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Hummel and Howe – Attorneys at Crime

1/25/2025

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Side-by-side images of Hummel and Howe. Both are in black and white, and both men are older white men with large mustaches, wearing dark suits. Hummel's is a photograph while Howe's is an artist's rendering.

At the height of America’s Gilded Age, two men William F Howe and Abraham Hummel practiced criminal law in New York City. These unscrupulous lawyers represented some of the most notorious of NYC criminals of the era using theatrics and loopholes to find “justice” for their clients. On this episode of Footnoting History, come learn all about their misdeeds and misadventures as we explore the underbelly of American history.

Host: Josh

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The Adventure of Cabeza de Vaca

8/17/2024

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Mono-color drawing of Cabeza de Vaca. He has a long round beard and mustache and wears a floppy hat

In 1527, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca set off as a part of the Narvàez Expedition to conquer Florida. The expedition ended in disaster for the Spanish after several encounters with Native Americans defending their lands. Using makeshift boats, Cabeza de Vaca and a handful of other survivors drifted across the Gulf of Mexico before landing near modern day Galveston, TX. Cabeza de Vaca and three other men would spend the next 8 years wandering what is now the Southwestern United States. Come learn about their voyages on this episode of Footnoting History.

Host: Josh

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Alfred Packer, Notorious Cannibal?

5/4/2024

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Black and white photograph of Packer's face. He is a white man with a long mustache and beard

Alfred, or sometimes Alferd Packer, is one of the most infamous villains in Colorado history. As the story goes, Packer, a trail guide, led his party into disaster and then killed them one by one before consuming their bodies in order to survive. He was arrested, tried, convicted, and then escaped. Once reprehended Packer changed his story once again. And now more recent evidence has emerged that seems to have exonerated him. We’ll try to sort of this out on this week’s episode of Footnoting History.

Host: Josh

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Further Reading

Owney: Star Pup of the US Railway Mail Service

4/20/2024

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Black and white photograph of Owney, a mutt who is likely a terrier, wearing a harness with tokens on it

In the late 1800s, a dog called Owney became a star as he won over the hearts of postal workers across the United States and sometimes, even, beyond. This episode is all about Owney, his adventures, the souvenirs he collected, and his revered place in postal history.

Host: Christine

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Harry Washington

2/10/2024

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Portion of a painting where George Washington stands at the right wearing black in front of several enslaved men and women who are tending Mt Vernon

When someone says "Washington" and "revolution" in the same sentence, George immediately comes to mind. But there's another Washington that we should know, one that George Washington enslaved. Harry Washington escaped from his enslavement, fought for the British in during the American Revolution, and eventually fought in his own revolution in Sierra Leone. Let's take another look at the American Revolution in this episode of Footnoting History.

Host: Josh

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Further Reading

Leo Frank and the Murder of Mary Phagan

9/30/2023

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Black and white photograph of Leo Frank wearing a light suit and flat brimmed hat

In 1913, Leo Frank was arrested for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan in Atlanta, Georgia. Two years later, he, too, was dead. In this episode, Christine explores the complicated case and its perhaps unexpected musical theatre legacy.

Host: Christine

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The Public Arch

4/22/2023

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Black and white photograph of Etta Gray, seated woman in a dark gown from the late 1800s

While one of the safest cities in the United States today, El Paso, Texas was one of America's most dangerous cities in the 1880s. Run by gunslingers, gambling brokers, and brothel madams, the city often descended into significant bouts of violence. One such episode occurred when the most renowned madams in the city, Alice Abbott, invaded the home of her chief rival, Etta Clark. The dispute ended with Alice Abbot shot and Etta Clark arrested for attempted murder. Eventually, Clark's brothel burned down. On this episode we unpack these events and get to the root of what they can tell us about this lively border town.

Host: Josh

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Further Reading

The Newsies Strike of 1899

4/8/2023

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Image of a page of The Sun featuring an article titled Strike That is a Strike

In the summer of 1899, young New York newspaper sellers ('newsies') took a stand against publishing magnates Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. In this episode, Christine looks at the causes, events, and outcome of the strike, as well as how it inspired a Disney cult classic film almost a century later.

Host: Christine

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Further Reading

The Weeks Murder Trial

3/25/2023

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Black and white drawing showing Aaron Burr and others at the trial. It features a courtroom with a man holding up candles to the face of another, scared-looking man

In 1800, Levi Weeks was accused of the murder of Elma Sands in New York City and throwing her body down a well. His defense team included Henry Livingston, Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton. His is the first murder trial in the United States to have a recorded transcript … but there are still many unanswered questions as to what happened the night of December 22, 1799. Join Kristin as she looks at the most sensational trial of the new 19th century this week on Footnoting History!

Host: Kristin

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Further Reading

Margaret Eaton and the Petticoat Affair

3/11/2023

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Black and white photograph of Margaret Eaton in her older years

In January of 1829, a widow named Margaret O'Neale Timberlake married John Eaton, a United States Senator with his star on the rise. Inspired by the suggestion of a Footnoting History listener, Christine uses this episode to dive into the details of her life, including the marriage that caused tempers to flare in President Andrew Jackson’s Cabinet and the lesser-discussed drama of her later life.

Host: Christine

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Further Reading

The Oneida Community, Part II

8/27/2022

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The Industrial Revolution of the 1830s provoked a considerable amount of anxiety in the United States. While some turned their attention to combatting the scourge of alcohol, others ran away from the new society created by industrialization. Looking for connection and a return to simpler times, many Americans joined groups that offered the perfect society. One such community, in Oneida, New York promised such a society, but as we'll discover this week, they found a bit more than they may have bargained for.

Host: Josh

Further Reading

The Oneida Community, Part I

8/13/2022

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The Industrial Revolution of the 1830s provoked a considerable amount of anxiety in the United States. While some turned their attention to combatting the scourge of alcohol, others ran away from the new society created by industrialization. Looking for connection and a return to simpler times, many Americans joined groups that offered the perfect society. One such community, in Oneida, New York promised such a society, but as we'll discover this week, they found a bit more than they may have bargained for.

Host: Josh

Further Reading

The Gold Cure

4/23/2022

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To know American History is to know the history of substance abuse. Whether alcohol, tobacco, or narcotics, Americans have sought the comfort of substances to ease the pains of the world and to "lubricate" life. And as long as there have been addicts in the United States, there have been others who claim to know the way out of addiction. At the end of the nineteenth century, Dr. Leslie Keeley claimed to have invented a cure to solve the addiction crisis he saw in the US. In order to deliver this cure, Keeley opened at least one treatment center in every US state. His cure? Injecting gold into the veins of patients. Chase a dragon along a gilded path on this episode of Footnoting History.

Host: Josh

Further Reading

Blue Jeans and the American Dream: The Story of Levi Strauss

2/26/2022

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When his father died in 1846, Levi Strauss was left with few opportunities as a Jewish youth in his native Bavaria and so he left with his mother and sisters for New York where he joined his brothers’ modest dry good business. A few years later he moved to San Francisco to run the west coast branch of the family firm. Levi went on to build up a successful business and to become a well-respected, millionaire philanthropist while popularizing a new form of clothing: blue jeans.

Host: Samantha

Further Reading

Origins of the Salem Witch Trials

1/29/2022

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Witchcraft at Salem Village from Pioneers in the Settlement of America (1876)

Think you know how the Salem Witch Trials started? You may be surprised. Join Kristin on this week’s episode of Footnoting History to explore the origins of the 1692 trials and find out what historians know … and what we only wish we knew.

Host: Kristin

Further Reading

Uncle Remus, Joel Chandler Harris, and the South, Part II

11/27/2021

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How did Joel Chandler Harris's stories on Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Bear, and Br'er Fox go from beloved to problematic in the mid-twentieth century? In this episode, Elizabeth traces the story of how Joel Chandler Harris's work became Song of the South.

Podcaster: Elizabeth

Further Reading

Uncle Remus, Joel Chandler Harris, and the South, Part I

11/13/2021

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By the end of the nineteenth century, Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus folktales were famous not only in the South, but throughout the United States. For much of the last century, however, they have been sharply critiqued for their presentation of antebellum plantation life. But who was Joel Chandler Harris? In this episode, Elizabeth dives into his story and the people from whom he learned these tales.

Podcaster: Elizabeth

Further Reading

Moe Berg, Baseball's Scholar and Spy

7/10/2021

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Moe Berg in baseball uniform

Moe Berg via New York Public Library.

Morris "Moe" Berg played for multiple Major League Baseball teams in the late 1920s and 1930s. Then, during World War II, he worked as a spy. In this episode, Christine discusses Berg's unusual life and career trajectory.

Podcaster: Christine

Further Reading

Florida: Frontier and Cracker History

4/17/2021

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Before the land boom and amusement parks, Florida was still seen as part of the US's frontier. In this episode, Elizabeth explores the state's history of white settlement and the term "Cracker".

Podcaster: Elizabeth

Further Reading

From Hwaet to the Ring Shout: Lorenzo Dow Turner

2/6/2021

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What does Beowulf have to do with the linguistics of African-American history? The same man studied them both… and his scholarship on medieval literature helped frame his search for linguistic communities. This podcast examines the career of Lorenzo Dow Turner, celebrated linguist known as the Father of Gullah Studies. Turner studied the language, ideas, and culture of Black island communities in the southeastern United States, and created recognition for that culture in so doing.

Podcaster: Lucy

Further Reading

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