classic.   Part 3 for November 4: Archibald Loudon Snowden was a perfect example of a late-19th century polymath, becoming an expert in coin minting, the postal service, fire insurance, and Fairmount Park in addition to his years as a captain of the troop.   Part 4 for November 5: Joseph Lapsley Wilson quietly developed one of the finest arboretums in the country which continued under the care of Dr. Albert C. Barnes, who bought his property for a building in which to display his collection of artwork. It is now party of St. Joseph University.    Part 5 for November 6: Hugh Craig, Jr., was the grease that kept the troop moving and the glue that kept it together for more than 30 years, yet he lay in an unmarked grave at Laurel Hill East for more than a century. 

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #049, part 4   Oscar Rosier had married the prettiest salesgirl in town, who soon bore him a child. But Oscar had a roving eye which was apparently set on his secretary, another beauty and purported friend of his wife. It did not end well for anyone. 

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #049, part 3 Captain Clayton Erb decided to marry and produce an heir at age 50 and selected a young divorcee to serve as mistress of his Red Gables estate in Delaware County. When the woman's sister got involved, things went bad in a hurry. The court case revealed the mansion had been a house of horrors. 

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #049, part 2   John Hobbs knew he was being stalked and told his brother that if he didn't leave town soon, he would be a dead man. He was proved right when the woman he was avoiding caught up with him at the train station. 

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #049, part 1   Intimate Partner Violence dates to pre-biblical times and violence against women was sanctioned by laws until only recently. Up to 40% of all homicides involve a domestic partner. Men tend not to report abuse when it happens, although attitudes are changing. The adage that “Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them" is sometimes reversed. Here are three women who killed their intimate partner; their stories are anything but simple and straightforward. 

Biographical Bytes from Bala #049 John Hobbs was stalked and shot at a railway station in 1891 by a spurned lover. CPT Clayton Erb was shot and killed, either by his wife or his sister-in-law, during one of many knockdown drag-out battles that had occurred in the brief marriage at the Red Gables mansion in Delaware County. In 1922, businessman Oscar Rosier and his secretary Jerry were mortally wounded by Rosier’s wife, who was thought to be the prettiest salesgirl in Philadelphia. Oscar lived long enough to write a will, which completely blocked his soon-to-be widow from his modest estate.   These three men were victims of mariticide. Their stories follow. 

ABC079, Part 5   The tale of the arsenic widows of Philadelphia will never be told fully, and hundreds of men may have died at their hands. Two of the women who looked the guiltiest were saved from a life in prison by brilliant African American defense attorney Raymond Pace Alexander. 

ABC #079, part 5   Victor "Babe" Andreoli was raised in East Falls in a large, hardworking family, but fell in with bad company and was sentenced to life in prison. It didn't go well.

ABC-079, part 3   Willie was one of six brothers in the crime business. They never bothered to affiliate with the Mafia, but three of the six brothers were picked off during gang wars. Willie was one of the victims. 

ABC079 - part 2   Potito "Little Petey" Bisciotti was on the lower rungs of the mob but wanted to move up in the numbers racket. A rendezvous with fellow gangsters led to his untimely death by sawed-off shotgun. 

ABC079, Part 1: How and Why Crime Emerged   In neighborhoods across the city, ethnic groups clashed over control of gambling operations, protection, the numbers racket, prostitution, and eventually bootlegging. These criminal enterprises weren’t just about making money, but were also about gaining power and influence, sometimes even forging ties with local politicians and the police.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #079 This episode tells of Laurel Hill residents remembered today for their involvement with organized crime in the 1930s and 1940s. After the full podcast today, each segment will be released individually.   Petito "Little Petey" Bisciotti was a wannabe numbers man killed in what has become known as the Flag Day Massacre. Willie Lanzetti was one of six notorious brothers in constant legal troubles; he met his end in a gangland slaying before his body was cremated and the ashes scattered at Laurel Hill West. East Falls resident Victor “Babe” Andreoli was a cop-killer and Eastern State Penitentiary escapee who was gunned down at a breakfast café in Chester. Finally, you’ll hear part of the long sordid tale of the arsenic poisoning for insurance ring that took dozens of lives in the late 1930s. Two of the accused with the most circumstantial evidence against them were found “not guilty” in their trials where they were represented by Raymond Pace Alexander. Let’s get started.  

Biographical Bytes from Bala #048 Today, I shine a spotlight on an all-but-forgotten Philadelphia politician John Henry Fow, known as “Foghorn” for his stentorian voice and “Ducky” for his quirky walk. Fow was a tough lawyer with an uncanny knack for finding what was unconstitutional. He wasn’t afraid to challenge accepted knowledge, and debunked the story behind the famous “Washington Crosses the Delaware” painting and seriously challenged the Betsy Ross flag anecdote. Fow’s love for practical jokes kept his colleagues constantly on their toes, while his razor-sharp tongue silenced many rivals in court. Despite his outsized personality and invaluable contributions, his name has faded from public memory. Join me as we rediscover John Henry Fow—Foghorn for the Talk, Ducky for the Walk—and celebrate his impact on Pennsylvania history.

Part 5 of All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #078   Edgar Loftus was a Wharton grad who rose in the Army Air Corps to Lieutenant Colonel. On VE Day, he was ranking officer in charge when a small squadron of German Aces landing their aircraft at his air base to end their war. The story is remarkable. 

Part 4 of All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #078   Despite his very French name, Jacques Louis Francine was from a well-established Philadelphia family. HIs grandfather was a Union general, his father was the world's expert on tuberculosis. Jacques was the ultimate outdoorsman, collecting specimens for the Academy of Natural Sciences in northern Canada and starting a canoe camp. But he was also a decorated fighter pilot and bomber pilot with more than 30 missions to his name. He is buried in section V at Laurel Hill East. 

Part 3 of All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #078   In 1924, Danish-born Holger Hoiriis moved to the United States and bought an airplane. After barnstorming for a few years, he hitched up with German American photographer Otto Hillig who wanted to cross the ocean. Holgier thus became the first pilot to carry a paying customer across the Atlantic. He was also the first pilot to complete night airmail delivery for the US Postal service. After the war and when Holger was no longer around to confirm or deny, Otto spun a tale about being hijacked by Nazi agents in their hanger at Grossinger's in the Catskills.  This led to a futile treasure hunt more than 50 years later. Holger is buried at Laurel Hill East. 

Part 2 of All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #078 Beer heir Grover Cleveland Bergdoll was an early adaptor to flight and it is his Wright Brothers biplane that suspends from the ceiling of the Franklin Institute. He was also the most notorious American Draft Dodger during the Great War. You met Hobart Amory Hare "Hobey" Baker in an earlier podcast when fellow guide Paul Sookiasian and I talked about his athletic prowess; I return now to discuss his life as a pilot, and add new information uncovered only last year by ESPN. Benjamin Lee II eagerly shipped off to be a flier before he finished his college days at Penn. His plane went down and his body never found. He has a cenotaph at Laurel Hill East. 

Part 1 of All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #078 The first American balloon flight took place from Philadelphia, as did the great balloon riot of 1819. Thaddeus Lowe, who has relatives at Laurel Hill East, was the man who introduced the balloon to American warfare when he helped guide Union troops from 500 feet above the earth during the Battle of Fair Oaks. Until replaced by spy planes in the 20th century, balloons were one of the best surveillance tools in warfare.