The faith that my family, Bill, Dianne, David, and John Alexander have had in my storytelling.
The faith that I put in my writing mentors, Suzannah Lessard, Richard Todd, Laura Wexler, Philip Gerard, and Steve Luxenberg.
The faith that my agent, Ethan Bassoff, had in my proposal, and that my first editor, Peggy Hageman, had in the manuscript.
And finally the faith of my partner, Jeff, who believed that one day, he would again have a couchmate for Thursday night TV.
I am grateful to Stephanie Gorton, my current editor, for her wisdom, optimism, and investigative eye. I also appreciate Ellen S. Leach for her thorough and attentive eye as copy editor.
I thank Dr. James Butler of La Salle University, an expert on Germantown’s geography and Victorian culture, who guided my Philadelphia research and reading. The Wister Collection at La Salle University’s Connelly Library holds joyful details of life in nineteenth-century Philadelphia. It was a pleasure to read through these archives.
I have spent hours in the archives of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Germantown and Chestnut Hill Historical Societies, the New-York Historical Society, the National Archives, the City Archives, and in the Map Collection and the Microfilm Reading Room at the Philadelphia Free Library. The librarians, historians, and archivists have been nothing but supportive and enthusiastic about this project. Early on, the New-York Historical Society put me in touch with Richard McDermott, a passionate researcher who provided early enthusiasm for the project and suggested readings that helped me recreate the Five Points neighborhood. Special thanks goes to Alex Batlett and Judith Callard of the Germantown Historical Society. Both guided me through minutiae in the final hours of my research.
Many people volunteered their areas of expertise to advise my research endeavors. I wish to remember three of them here. Bill Fleisher of the Vicdoq Society commented on the psychology of criminals, the police, and private investigators during a particularly busy week. His words confirmed my instincts and encouraged my confidence. Dr. Morris Vogel guided early stages of my reading on Reconstruction America and offered a helpful critique of my bibliography. I also thank Jean Walker, chair of archives, First United Methodist Church of Germantown, whose thoroughness saved me hours of research.
This project began as a series of interviews with people who grew up in Germantown at different times in the twentieth century: Bill Alexander, Terry Alexander, Joe Beal, Rosemary Morris, Margaret Smith, and Rick LeFevre. Their memories furthered my interest in this neighborhood, and through a series of coincidences, led me to the Germantown Historical Society, where I first read about Charley Ross.
And to my writing friends, Jill Sisson Quinn, Brian Spadora, Lori Lichtman, Patrick Walters, Kelly Christ, Sharyl Covey, Diana Morris-Baver, Colleen Clemens, Denise Loock, and Kitty Chism—I am most at home during our late-night talks, gossip, bizarre bets, bottles of Talese wine, and long letters. You are gently yet painfully honest, and because of this, I appreciate your encouragement, friendship, and feedback all the more.