A Body in the Ashes: Discovery in Lampblack Swamp The morning of December 26, 1907, dawned cold and gray over Harrison, New Jersey. Along the Passaic River, a local man cut across a stretch of wasteland—a grim patch of ash heaps, cinders, and marsh where industrial refuse met stagnant water. It was the kind of place where the city dumped what it didn’t want to see. There, in a shallow pool of filthy water, he saw her. The woman was completely naked, lying face-up in the blac

The Rise of Mary Rogers: Manhattan’s Enchanting Cigar Girl In the bustling heart of 1840s Manhattan, where cobblestone streets echoed...

April 26, 1895, Little Italy, New York, New York. Maria Barbella, a twenty-two year old Italian immigrant who worked in a sweatshop, is...