36. The 100 Wives of the Lightning Bridegroom

Jun 21, 2018

George A. Witzhoff was born in Switzerland in the 1860s. Following the death of his father, he moved to the US to become proficient in the art of dentistry. Teeth didn't cut it for George, however. In fact, George had a particular talent for con-artistry, theft and escape. Join Jim and Violet as we explore the sordid life of a man who came to be known as 'America's Arch-Bigamist'. 

 

Yesterday's Chip Paper is a bimonthly podcast where your hosts - two Transatlantic researchers with a fondness for the unusual - delve into historical newspaper archives to unearth forgotten stories from days gone by. From mad scientists to murderers, sapient pigs to sausage kings, the only limit to the stories we tell is that someone has to have written about it. 

 

Archives used in this episode:

 

www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

www.newspapers.com

https://www.nytimes.com/1908/01/22/archives/witzhoff-fears-victims-wants-to-be-tried-where-there-are-fewest.html 

https://trove.nla.gov.au/ 

http://idnc.library.illinois.edu/cgi-bin/illinois?a=p&p=home&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN--------

https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ 

 

Intro/Outro - The International Rag (Al Jolson & Sophie Tucker)

All music comes with thanks to the Free Music Archive.