NOW ONLINE! Duffy's Cut
Code: SL41010
Dates: June 18, 2020
Meets: 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM
Sessions: 1
Location: ONLINE
Course Fee: $35.00
Sorry, we are no longer accepting registrations for this course. Please contact our office to find out if it will be rescheduled, or if alternative classes are available.
In June of 1832, 57 Irish immigrant laborers arrived at the port of Philadelphia and were hired to build mile 59 of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad, Pennsylvania's pioneering railroad. Within 8 weeks of their arrival all 57 laborers were dead. The railroad said that they died of a cholera pandemic that was raging throughout the Delaware Valley. Archaeological and forensic examination of their remains has shown that they were murdered. This presentation will explore the background of the deaths of these laborers, as well as the latest developments in this investigation.
ONLINE
J. Francis Watson
J. Francis (Frank) Watson is a graduate of Lower Merion High School, Eastern College, and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He received his PhD from Drew University in Historical Theology in 2001, and is a Lutheran clergyman, historian, and ecclesiastical archivist in New Jersey. Starting in 2002, along with his twin brother William, he has investigated the story of the Irish mass grave of Irish railroad workers at Duffy's Cut, near Malvern, Pennsylvania. Their research has been featured in several major television documentaries, "Death on the Railroad" (PBS and Tile Films, Dublin, for PBS' Secrets of the Dead, 2013) and "The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut" (Smithsonian Channel, RTE, Tile Films, 2006), and in the podcast "The Dancing Ghosts of Duffy's Cut" (Ground Truth Report, Season 6, October 2018) on WGBH. They have also authored several books on the story, Massacre at Duffy's Cut: Tragedy and Conspiracy on the Pennsylvania Railroad (History Press, 2018), and The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut (Praeger, 2006).N/A
William Watson
J. Francis (Frank) Watson and William E. Watson are twin brothers and graduates of Lower Merion High School, Eastern College. Frank graduated from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, and received his PhD from Drew University in Historical Theology, and is a Lutheran clergyman, historian, and ecclesiastical archivist in New Jersey. William received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in history, and is a Professor of History at Immaculata University. Starting in 2002, the brothers have investigated the story of the Irish mass grave of Irish railroad workers at Duffy's Cut, near Malvern, Pennsylvania. Their research has been featured in several major television documentaries, "Death on the Railroad" (PBS and Tile Films, Dublin, for PBS' Secrets of the Dead, 2013) and "The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut" (Smithsonian Channel, RTE, Tile Films, 2006), and in the podcast "The Dancing Ghosts of Duffy's Cut" (Ground Truth Report, Season 6, October 2018) on WGBH. They have also authored several books on the story, Massacre at Duffy's Cut: Tragedy and Conspiracy on the Pennsylvania Railroad (History Press, 2018), and The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut (Praeger, 2006).N/A
