All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories

ABC:LHS #072-5   A slight reworking of ABC:LHS #041... ...about Cecil Kent Drinker MD now features his wife Katherine Rotan Drinker, MD, as they take on the investigation of "jaw rot" among young women who had worked as painters of luminescent watch dials. 

ABC:LHS #072-3   In the mid-19th century... ...women from around the world flocked to Philadelphia in order to become physicians.  Everyone has seen the Frederick Gutekunst photo of three medical students from India, Japan, and Syria. Charlotte Yhlen came from Sweden and became the first Scandinavian-born woman physician but couldn't get work in her home country so returned to the United States. M...

ABC:LHS #072-2   William J. Mullen... ...was the first President of Female Medical College of Pennsylvania. He is remembered for his tireless philanthropic work among inmates at Moyamensing Prison and for his over-the-top grave marker in the south section of Laurel Hill East. 

ABC:LHS #072-1   With help of Quaker philanthropists... ...a medical school for women was chartered in 1850. Through the courage and strength of the founders and early graduates, it slowly grew into a respected medical school whose memory lives today through the Drexel University School of Medicine. 

ABC:LHS #072 is a condensed history of the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania.  First, I will tell you about the founding of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1850. Second, I will talk about William J. Mullen, the school’s first President and a major contributor. He is remembered today for his over-the-top grave marker at Laurel Hill East. Third, I will discuss the notable photogr...

BBB:LHWS #041   John W. Forney... ...was a publisher, a politician, a railroad agent, and the only person to serve as both Clerk of the US House and Secretary of the US Senate. Abraham Lincoln befriended the man, but political enemies called Forney "Lincoln's dog." Andrew Johnson drank to excess at Forney’s Stag party the night before he was sworn in as Vice President. A city in Texas is named for...

ABC:LHS #071-4   John Claver "Jack" Jones... ...was a Philadelphian through-and-through - West Catholic High School, La Salle University. He was befriended by TV announcer John Facenda who got him hired at a local TV station. Jack rose to be evening anchor but died far too young.

ABC:LHS #071-3   Doris May Harris... ...was a summa cum laude graduate of Howard University who was the third Black woman to earn a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She went on to a long and distinguished career on the bench and introduced novel approaches to the punishment and rehabilitation of teen offenders.

ABC:LHS #071-2   Florence daVida "Videe" Johnson-Reid... ...steadily worked her way up the ladder of education until she was Dean of Graduate Studies at Cheyney University, whose history dates back to 1837 and the Institute for Colored Youth. Learn about the evolution of education for Philadelphia's African American citizens and more. 

ABC:LHS #071-1   Lynwood Blount... ...was a municipal judge who worked his way to the top, including night law school at Temple. He was elected judge after a successful 20-year law career. He was also President of Mercy-Douglass Hospital during its waning years. He did not suffer fools lightly. Along the way he picked up the nickname "Count Blount." He also served as President of Mercy-Douglass Ho...

ABC:LHS #071 Black History Month for 2025 features... Judge Lynwood Blount became a lawyer by going to night school and rose to be a judge in the Philadelphia criminal justice system. His manner and authoritative presence earned him the nickname “Count Blount.” Florence DeVida Johnson-Reid came through the ranks to become Dean of Graduate Education and Continuing Education at Cheyney University, b...

BBB:LHWS #040-3   Herb Lusk... ...was a running back who would drop to his knee and utter a brief prayer after he scored a touchdown. He quit the Eagles after three seasons to become a very successful Baptist preacher. He was awarded a Super Bowl ring 39 years after he retired.

BBB:LHWS #040-2   Nate Ramsey... ...played nine years with some pretty mediocre Eagle teams but was voted by fans as the best Eagle to ever wear uniform #24.  The problem was his legal difficulties, which plagued him before, after, and during his career.

BBB:LHWS #040-1   Mac Roy "Slab" Jackson... ...played college ball on one of the best Penn teams ever, then joined a professional league in Western Pennsylvania where he led a local team to a national championship. He is better remembered today for his skills in dog breeding and horsemanship.

BBB:LHWS #040 Three Professional Football Players   Mac Roy Jackson played college ball on one of the best Penn teams ever, then joined a professional league in Western Pennsylvania where he led a local team to a national championship. He may be better remembered as a master of the hounds and a judge of horse flesh. Nate Ramsey played nine years with some pretty mediocre Eagle teams but was voted...

ABC:LHS 070-6   Richard H. Rush... ...had a famous father and even more famous grandfather. When the Civil War started, Richard mustered and led from his Germantown neighbors the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, better known as “Rush’s Lancers.” 

ABCLHS 070-5   Henry Charles Lea... ...was a publisher, researcher, and author, who wrote the definitive history of the Spanish Inquisition.  His grave marker was sculpted by Alexander Stirling Calder and is one of the most photographed monuments on the property. This is a partial rerun of #ABC018 - The Calder Connection

ABC:LHS 070-4   John Roh... ...was an inpatient at the Blockley Almshouse in 1885 when a fire raced through his wing and killed more than a score of male psychiatric patients who were locked in their cells.  John Roh was one of the victims of that tragedy, and we’re pretty sure he is interred in the family plot at Laurel Hill East.

ABC:LHS 070-3   Laura Matilda Towne... ...was an abolitionist who studied homeopathic medicine and became an instructor for recently freed enslaved Africans on the islands off South Carolina.  It turned into her life’s work for the next 30+ years.

ABC: LHS 070-2   Edwin Henry Fitler... ...made his fortune in rope at a time when Philadelphia had one of the busiest shipyards in the country.  He was the first Philadelphia mayor to establish his office at City Hall in the years it was being completed.  Fitler is namesake for Fitler Square and his obelisk is the tallest at Laurel Hill East.

ABC:LHS 070-1   Thomas Craycroft... ...was a medical student who volunteered to help in the 1855 Yellow Fever epidemic in Norfolk, Virginia.  He was one of 15 Philadelphians who died during that mission of mercy but whose remains are now interred under the Yellow Fever monument at Laurel Hill East.

All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #070 - Happy 200th Birthdays! Thomas Craycroft was a medical student who volunteered to help in the1855 Yellow Fever epidemic in Norfolk, Virginia.  He was one of 15 Philadelphians who died during that mission of mercy but whose remains are now interred under the Yellow Fever monument at Laurel Hill East. Edwin Henry Fitler made his fortune in rope at a ti...

BBB:LHWS #039   Henry Winter Syle... ...went deaf as a child and soon abandoned speech.  He used American Sign Language and the written word to share his faith with the deaf world, many of whom had been excluded from religious ceremonies for centuries because it was thought they could not enter heaven.  Now he is recognized as a saint of the Episcopal Church, with a feast day on August 26th shared...

ABC:LHS #069-5 (by Lora Lewis)   Charlotte Cardeza... ...may be the model for every privileged, self-indulgent rich woman on the Titanic, what with her steamer trunks full of designer gowns, exotic furs, and precious jewelry.  She hired the biggest suite on the ship and made certain that her son and maid were in the lifeboat with her.  Her inventory of lost items ran to 20 pages.  Her mausoleum at...

ABC:LHS #069-4   Gretchen Longley... ...was orphaned while young and raised by two aunts, who accompanied her to Europe in the Spring of 1912 to help her choose her bridal trousseau.  Their return trip on the RMS Titanic gave Gretchen stories she would tell for the rest of her life.