Uncle Boies

My Uncle was the most famous of all the Penrose's. He was a senator, all he really wanted to be was a mayor of his beloved Philadelphia but that was not to be.

In the 1930's a book was written about him, it was a favorite in women's
book clubs because it gave an inside look on Washington. I liked the book, in fact I have a copy of it. Another man wanted to do a book about my Uncle in the 1950's, he was a broadway producer, writer, pretty famous for the time. He came and talked to my father who was excited about the book. But, something happened and the book was never done, in fact I tried to find the guy. The last thing I found was around the late 1950's, someone tried to kill him. I think they succeeded because thats all I could discover. So much for the book.

So, I thought I would share about my Uncle, this is what he did the last year of his life in the senate. That year was 1921:
April - He wanted equality for blacks. he said that they should be equal to whites in hotels, cafes, restaurants, educational institutions and amusements. They fought him hard on this one.

June - He had gotten Mr Mellon in as head of Treasury and he was doing a bang up job, nineteen countries owed us money and Mr. Mellon had worked out a plan for them to pay it back.

My Uncle left Washington to go back to Philly, President Hoover had left my Uncle with no offices in Washington (I find this very odd because Hoover was a geologist like my Uncle Richard and a friend of my Uncle Richard's).

My Uncle helped with the election of the next Governor of Penn. (I think this was the reason he left Washington)

July - He called for disarmament of the U.S. (World War One had ended). My Uncle didn't believe in war. They fought him hard on this one too.

Sept - He installs a movie theatre in his Washington apartments

Oct - He is trying to get tax bills passed, the Soldiers Bonus bill thru and a corporation tax thru.

On Dec. 30, 1921 Uncle Richard stops by to see my Uncle in Washington. My Uncle is in perfect health, great mood and nothing is wrong. At one minute before midnite on Dec. 31st, 1921 my Uncle is dead.

The papers are full that he was sick, poor health blah, blah, blah. Lies, lies, lies. My Uncles Richard and Charles along with my father get together, they hire people to find out who killed my Uncle and who put the contract out on him.

My Uncle had many enemies, there was a senator who was going to be brought up on treason charges, my Uncle stood up for him and with him (he became his friend after that) but that is the way the Penrose's are, even if our enemies are falsely accused we will stand up and state the truth. But, there were two enemies my Uncle had, they were the Vare brothers (one of them was a senator). The Vare brothers were heavily connected with the mafia, Lucky Luciano was a close friend, the Vare boys owned one of the Philly newspapers and they were involved in what was called "the bloody fifth ward". You didn't have to go far to find out that they were the ones that put out the contract.

Why, my family didn't go to the government I'll never know. Maybe it's because of what they did to my Uncle Francis or maybe they felt there was someone higher up involved because the newspapers weren't printing the truth. No matter, they put out a contract on the hired gun and the man that hired him. For them justice was done.

My Uncle was a loving caring person, he had a great sense of humor. In his younger years he wrote plays and poetry, he even wrote a pamphlet for Barnum on elephants (Barnum passed out this pamphlet at his circus). He never married but he had a lot of mistresses. He loved America and he really loved the city of his birth, Philly. He was never involved with the mafia and he never took a bribe. He had a photogenic mind, he would read something and it stayed there, word for word. All the Penroses had this except me, I remember conversations word for word, I guess the gene said "lets skip the reading material and go for conversations instead" :)

So, there you have it my Uncle and the last year of his life. He was a very good man.

Good Old Colo. Springs

If anyone has been to the Springs then you know that it is a beautiful place. The mountains, the trees, the air and if you are a mystery lover then this is the place. Beneath the beauty of this city are tons of skeletons (meaning secerts). Writerquake has a beautiful old postcard on her blog of Will Roger's Shrine. In this picture is a house, the house has been remodled, it no longer is three stories and is a visitor center for the shrine. I believe (and I could be wrong) that this is Ashton Potter's summer home. You ask, "Who the bleep is Ashton Potter?"

Well, Ashton was a member of the Springs high society in the early 1900's. As far as I can find he didn't do to much, he and his wife Grace threw big parties, they knew the Palmers and Penroses. He came from New York, his Uncle was a Bishop, Ashton served in the Spanish American war. i don't know where his money came from, Grace had money, she had been married before and had two children, Ganson Depew Jr. and Lucia Depew. They built a house in the Braodmoor area in 1911. This area was so new it didn't even have an address. The phone book lists the address as 3/4 mile west of casino, Broadmoor. This is where they built a house that they named El Pomar (meaning The Orchard). What makes this a mystery is the last days of thier life.

Ashton and Grace decided that they wanted a summer house built in the Cheyenne Mountains, the year is 1914. They had been married five years wanted a get away home, as if the wilderness of the Braodmoor wasn't enough they wanted more wilderness. The day comes, July 12, 1914, the house is almost done, just a few finishing touches by the carpenters. Ashton and Grace decide to journey to the summer home. As far as I can tell from the old newspapers (and newspapers don't always tell the truth espically here in this town), on Aug. 6, 1914 someone finds Ashton and Grace. Ashton is dead, Grace cannot move or talk. Her mother has been living with the couple for awhile, she does not leave her daughters side. Grace is taken down the hill to her home, El Pomar, on Sept. 12 ,1914 where she dies never recovering, never talking.

Graces fortune is in the hands of her lawyers (she left 10 million dollars) which is divided between her two children Ganson 18 years old and Lucia 14 years old. Spencer and Julie Penrose buy the El Pomar house from the lawyers. (Yes this is told because of misinformation that Spencer built the El Pomar house, he did not). So this is how El Pomar came into the Penrose family.

As far as good ole Ashton he was buried, dug up and shipped to be buried in New York all in the same day. I haven't been able to locate any cemetery in New York that has his remains.

No one followed through as to what or who killed them, everything stops at Graces death. Strange isn't it.