Who was “Kentucky Frank”?

Scout. Showman. Snake wrangler. Shooting gallery owner. Wild West performer. Serial storyteller. And eventually, a 72-year-old man who made headlines for marrying a thirteen-year-old Kentucky girl.

In this episode of Kentucky History & Haunts, we trace the strange and unsettling life of the man born George Russell, better known to newspaper readers across the country as “Kentucky Frank.” From dime museums and traveling sideshows in the 1890s to wagon races, shooting galleries, escaped snakes, and rural Christmas light displays powered by an early Delco generator, Frank spent decades carefully crafting his own legend.

Along the way, he crossed paths with some of the most bizarre corners of turn-of-the-century entertainment culture, performing alongside sword swallowers, “freak show” acts, animal performers, and traveling curiosities that filled newspaper advertisements across America.

But beneath the eccentric persona was a much darker reality.

At the center of this story is Margaret Carpenter, the thirteen-year-old Kentucky girl who became “Mrs. Kentucky Frank.” What began as a disturbing newspaper headline slowly transforms into something far more complicated and unexpectedly moving. After Frank’s death, Margaret went on to finish school, attend college, become a beloved educator for nearly four decades, raise a family, and leave behind a legacy far greater than the man whose name once overshadowed hers.

This episode explores:
• Traveling Wild West and dime museum culture
• The mythology of frontier performers
• Vine Street’s strange entertainment district in Cincinnati
• Early shooting galleries and wartime rifle culture
• Rural Kentucky life in the 1920s and 30s
• The troubling normalization of child marriage in early Kentucky history
• And the remarkable life Margaret built afterward

Because in the end, the real story isn’t Kentucky Frank.

It’s Margaret.

Follow Kentucky History & Haunts for historic photos, newspaper clippings, and episode updates:

Instagram: @kyhistoryhaunts
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Sources for this episode included extensive newspaper archive research, regional Kentucky publications, census records, obituaries, and historical reporting.

Email: [email protected]

Mailing address:

Jessie Bartholomew

252 Whittington Pkwy, Louisville, KY, 40222

*Transcripts are auto-generated and may contain errors

This week, we’re heading back to April 1926, where Kentucky newspapers delivered an especially chaotic mix of adventure, crime, odd headlines, and unexpectedly wholesome trivia. First, we follow Louisville native Jonathan Duff Reed Jr., who beat out more than 1,000 applicants to join Commander Richard E. Byrd’s historic North Pole expedition, and later signed on for another journey toward Antarctica because apparently one polar expedition wasn’t enough.

Then, we shift gears into Kentucky’s surprising connection to the very first Scripps National Spelling Bee, which grew out of a statewide competition organized by the Courier-Journal. Louisville’s own **Frank Neuhauser became the first national champion in 1925 after correctly spelling gladiolus and was welcomed home with a parade.

From there… things get significantly stranger.

This episode also covers:

• An antique dealer in Cynthiana who accidentally shot his friend after grabbing the wrong gun from a drawer
• A jail escapee who voluntarily turned himself in because he wanted a warm bed
• A defense attorney sentenced to jail for contempt during a murder trial
• Two teenage robbers inspired by dime novels whose crime spree quickly unraveled

Sources:Primarily sourced from April 1926 editions of The Courier-Journal, Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, Kentucky Post, and other regional newspaper archives. Additional research included historical materials on the origins of the Scripps National Spelling Bee and Commander Byrd’s polar expeditions.

Content Note: This episode includes discussions of violent crime, accidental shootings, and capital punishment.

📖 Follow Kentucky History & Haunts for photos, newspaper clippings, bonus research, and episode updates:

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And if you enjoy the show, please leave a rating/review and share it with your fellow history lovers.

***My mailing address has changed. Please send postcards, messages in bottles, and carrier pigeons to-

Jessie Bartholomew

252 Whittington Pkwy

Louisville, KY 40222

*Transcripts are auto-generated and may contain errors

This week, we’re heading back to April 1926, where Kentucky newspapers delivered an especially chaotic mix of adventure, crime, odd headlines, and unexpectedly wholesome trivia. First, we follow Louisville native Jonathan Duff Reed Jr., who beat out more than 1,000 applicants to join Commander Richard E. Byrd’s historic North Pole expedition, and later signed on for another journey toward Antarctica because apparently one polar expedition wasn’t enough.

Then, we shift gears into Kentucky’s surprising connection to the very first Scripps National Spelling Bee, which grew out of a statewide competition organized by the Courier-Journal. Louisville’s own **Frank Neuhauser became the first national champion in 1925 after correctly spelling gladiolus and was welcomed home with a parade.

From there… things get significantly stranger.

This episode also covers:

• An antique dealer in Cynthiana who accidentally shot his friend after grabbing the wrong gun from a drawer
• A jail escapee who voluntarily turned himself in because he wanted a warm bed
• A defense attorney sentenced to jail for contempt during a murder trial
• Two teenage robbers inspired by dime novels whose crime spree quickly unraveled

Sources:Primarily sourced from April 1926 editions of The Courier-Journal, Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, Kentucky Post, and other regional newspaper archives. Additional research included historical materials on the origins of the Scripps National Spelling Bee and Commander Byrd’s polar expeditions.

Content Note: This episode includes discussions of violent crime, accidental shootings, and capital punishment.

📖 Follow Kentucky History & Haunts for photos, newspaper clippings, bonus research, and episode updates:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KentuckyHistoryHaunts
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kyhistoryhaunts

And if you enjoy the show, please leave a rating/review and share it with your fellow history lovers.

***My mailing address has changed. Please send postcards, messages in bottles, and carrier pigeons to-

Jessie Bartholomew

252 Whittington Pkwy

Louisville, KY 40222

*Transcripts are auto-generated and may contain errors

In August 1925, fourteen-year-old Mary Vickery vanished from the coal camp of Coxton in Harlan County, Kentucky. Her father, miner E.C. Vickery, stopped going underground and began searching above it, combing hollows and writing desperate letters for help. Months later, a decomposed body was discovered in an abandoned mine shaft between Harlan and Baxter.

A suspect was arrested. A courtroom filled to the rafters. A jury convicted 23-year-old taxi driver Conley Dabney of rape and murder, sentencing him to life in prison.

And then, nearly a year later, the “murdered” girl walked into a hotel in Williamsburg, Kentucky, very much alive.

• Mary Vickery – The missing girl who returned from the dead.

• E.C. Vickery – Her father, who identified a body that was not his daughter.

• Conley Dabney – Taxi driver convicted of Mary’s “murder,” later pardoned.

• Marie Jackson – The key witness whose testimony sent a man to prison.

• Leila Cole – A woman who may have been the true victim found in the mine.

• Roxie Baker – Another young woman killed in Harlan in 1925, whose death still cast a shadow over the county.

• The fragility of eyewitness testimony

• Moral panic in small towns

• How quickly public opinion can flip

• The role of newspapers in shaping guilt and innocence

• The complexity of teenage runaways in the 1920s

• Justice in coal country

This is a story where nearly every thread tangles into another: jealous lovers, missing women, contradictory confessions, misidentified clothing, and suspects who vanish just as grand juries convene.

And at the center of it all, a girl who heard that a man was in prison for killing her… and chose not to come home.

I uncovered photographs of Mary Vickery, Conley Dabney, Governor Fields signing the pardon, Marie Jackson, and even Mary’s courthouse wedding just days after her return. You will absolutely want to see these.

Follow Kentucky History & Haunts on Facebook and Instagram for all episode visuals.

If you’d like to support the research and storytelling that goes into Kentucky History & Haunts, you can buy me a birthday coffee for $5 via Venmo- https://account.venmo.com/u/kyhistoryhaunts

A rating or review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts also helps more than you know.

For feedback or story ideas: [email protected]

Mail:

Jessie Bartholomew

9115 Leesgate Rd, A

Louisville, KY 40222

**Transcripts are autogenerated and may contain errors

First we’re paging through the Courier Journal for stories of romance gone sideways, dramatic gestures, and a few fiery plot twists.

Starting with a Louisville divorce case where Mrs. Bessie Offutt tried to end her 17 year marriage, claiming her much older husband preferred sitting by the fire all day while she earned the living. The judge ruled that the law does not dissolve every unhappy marriage. Still, when her husband died years later, her name was nowhere in his obituary. Draw your own conclusions.

Then we head to Mercer County, where Cecil Connor left a suicide note and his coat on a bridge over Dix Dam Lake, prompting a full scale search. Days later, he reappeared alive, admitting he staged the whole thing to frighten his estranged wife into reconciling. Spoiler alert: it did not work.

Next, a jailhouse romance that feels stranger than fiction. Kentucky native Ray H. Foor, convicted of killing a Kansas policeman in 1923, was released just three years later and married Avereil Gay, a woman who fell in love with him while he was behind bars. She once declared he did not love her yet, but he was the man she intended to marry. They later settled in Brandenburg and lived quietly.

In Accidents & Close Calls, we revisit the dramatic burning of a twenty seven room mansion in Cherokee Park, once owned by Judge Robert Worth Bingham. Thousands of rounds of ammunition exploded in the blaze. The owner, Giles VanCleave, narrowly escaped. The house was never rebuilt. Years later, VanCleave was found dead by suicide in the garage on the same property.

We also remember Letitia Vance DePauw, a decorated Red Cross worker who served near the Argonne Forest in World War I and later became a state parole officer in Kentucky.

And finally, a palate cleanser: a wanted fraud suspect in St. Louis was tracked down partly because of his legendary appetite. Seven pork chops for breakfast tends to leave a paper trail.

Love, pride, scandal, heroism, and a few questionable life choices. Just another week in Kentucky history.

Send feedback to [email protected]

*Transcripts are auto-generated and may contain errors

Kentucky in March of 1926 stands at a threshold. Winter is loosening its grip, modern life is creeping in, and beneath the surface of everyday routines, tensions simmer. Automobiles share muddy roads with horses, radios crackle with distant voices, and Prohibition is officially enforced while quietly ignored.

In this episode of Kentucky History & Haunts, we explore a month where gossip turns deadly, crime crosses state lines, and justice proves slippery at best.

The “Bob-Haired Bandit” of Bell County Eighteen-year-old Helen Simpson disguises herself in men’s clothing and robs a rural post office near Pineville. A torn dollar bill leads to her capture, and newspapers obsess over her appearance as much as the crime itself. Her sentence sends her far from home, to a women’s institution in North Carolina.

$100,000 in Diamonds Vanish on Louisville Streets A New York jewelry salesman is attacked in broad daylight near Fourth and Market Streets. The diamonds are never recovered. Nearly a year later, a nearly identical robbery happens again. What follows is a tangled web of suspects, deadlocked juries, alleged inside jobs, kidnappings, and one criminal who just won’t stay out of the headlines.

A Duel on Greasy Creek A respected schoolteacher, Virginia Skeens Coleman, kills her brother-in-law in a pistol duel after years of escalating accusations, courtroom battles, and family feuds. The case forces a community to confront gossip, reputation, and what self-defense looks like in rural Kentucky. The aftermath reshapes her life in unexpected ways.

Moonshine by Moonlight

A sheriff’s child wakes with a cold in the middle of the night, setting off a chain of events that leads to the capture of a moonshiner, the destruction of sixteen half-gallons of liquor, and the confiscation of a mule. A small, almost humorous story that unfolds against the backdrop of serious political turmoil in Harlan County.

Kentucky in March of 1926 is caught between seasons, between old rules and new ambitions, and between what is spoken openly and what unfolds in the shadows. And as always, when history pauses at a crossroads, the stories waiting there are anything but quiet.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Part two available the day after this one is released.

*Please note the transcripts for this show are auto-generated and may contain errors.

Send Jessie mail:

9115 Leesgate Rd Suite A

Louisville, KY 40222

Instagram: @kyhistoryhaunts

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Send feedback to [email protected]. Please leave a rating or review wherever you listen.

In this episode of Kentucky History & Haunts, we trace the remarkable life of Dr. St. Elmo Brady, a Louisville-born chemist, educator, and civil rights pioneer whose influence reached far beyond the laboratory. Born in 1884 amid flooding, segregation, and racial inequality, Brady rose to become the first Black American to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry and one of the most important scientific educators of the 20th century.

From Central Colored High School in Louisville to Fisk University, Tuskegee Institute, Howard University, and beyond, Brady’s life was defined by curiosity, service, and an unshakable belief in education as a tool for progress. Along the way, he forged relationships with Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver, built chemistry departments from the ground up, delivered lectures that blended science, faith, and social responsibility, and mentored generations of students.

This episode also explores the deeply personal moments of Brady’s life, including devastating loss, tireless travel, and his lifelong commitment to teaching and research, even into his final years. Though his name is often overlooked in popular histories, his legacy quietly shapes American science and education to this day.

If you enjoyed this episode, consider leaving a rating or review on your podcast app. It helps more people find the show and supports independent history storytelling.

Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/kyhistoryhaunts

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kyhistoryhaunts

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kyhistoryhaunts

Send Jessie mail:

Jessie Bartholomew

9115 Leesgate RdSuite A

Louisville KY 40222

Have a Kentucky story you’d like to hear explored?

Or an historic figure you think deserves more attention?

Reach out anytime.

Email @[email protected]

*Transcripts are auto-generated and may contain errors.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ST. ELMO BRADY-

https://chemistry.illinois.edu/spotlight/alumni/brady-st-elmo-1884-1966

 https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/st-elmo-brady.html

https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/st-elmo-brady.html

Yep, this episode from the 'century ago in Kentucky' series should technically have been about February 1926. I didn't realize I had been researching 101 years ago until I was about to hit publish! But I bet Kentucky was just as interesting in '25 as it was in '26!

February 1925

In this episode of Kentucky History & Haunts, I explore the headlines of February 1925, uncovering a mix of crime, romance, tragedy, and the supernatural.

You’ll hear about:

• Teen “boy pirates” hiding stolen goods on an Ohio River island

• A shady arrest linked to the Horse Thief Detective Association

• The murder of Dr. Marvin Kingins during a baby rescue mission

• A doomed romance born during the Floyd Collins cave rescue

• Deadly mining accidents and heartbreaking healthcare stories

• Haunted houses, flying rocks, and skepticalghost hunters

• A woman who discovered she was 103, not 93

• And a very good dog cleared in court by Kentucky’s first female judge

February 1925 was a cold, dangerous, and unforgettable moment in Kentucky history, and I'm here to bring its strange and human stories back to life.

*I misspoke in the West Virginia haunting story: YWCA stands for Young Women’s Christian Association (not WYCA).

*The stylish gentleman in the episode art for this episode is Mr. Davis, mentioned in the story about the haunted house in Mitchellsburg.

https://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16066coll19/search
https://historicindianapolis.com/friday-favorites-the-national-horse-thief-detective-association/

Email: [email protected]
Leave a rating, review, or comment on your podcast app to support the show!

Send me mail:

9115 Leesgate Rd, Suite A

Louisville, KY 40222

In this episode, we follow the winding, unsettling path of a cold case that stretches from Lexington, Kentucky to Austin, Texas, and across nearly a decade of violence.

In November 1998, 43-year-old Linda Rutledge was murdered inside her family’s hearing aid business in Lexington. Her body was found after the building was set on fire, and despite early investigation, the case quickly went cold. For years, Linda’s murder remained one of Lexington’s quiet unsolved crimes, rarely revisited and seldom mentioned in the media.

But decades later, advances in forensic science and genetic genealogy would breathe new life into Linda’s case and unexpectedly link it to one of the most infamous unsolved cases in American history: the 1991 Yogurt Shop murders in Austin, Texas.

This episode traces the life and crimes of Robert Eugene Brashers, a transient and violent offender whose movements across the country allowed him to evade justice for years. Using newly analyzed ballistic evidence and DNA technology, investigators have connected Brashers to multiple murders and sexual assaults spanning several states and nearly a decade. Linda Rutledge may have been his final victim before he died by suicide in 1999.

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of violence against women, sexual assault, and murder. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

Topics Covered

• The 1998 murder of Linda Rutledge in Lexington, Kentucky

• The Yogurt Shop murders of four teenage girls in Austin, Texas

• How fires were used to conceal violent crimes

• The life, movements, and criminal history of Robert Eugene Brashers

• Advances in DNA testing and genetic genealogy

• The role of ballistic evidence in cold case investigations

Resources & References

• Recent documentary on the Yogurt Shop murders (HBO Max)

• Reporting on genetic genealogy by CeCe Moore

• Contemporary news coverage from Kentucky, Missouri, Texas, and South Carolina

Photos and archival clippings referenced in this episode will be shared on KY History & Haunts social media.

Connect With the Show
📧 Email: [email protected]
📱 Instagram & Facebook: @kyhistoryhaunts

If you enjoy the show, please consider leaving a rating or review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It helps more people find the podcast and keeps these stories from fading into silence.

In this episode, I dive into the life of Mildred “Milly” Lucas, a woman often credited as the first female jailer in Kentucky—though her journey to that role was anything but straightforward. What begins as an exploration of early female jailers in the state becomes a gripping true story of violence and political upheaval.

After the brutal murder of her husband, Daviess County Jailer William Lucas, during a racially motivated lynching in 1884, Mildred stepped in to run the jail. Her fight to hold the office—despite widespread gender bias, legal battles, personal tragedy, and even a jailbreak—reveals both the extraordinary challenges she faced and the rigid societal barriers of the time.

Content Warning:
This episode includes descriptions of a lynching and racially motivated violence. Graphic details are minimized but the events remain disturbing. Listener discretion is advised.

Learn how William Lucas, a Confederate veteran turned jailer, moved his family to Owensboro and became widely respected for maintaining the courthouse square—despite constant dangers inside the jail walls.

Hear the newspaper-reported account of Richard May, a young Black farmhand accused of assaulting a white woman—a claim that rapidly escalated into fear, rumor, and mob justice.

In the aftermath of her husband’s murder, Mildred—described by some as “delicate,” yet brave and unyielding—was appointed interim jailer.

Despite winning the next election “by a large margin,” Mildred’s eligibility was fiercely contested.

Following her forced removal, Mildred’s life was marked by sickness and profound loss. She died of consumption in 1898, after losing three of her children the same year. Newspapers remembered her as a “good woman” and the widow of a “martyred jailer.”

This episode exposes:

• The racial terror that shaped Kentucky’s past

• The challenges women faced in pursuing public office

• The human cost of mob violence and community silence

• The resilience of a woman who stepped into danger and leadership during crisis

Selected newspaper accounts from the Owensboro Messenger and other 19th-century Kentucky publications.

If you enjoyed this episode or want to share your thoughts:
📧 [email protected]
⭐ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
📲 Share the show on social media—your support makes a huge difference!

What happens when a newly elected Governor of Kentucky finds his political career consumed by corruption scandals, a burning state capitol…and his son’s sensational murder trials? In this episode, we dive into the dramatic rise and infamous downfall of Governor Joseph Desha — and his son Isaac, who may have been one of Kentucky's first serial killers.

We begin with Joseph’s early life as a frontier soldier turned influential political powerhouse. He championed national expansion and state infrastructure — while waging a bitter political battle to reshape Kentucky’s judiciary.

Just months into his term as governor, flames destroyed the state capitol, public trust collapsed, and an even darker scandal erupted. Joseph’s son Isaac was accused of brutally murdering a traveling attorney named Francis Baker — a case filled with shocking evidence, political interference, and multiple controversial retrials. And the story didn’t end there…

When Isaac fled Kentucky under an alias, another man wound up dead thousands of miles away — leading newspapers to brand him a monster and fueling rumors that stretched all the way to Hawaii.

This episode includes discussion of violence and attempted suicide. Listener discretion advised.

What You’ll Learn

• How Joseph Desha rose from frontier militia to Governor of Kentucky

• The political chaos of the “Old Court – New Court” controversy

• The mysterious 1824 fire that destroyed Kentucky’s state capitol

• The sensational murder trial(s) of Isaac Desha — and a governor’s abuse of power

• How a second suspicious death sealed Isaac’s reputation

• The truth behind the long-standing “Desha in Hawaii” conspiracy

• What became of the Desha family after the scandal

Resources & References

Primary newspaper accounts referenced include:

• Lexington Weekly Press

• Frankfort Argus

• The Olive Branch and Danville Advertiser

Additional research includes state historical records and modern historical analysis.

Connect With the Show

Have thoughts on this story? Email: [email protected]
Follow KYHH on social media —

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review, and share. It truly helps the show grow.

Send Jessie mail:

9115 Leesgate Rd, Suite A

Louisville, KY 40222