This 2017 episode examines how, after a traumatic event, strange things began happening around Esther Cox. In the 1870s, Amherst, Nova Scotia was abuzz with theories as to whether the phenomena were the work of a poltergeist, strange electrical charges, or a hoax.

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This 2017 episode examines how, after a traumatic event, strange things began happening around Esther Cox. In the 1870s, Amherst, Nova Scotia was abuzz with theories as to whether the phenomena were the work of a poltergeist, strange electrical charges, or a hoax. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

SYMHC Classics: Esther Cox and the Great Amherst Mystery

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e264c0bb-e897-4640-a04b-ae2701795aa2/transcript

The President's House was the first home of the U.S. president in the temporary capital of Phildelphia. While George Washington lived there, he had nine enslaved people that we know of., including the cook, Hercules. 

Research:
“George Washington to Tobias Lear, 12 April 1791,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-08-02-0062 . [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 8, 22 March 1791 – 22 September 1791, ed. Mark A. Mastromarino. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999, pp. 84–]
“President's House Civic Engagement Forum Grant Report 1.” USHistory.org. https://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/controversy/october_30_2004_report.php
“Tobias Lear to George Washington, 5 June 1791,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-08-02-0172 . [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 8, 22 March 1791 – 22 September 1791, ed. Mark A. Mastromarino. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999, pp. 231–]
1838 Black Metropolis et al. “Re: President Donald Trump’s Executive Order, ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.’” 9/8/2025. https://preservationalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/NPS-Signage-Letter-9-9-25.pdf
Althouse, Michela. “President's House display on George Washington's slaves remains despite White House scrutiny — for now.” Philly Voice. 9/26/2025. https://www.phillyvoice.com/george-washington-slaves-presidents-house-exhibit-trump/
Andersen, Eva. “Philadelphia advocates say key panels of slavery exhibit still missing at President's House Site.” CBS News. 2/25/2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/slavery-exhibit-philadelphia-presidents-house/
Bomar, Mary A. and Dennis R. Reidenbach. “Report on Site Review of Interpretive Programs by The Organization of American Historians.” National Park Service Independence National Historical Park. 9/8/2025. https://www.oah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Review-of-Independence-National-Historic-Parks-interpretive-programs.pdf
Cerino, Marco. “Feds detail plans for restoring President's House.” Philadelphia Tribune. 2/24/2026. https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/feds-detail-plans-for-restoring-presidents-house/article_85ee7f4a-0b19-4d20-8933-951c7e2bfea0.html.
Chervinsky, Lindsay M. “The Enslaved Household of President George Washington.” The White House Historical Association. 9/6/2019. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-enslaved-household-of-president-george-washington
Custis, George Washington Parke. “Recollections and private memoirs of Washington.” Philadelphia, J. W. Bradley. 1861. https://archive.org/details/recollectionspri02cust/
Evans, Dorinda. “Portrait of a Man from the Island of Dominica (?).” Thyssen-Bornemisza Museo Nacional. https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/reynolds-circle-sir-joshua/portrait-man-island-dominica
Fanelli, Doris Devine. “History, Commemoration, and an Interdisciplinary Approach to Interpreting the President's House Site.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography , Oct, 2005, Vol. 129, No. 4. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20093820
George Washington’s Mount Vernon. “A Case of Mistaken Identity.” https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/mistaken-identity
George Washington’s Mount Vernon. “Hercules Posey.” https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/hercules
Hinks, Peter. “A Shambles for the President's House.” Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies , Vol. 81, No. 2 (Spring 2014). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/pennhistory.81.2.0253
House Appropriations Committee. “H. Rept. 107-564 - DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2003.” https://www.congress.gov/committee-report/107th-congress/house-report/564
Joselow, Maxine. “Park Service Is Ordered to Take Down Some Materials on Slavery and Tribes.” 9/16/2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/climate/trump-park-service-slavery-photo-tribes.html
Lawler, Edward Jr. “The President's House Revisited.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography , Oct., 2005, Vol. 129, No. 4 (Oct., 2005). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20093817
Organization of American Historians. “Statement on the Freedom and Slavery Exhibit Removal at Independence National Historical Park.” 1/24/2026. https://www.oah.org/2026/01/24/statement-on-the-freedom-and-slavery-exhibit-removal-at-independence-national-historical-park/
Preservation Alliance. “We are outraged … “ 1/22/2026. https://preservationalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/President-House-Statement-1-22-26.pdf
“US national parks told to remove signs on mistreatment of Native Americans, climate, Wash Post reports.” 1/27/2026. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-national-parks-told-remove-signs-mistreatment-native-americans-climate-wash-2026-01-27/
Rufe, Cynthia M. “CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Plaintiff, v. DOUG BURGUM, et al., Defendants. Civil Action no. 26-434. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.paed.648842/gov.uscourts.paed.648842.53.0.pdf
Schuessler, Jennifer. “How Trump Brought the Fight Over American History to Philadelphia.” 2/5/2026. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/arts/george-washington-slavery-trump-history.html
Smith, Dinita. “Slave Site For a Symbol Of Freedom.” New York Times. 4/20/2002. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/20/arts/slave-site-for-a-symbol-of-freedom.html
Spears, Alan. “To Tell the Truth.” National Parks Conservation Association. Winter 2026. https://www.npca.org/articles/11218-to-tell-the-truth
Visit Philadelphia. “The President's House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation.” Via YouTube. 12/14/2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPxu2z2GEcc
Wiencek, Henry. "George Washington and Slavery" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 11 Feb. 2026. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/washington-george-and-slavery/
Young, Patrick. “The Signage at Manassas That Is Slated for Removal by the National Park Service.” The Reconstruction Era. 9/17/2025. https://thereconstructionera.com/the-signage-at-manassas-that-is-slated-for-removal-by-the-national-park-service/

The President's House was the first home of the U.S. president in the temporary capital of Phildelphia. While George Washington lived there, he had nine enslaved people that we know of., including the cook, Hercules.&nbsp;
Research:
<ul>
<li>&ldquo;George Washington to Tobias Lear, 12 April 1791,&rdquo; Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-08-02-0062 . [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 8, 22 March 1791 &ndash; 22 September 1791, ed. Mark A. Mastromarino. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999, pp. 84&ndash;]</li>
<li>&ldquo;President's House Civic Engagement Forum Grant Report 1.&rdquo; USHistory.org. https://www.ushistory.org/presidentshouse/controversy/october_30_2004_report.php</li>
<li>&ldquo;Tobias Lear to George Washington, 5 June 1791,&rdquo; Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-08-02-0172 . [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, vol. 8, 22 March 1791 &ndash; 22 September 1791, ed. Mark A. Mastromarino. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999, pp. 231&ndash;]</li>
<li>1838 Black Metropolis et al. &ldquo;Re: President Donald Trump&rsquo;s Executive Order, &lsquo;Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.&rsquo;&rdquo; 9/8/2025. https://preservationalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/NPS-Signage-Letter-9-9-25.pdf</li>
<li>Althouse, Michela. &ldquo;President's House display on George Washington's slaves remains despite White House scrutiny &mdash; for now.&rdquo; Philly Voice. 9/26/2025. https://www.phillyvoice.com/george-washington-slaves-presidents-house-exhibit-trump/</li>
<li>Andersen, Eva. &ldquo;Philadelphia advocates say key panels of slavery exhibit still missing at President's House Site.&rdquo; CBS News. 2/25/2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/slavery-exhibit-philadelphia-presidents-house/</li>
<li>Bomar, Mary A. and Dennis R. Reidenbach. &ldquo;Report on Site Review of Interpretive Programs by The Organization of American Historians.&rdquo; National Park Service Independence National Historical Park. 9/8/2025. https://www.oah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Review-of-Independence-National-Historic-Parks-interpretive-programs.pdf</li>
<li>Cerino, Marco. &ldquo;Feds detail plans for restoring President's House.&rdquo; Philadelphia Tribune. 2/24/2026. https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/feds-detail-plans-for-restoring-presidents-house/article_85ee7f4a-0b19-4d20-8933-951c7e2bfea0.html.</li>
<li>Chervinsky, Lindsay M. &ldquo;The Enslaved Household of President George Washington.&rdquo; The White House Historical Association. 9/6/2019. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-enslaved-household-of-president-george-washington</li>
<li>Custis, George Washington Parke. &ldquo;Recollections and private memoirs of Washington.&rdquo; Philadelphia, J. W. Bradley. 1861. https://archive.org/details/recollectionspri02cust/</li>
<li>Evans, Dorinda. &ldquo;Portrait of a Man from the Island of Dominica (?).&rdquo; Thyssen-Bornemisza Museo Nacional. https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/reynolds-circle-sir-joshua/portrait-man-island-dominica</li>
<li>Fanelli, Doris Devine. &ldquo;History, Commemoration, and an Interdisciplinary Approach to Interpreting the President's House Site.&rdquo; The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography , Oct, 2005, Vol. 129, No. 4. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20093820</li>
<li>George Washington&rsquo;s Mount Vernon. &ldquo;A Case of Mistaken Identity.&rdquo; https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/mistaken-identity</li>
<li>George Washington&rsquo;s Mount Vernon. &ldquo;Hercules Posey.&rdquo; https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/hercules</li>
<li>Hinks, Peter. &ldquo;A Shambles for the President's House.&rdquo; Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies , Vol. 81, No. 2 (Spring 2014). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/pennhistory.81.2.0253</li>
<li>House Appropriations Committee. &ldquo;H. Rept. 107-564 - DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2003.&rdquo; https://www.congress.gov/committee-report/107th-congress/house-report/564</li>
<li>Joselow, Maxine. &ldquo;Park Service Is Ordered to Take Down Some Materials on Slavery and Tribes.&rdquo; 9/16/2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/climate/trump-park-service-slavery-photo-tribes.html</li>
<li>Lawler, Edward Jr. &ldquo;The President's House Revisited.&rdquo; The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography , Oct., 2005, Vol. 129, No. 4 (Oct., 2005). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20093817</li>
<li>Organization of American Historians. &ldquo;Statement on the Freedom and Slavery Exhibit Removal at Independence National Historical Park.&rdquo; 1/24/2026. https://www.oah.org/2026/01/24/statement-on-the-freedom-and-slavery-exhibit-removal-at-independence-national-historical-park/</li>
<li>Preservation Alliance. &ldquo;We are outraged &hellip; &ldquo; 1/22/2026. https://preservationalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/President-House-Statement-1-22-26.pdf</li>
<li>&ldquo;US national parks told to remove signs on mistreatment of Native Americans, climate, Wash Post reports.&rdquo; 1/27/2026. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-national-parks-told-remove-signs-mistreatment-native-americans-climate-wash-2026-01-27/</li>
<li>Rufe, Cynthia M. &ldquo;CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Plaintiff, v. DOUG BURGUM, et al., Defendants. Civil Action no. 26-434. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.paed.648842/gov.uscourts.paed.648842.53.0.pdf</li>
<li>Schuessler, Jennifer. &ldquo;How Trump Brought the Fight Over American History to Philadelphia.&rdquo; 2/5/2026. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/arts/george-washington-slavery-trump-history.html</li>
<li>Smith, Dinita. &ldquo;Slave Site For a Symbol Of Freedom.&rdquo; New York Times. 4/20/2002. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/20/arts/slave-site-for-a-symbol-of-freedom.html</li>
<li>Spears, Alan. &ldquo;To Tell the Truth.&rdquo; National Parks Conservation Association. Winter 2026. https://www.npca.org/articles/11218-to-tell-the-truth</li>
<li>Visit Philadelphia. &ldquo;The President's House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation.&rdquo; Via YouTube. 12/14/2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPxu2z2GEcc</li>
<li>Wiencek, Henry. "George Washington and Slavery" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 11 Feb. 2026. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/washington-george-and-slavery/</li>
<li>Young, Patrick. &ldquo;The Signage at Manassas That Is Slated for Removal by the National Park Service.&rdquo; The Reconstruction Era. 9/17/2025. https://thereconstructionera.com/the-signage-at-manassas-that-is-slated-for-removal-by-the-national-park-service/</li>
</ul>

The President's House was the first home of the U.S. president in the temporary capital of Phildelphia. While George Washington lived there, he had nine enslaved people that we know of., including the cook, Hercules. 

Hercules Posey & the President’s House

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/bf286751-0296-44bf-bb5f-b3ff001d7356/transcript

This 2014 episode covers the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, in which Native Americans rose up against Spanish colonists and missionaries at the turn of the 17th century.

This 2014 episode covers the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, in which Native Americans rose up against Spanish colonists and missionaries at the turn of the 17th century.

SYMHC Classics: Pueblo Revolt

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/5e2fc34f-5b43-4157-8cd2-b3fe00619532/transcript

Holly and Tracy talk about their coffee preferences. Then Tracy traces the path that led her from a listener mail to the topic of Fort Mose.

Holly and Tracy talk about their coffee preferences. Then Tracy traces the path that led her from a listener mail to the topic of Fort Mose.

Behind the Scenes Minis: Coffee, 'Pirats' and Sea Robbers

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7ed338fa-030e-4940-9351-b3f7017dd7cf/transcript

SYMHC Classics: Esther Cox and the Great Amherst Mystery

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